Kit Yeast Quality

Hey guys, long time listener first time caller. I'm a big fan of the show and respect the dedication everyone puts in, I've read some killer posts and learned a lot from everyone's successes and failures.

I have a Beer Makers 30L kit that has been an absolute Godsend. It's a plastic primary fermentation tank with drain spout, screw on sealed top with airlock, you know the usual basic stuff. I've made some pretty decent kit beers in it without the need for a secondary fermentation tank, so I've always been able to do without one. I just let it it ride until two days with straight readings, then bottle straight from the tank. I can't really screw it up. But something happened with a new kit beer I tried yesterday that only happened to me one other time a few years ago, and it's got me concerned: primary fermentation stopping after 1 day.

I read some threads that addressed the same concern, and I'm no longer worried that there's anything wrong with my batch. But I'm still curious why it sometimes happens. The yeast will go into binge drinking party mode and then quietly mope about rather than the usual constant moderate feasting over the course of 4-5 days. I don't really mind, other than the fact it makes me strain my eyes to read the slightest of changes to the gravity. I don't want to let my beer sit on the yeast too long (and I'm not getting a secondary fermenter until I ruin a batch!)

This is the brew in my tank now:

Munton's Gold Highland Heavy Ale kit (40 pt.)
500g dry dark malt extract (band dried non-diastatic)
Total 40 pt. (22.7 L)
kit yeast was rehydrated from tank-drawn vigorously aerated wort at 28C then pitched at same temperature
tank at constant 23C for past 24 hours
O.G. was 1.045

I came back from work today and saw the airlock level shifted, there was clear activity. I double-checked every seal was tight but alas it's dead quiet. I smelled plenty of alcohol. If I was any less experienced I would easily attribute this to just plain inconsistency. Different temps, different methods, etc. But the only difference is the kit. Based on one bad experience in the past with dated kit yeast (I will never sprinkle it again) I always rehydrate it in the wort before I pitch to ensure it's healthy. So my question is:

Is it the kit yeast? This was the first "connoisseur" kit I've tried, bought from a specialist shop rather than the supermarket. Could it be that the yeast was of a much better quality with a higher cell count, and the way I rehydrate the yeast is essential for the basic kit yeasts (Coopers, Toohey's, Brigalow) but going overboard with the healthy yeast that came with Munton's?

(Note: I am not a fan of paying an extra $6-7 a brew on quality yeast as I've been brewing for years with kit yeast just fine. I'm a tightarse. I cringed when I splurged nearly $50 on this heavy ale kit when I'm used to making pretty good stuff consistently for under $20! )

Fermentation certainly shouldn't/won't be done after one day, what is the gravity now?

I know fermentation isn't complete. That wasn't my question. ;-)

Hidee Ho caller.

kit yeast was rehydrated from tank-drawn vigorously aerated wort at 28C then pitched at same temperature
tank at constant 23C for past 24 hours
O.G. was 1.045

I came back from work today and saw the airlock level shifted, there was clear activity. I double-checked every seal was tight but alas it's dead quiet. I smelled plenty of alcohol. If I was any less experienced I would easily attribute this to just plain inconsistency. Different temps, different methods, etc. But the only difference is the kit. Based on one bad experience in the past with dated kit yeast (I will never sprinkle it again) I always rehydrate it in the wort before I pitch to ensure it's healthy. So my question is:

Is it the kit yeast? This was the first "connoisseur" kit I've tried, bought from a specialist shop rather than the supermarket. Could it be that the yeast was of a much better quality with a higher cell count, and the way I rehydrate the yeast is essential for the basic kit yeasts (Coopers, Toohey's, Brigalow) but going overboard with the healthy yeast that came with Munton's?

(Note: I am not a fan of paying an extra $6-7 a brew on quality yeast as I've been brewing for years with kit yeast just fine. I'm a tightarse. I cringed when I splurged nearly $50 on this heavy ale kit when I'm used to making pretty good stuff consistently for under $20! )

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This is where you lost me. If you could narrow the question down. You might get some advice>

What if any are the differences in weight if any between the Coopers, Toohey's, Brigalow and Muton's

Looks like a moot point anyway.

Yesterday I took a reading at 1.036, and wasn't too concerned. Today I checked again and my heart sunk -- still at 1.036. I don't understand.. the yeast looked fine when I rehydrated it in wort, and I pitched it at the same temperature so I couldn't have shocked it. Any ideas?

If the hydrometer remains the same tomorrow then you could have had a poor pack of yeast. Give the fermenter a swirl to introduce oxygen and check it again then. If it's still the same then I would pitch another pack of yeast.

I got another packet of yeast, this time one that I knew was good, hydrated it and pitched it. This morning it was bubbling right along at 21C. I could have thermal shocked Munton's yeast, true, but I've pitched at the same temps many times with no issues whatsoever. I just read this thread here and am starting to think it was indeed the Munton's kit yeast to blame - either it wasn't healthy or it had a very narrow temperature tolerance. The next time I buy Munton's I will remember to chuck it.

edit: doing even more research now and I have been hearing similar stories with Munton's kits about primary fermentation not completing or abnormally slow -- and the reports are all recent

The first thing I would do is find out when the kit was made, it could have been an old kit and the yeast was past its best. There will generally be a date or day and year on the packet which will tell you how old it is. There's nothing wrong with Munton's yeast it can just be that it is old or not looked after propperly. Your LHBS should give you another pack of yeast to replace a dud. I think that is the most likely scenario for why the fermentation failed.

I wouldn't use either Munton's or Cooper's yeast for fermentation. It seems to do pretty good as yeast food though (toss it into the kettle/pot during the boil)... Use one of the recognized higher quality/reliability yeast manufacturers, such as Wyeast, White Labs, etc. Also make sure it's well within it's date range, for dry yeast, don't use it as it's getting close to the date stamped on it... For liquid yeast, try to get the freshest possible. Depending on how old it is, make a starter even for lower OG brews (if over a month old, make a starter, ~2 weeks you should be ok, <1 week and don't worry)...

Personally, the only time I've not used either Wyeast, or Lalvin in anything I ferment, has been as yeast food, tossed into the boil. IMO, that's about all Cooper's an Munton's yeasts are good for...

I've had plenty of good results with Coopers and Muntons while I was brewing extract kits. Now I have good results with S-04, S-05 and the other dry yeasts. The kits could be handled differently between here and the states but I've only ever had problems through my own creation (no starter for washed yeast). Coopers yeast should be pretty good in Aussie and is well suited to the higher temps over there. Building up a starter is always the best insurance to ensure you know if your yeast should get the job done.

Pommy said:

Building up a starter is always the best insurance to ensure you know if your yeast should get the job done.

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Agreed, and that's what I did. The Munton's yeast took off in about half an hour, had a nice head of foam on the starter so I pitched it in. It just quit fermenting once the gravity hit 1.036. There were posts in other threads reporting similar experiences. Now that I think about it, even accounting for the change in temperature (which would have been only a few degrees C) between when I pitched the starter and the wort in the tank, it shouldn't have shocked the yeast enough to stop fermentation. I can't explain what happened. Threw another packet in and primary continued shortly thereafter. Gravity tonight is 1.019. Airlock stopped bubbling so I'll take another reading in 24 hours. Looks and smells delicious, watching footy and HAHBo2:

my recent batch of Pear Cider (poor head retention but oh so yummy)