Wyeast Thames Valley Ale Yeast Lag Time

Hello all,

I've used this yeast strand once before. And, like many of you, I experienced a minerally/swampy flavor intially. However, once the yeast dropped out completely, I was left with a very clear, bright, and clean tasting beer.

With that said, I noticed that the lag time was pretty long the first go around, and I am experiencing a lag time of +24 hours in the EPA I just brewed.

I know a lag time of 24+ isn't uncommon, I just wanted to see if anyone else had the same experience with the yeast, so I know for sure it's a characteristic of the strand.

Pitching notes:

Pitched at 62, 2000ml starter, 10 gals of wort, 1.061 Wort OG, 1.050 starter.

I use it in some of my english bitters. I have noticed the lag time also. Didn't seem to affect the final product though.

also, I don't make starters....before people start commenting on starters and lag time.

Yea, I make the same generic starter for all of my beer, since I brew 10-12 gals at a time. I rather make a 2L starter than purchase two smack packs.

Never had a stuck fermentation, and rarely do I experience a lag time of 24+ hours. This strand has been one of the few exceptions. However, I loved the product the first time around (Same EPA recipe), and I'm expecting similar experiences the second time around.

A 2000 ml starter is underpitching for 10 gallons of 1.061 wort to be fermented at 62 degrees (and that's assuming 100% viability, which probably isn't the case). Your starter gravity is also high and could be causing cell wall stress. Try to be around 1.036-1.040 in the future.

Lag time is rarely a function of the yeast strain - it is more a function of the yeast health and cell count.

That's definitely a possibility, one I considered. However, like I mentioned earlier, I pitch 2L starters to 10 gals of 1.050-1.060 regularly, and I've never had an issue.

I also use a stir plate, which yields more cells than a standard starter.

SeanGC said:

That's definitely a possibility, one I considered. However, like I mentioned earlier, I pitch 2L starters to 10 gals of 1.050-1.060 regularly, and I've never had an issue.

I also use a stir plate, which yields more cells than a standard starter.

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Doesn't mean you're still not underpitching. You also never mentioned how old the yeast was/is.

Take a look at a yeast pitch rate calculator. I like Kai's because you can change the pitch rate - when fermenting cooler like you are, I like bumping it up to 1 million cells/ml wort/degree Plato.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

I prefer Kai's as well. According to the calculations on yeastcalc.com, our starter should have hit its pitching rate. However, I like the calculator you provided. It's an easier read than yeastcalc.com. Thank you.

Also, as a quick update. The beer started fermenting roughly 30 hrs after we pitched. We pitched at 62, but stepped it up to 65, and has been fermenting steadily for the past 5 days.