Direct pitch Whyeast 1056 in 5 gl 1070?

superfluent · 02-02-2008, 09:02 PM

So, for my second AG batch i managed to get a much higher efficiency out of my mash than I anticipated

. I ended up with 18litre (just shy of 5 gl) 1070.

I pitched the yest (1056 american ale) directly from the activator smack pack (I know I should have done a starter but I didn't know I'd have a day off for brewing until this morning). It says on the pack that it is enough to innoculate a 5 gl batch of 1060.

From your experience, will pitching into a 5 gl 1070 directly from the smackpack work in most cases or do I have to order another pack (I probably will anyway, but I was thinking on using the yeast cake for my next batch in two weeks)?

H

Funkenjaeger · 02-02-2008, 09:28 PM

I would not plan on pitching a smack pack directly into a 1070 wort... for that matter I don't think I'd pitch one into anything over 1040 or so, and even then I'd make a starter if I had time.

Since you weren't able to plan ahead and weren't expecting the higher efficiency I can see your predicament, and in your situation I think I would have done the same and pitched the smack pack anyway, unless I had some dry yeast on hand... Speaking of which, do you? A packet of US-05 should work just great.

If not, this is a good lesson for the future - always keep some dry yeast on hand!

In any case, even if you just leave it the way it is, it will probably be okay, but fermentation may be sluggish and may get stuck at a higher FG than you want, so at the very least you should be prepared to deal with that if it happens.

**RichBrewer** · 02-02-2008, 10:00 PM

I think you will be OK. It is not an ideal condition for the yeast but you should get an acceptable fermentation. I would suggest doing a starter for all of your brews in which you use liquid yeast.

avidhomebrewer · 02-03-2008, 12:56 AM

You should probably be OK. If anything, you may end up finishing a bit high. I have made many-a-batch around this gravity without pitching a starter with no ill-effects.

superfluent · 02-03-2008, 11:56 AM

OK, it took about 6 hrs before first activity and it has taken off quite a bit since then (it has been about 22hrs since pitching). I started it at 72F and have just begun to lower the ambient temperature to 66F. We'll see how it turns out when the ABV rises...

H

**RichBrewer** · 02-03-2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henrik

OK, it took about 6 hrs before first activity and it has taken off quite a bit since then (it has been about 22hrs since pitching). I started it at 72F and have just begun to lower the ambient temperature to 66F. We'll see how it turns out when the ABV rises...

H

Sounds like you will be fine!

superfluent · 02-05-2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichBrewer

Sounds like you will be fine!

Update:
It's still fermenting (72 hrs) allthough it has slowed quite a bit (which is expected). It still has about an inch of krausen.

I've got a buch of week fresh yeast (liquid) ariving tomorrow (together with ~60 lbs of malt, a couple punds DME, yeast nutrition and some glassware to keep me covered in the near future...).

My plan is to leave the IPA until sunday (7 days since pitching). If it has totally stopped bubbling by then I'll take a gravity reading to see where I'm at. Sounds reasonable?

I'm fermenting this one in 19C (say 66F?). Should I wait another week before taking the reading or should I try to correct any stuck fermentation as soon as I can? If so, how should I go about it? Should I try to add a bit nutrition, rouse and hope for the best or should I just propagate a new starter to kraussen the primary with if I find that it is stuck?

H (still learning...)

**Yooper** · 02-05-2008, 09:23 PM

Just wait it out. It sounds like fermentation is going on so it should work out just fine for you.

Pugilist · 02-05-2008, 09:57 PM

"Making a starter culture to increase the quantity of yeast pitched into a particular beer is a great way to assure consistent results. If you are brewing a high gravity beer (greater than 1.065 original gravity) or a lager that will be fermented cold then you need to increase your pitch rate by pitching more packages of yeast or making a starter culture.

The Wyeast Activator (125 ml) smack-pack is designed to directly inoculate 5 gallons of standard ale wort (O.G. < 1.060, 65-72°F). When brewing high gravity beer (O.G. >1.060) or cold fermented lagers or ales (<65°F)) additional yeast will be required. An Activator contains approximately 100 billion cells which will deliver slightly less than 6 million cells per milliliter in a 5 gallon batch of beer."

That is from the Wyeast website. But if you see activity it is probably fine. They do say that higher gravity beers and lagers need a bigger kickstart, and a starter will do that.

superfluent · 02-05-2008, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pugilist

That is from the Wyeast website. But if you see activity it is probably fine. They do say that higher gravity beers and lagers need a bigger kickstart, and a starter will do that.

Yes, we'll see what happens... Hopefully I'll be allright, but then again, it's my second brew alltogether so I don't really expect much. The first batch had bad efficiency and I had severe problems cooling it fast enough. After tweking my mash and sparging technique (and getting a proper immersion chiller) I'm just redicilously pleased my efficiency is way beyond my expectations (approaching 85-90%) and that I could cool the wort in less than 15 minutes(as opposed to two hours). The way I see it, if you don't make mistakes you won't actually learn anyhing new.

H