Which yeast did the job?

Hey all,
I've been brewing long enough to think I shouldn't be making stupid mistakes, but I just did. Brewed up an "American" IPA Tuesday Feb. 22nd. I had a surprise day off and decided to brew, otherwise I would have prepared a starter. OG was 1.080. Used a wyeast Activator 1056. I knew I was under-pitching, but I figured it would be fine. However, I was thinking about it too much and after 24 hours of seeing (but I was sleeping or at work for most of that time) no activity, I abandoned the 1056 and pitched 2 packets of Nottingham.

Ok, here we are Saturday morning. I had again seen NO activity at all. Fearing an infection or just a stalled ferement, I decided to take a gravity reading. Should have done that after 24 hours because it was down to 1.020!

So, do you think it was the 1056 or the Notty? My brew closet smells more like Notty, so I'm leaning that way. I'm not sure if my palate is developed enough to tell from the taste. What do you think? I'm just curious, I'm sure it will be tasty. Thanks!

I think the general wisdom is that a significant portion of the flavors that we associate with beer come from the yeast during their reproductive cycle. And that usually lasts about 24 hours, right? So sounds like the ester profile will be closer to 1056.

That's my shoddy logic.

I did the exact same thing two weeks ago, but with a Munich Lager smack pack. I added us 05 and fermented at ale temps. Never again will I brew with out a starter. I'm sure that a bit of both yeasts are active, so I don't know what I've got. It sure tastes good.

You pitched another yeast after only 24 hours without taking a gravity reading? Good god man; it's a good thing that I don't know where in PA you live or I would come over there and poke you in the eye.

If you pitched 1056 on Tuesday and Notty on Wednesday, but only took a gravity reading on Saturday, there's really no way to know what yeast was responsible for the bulk of your fermentation. If the 1056 was actually active despite a lack of visual activity (which is of course possible/likely), then your beer will have more 1056 character. If the 1056 was dead, then of course it will be the Notty.

More likely than not, you're going to get a blend of those two. Underpitching the 1056 will give you more lag time than usual, so you might have pitched the notty just as the 1056 was finishing reproduction. In any case you'll have beer, so that's good.

MalFet said:

You pitched another yeast after only 24 hours without taking a gravity reading? Good god man; it's a good thing that I don't know where in PA you live or I would come over there and poke you in the eye.

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Probably what I deserve. I do stupid things when I don't plan out my brew in advance. Oh well.

Thanks for the help.

MessyJesse said:

Probably what I deserve. I do stupid things when I don't plan out my brew in advance. Oh well.

Thanks for the help.

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We all do I'm sure you'll get something good in any case, and perhaps you'll find a new 1056/notty hybrid mix that will revolutionize beer brewing from here forward. I'm only harassing you because you sound knowledgeable enough to know better

Keep us posted and let us know how it turns out!

MalFet said:

We all do I'm sure you'll get something good in any case, and perhaps you'll find a new 1056/notty hybrid mix that will revolutionize beer brewing from here forward. I'm only harassing you because you sound knowledgeable enough to know better

Keep us posted and let us know how it turns out!

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Haha. Will do. If this turns out decent I should try a 3 way split batch on my next brew (one this slurry, one notty, and one 1056) to get a taste for what I've just done. Who knows...