Coopers Hefe Wheat yeast failed.. Can I pitch safale-05?

I'm pretty new to homebrewing and just tried coopers Hefe Wheat kit. I've followed the instructions and pitched the yeast into my carboy when the right temperature was reached.

It's been 4 days and yeast is still inactive (gravity is still OG). I've read that hefeweizen gets its banana/clove flavor from the yeast, so I was wondering:

If I pitch some safale-05 into my fermenter now (the only yeast I have around), will I still have the clove/banana flavor (as the Hefe yeast is in the fermenter), or it has to ferment from Hefe yeast in order to produce that flavor? I've tasted the sample I took for the gravity (that contains yeast) and it had clove flavor already.

Topic hefeweizen coopers yeast homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

Clove/banana flavours are coming not from yeast per se - they are coming from esters that yeast produce while fermenting beer.

So, either you actually do have yeast activity in the fermenter, or you're tasting something else, not clove flavour. You may want to check your hydrometer.

If you pitch safale-05 it won't be hefeweizen, but will still be a drinkable beer.

Lastly, don't trust kits. They likely have the lowest turnaround in homebrew stores, and chances are that yeast/hops would be overdue. Just buy dry extract and yeast of a major brand that your LHBS carries.

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