Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

Yes, first post. I lurk.

So Im making my 3rd beer and I wanted to try some new things. Im tired of doing kits and just wanted to experiment. I really like AIPAs so I wanted to try brewing my own, with a recipe I pieced together from beers that I enjoy. I usually use Wyeast 1056, but I decided to see how the 1272 strand is. Its comparable to the 1056, just has a different ester profile; being more tart/nutty at higher temps, and cleaner and citrusy at lower fermentation temps. Anyhow, the OG of the wort I just transfered to my primary was 1.071. I made a yeast starter 2 days in advance with 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of DME, holding it just below 80 degrees Fahrenheit to promote a very active culture. The owner of my LHBS said the yeast would have no problem fermenting a batch at that gravity-- yet the back of the smackpack says max is 1.060. Im worried I wont hit my FG with this strain. Am I just worrying? Should I just relax and just drink a home brew?

Thanks.

-Chris

The max of 1.060 is for if you choose not to make a starter. You're fine.

Just relax, 1272 will do fine at that OG. I think a bigger starter would be a good idea in the future. 1/2 lb of DME in 2 qts for instance. One thing with 1272, what for the head fake. It will look like the krausen has peaked, but then a day later, it will blow off. Great yeast.

Seems like you're still in the ballpark. Lower cell counts only "count" if the beer doesn't attenuate out enough: taking longer to attenuate doesn't have too much effect. RDWHAHB!

CLeSure said:

2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of DME

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That's a very small, very high-gravity starter. The general rule of thumb is 100 g of DME (about 5/8 cup, although volume measurements are notoriously inaccurate) per liter/quart of starter. To get to standard pitching rates for 5 gallons of 1.071 ale, you'd be looking at a 1-3 liter starter, depending on how it was handled.

Check out www.mrmalty.com for starter info and the calculator.

I bet you'll enjoy the 1272 though. That's my go-to ale yeast.