Kind of scared

I just finished my 3rd brew. A dark wheat with an OG of 1.086. I pitched safbrew WB-06 at 65, and fitted my carboy with a 1 inch blow off tube. I have no experience with this yeast. I used 8 lbs of liquid wheat extract and 3 lbs of light malt extract. Seems like I have given the yeast a lot of fuel. How close of an eye do I need to keep on this? I have activity after just 4 hours of dry pitching this yeast. This is a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

argodzilla said:

I just finished my 3rd brew. A dark wheat with an OG of 1.086. I pitched safbrew WB-06 at 65, and fitted my carboy with a 1 inch blow off tube. I have no experience with this yeast. I used 8 lbs of liquid wheat extract and 3 lbs of light malt extract. Seems like I have given the yeast a lot of fuel. How close of an eye do I need to keep on this? I have activity after just 4 hours of dry pitching this yeast. This is a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

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Since you have already rigged a blow-off (good call), all you can do now is check on it every so often and clean out/re-sanitize the tube as needed.

Just watch your catch vessel for the blow off. Other than that ignore it for at least 2 weeks, preferably 3 then check the gravity and proceed with packaging if the fermentation is finished.

You probably should have made a yeast starter with a big beer like that.

Garyt

Thanks guy!

Would the yeast starter be so the yeast doesn't get stressed and Peter out early, or for a different reason?

A starter doubles or triples the amount of yeast cells you pitch. Underpitching yeast into a high gravity beer can cause a very slow fermentation and off flavors.

A general rule is any beer with a starting gravity over 1.060, should have a yeast starter.

Gary

argodzilla said:

Would the yeast starter be so the yeast doesn't get stressed and Peter out early, or for a different reason?

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You were using a dry yeast, so doing a starter is not a good idea at all. Pitching dry yeast straight into wort (even starter wort) can kill as much as half the cells. People often get by with pitching one pack dry into medium gravity wort because a pack of dry contains such an abundance of cells.

It's much better to rehydrate dry yeast in 100* tap water (that has been sterilized by boiling and chilled) for 15 min, stir, let sit 5 more min, adjust to wort temp (by adding small amounts of wort, stirring and waiting a few min) and pitch when it's within 10*F. If you really want/need to do a starter with dry yeast, rehydrate it first and then introduce it into the starter wort.

You did underpitch some. An 11g packet of dry, if rehydrated, is plenty of cells for a 5.25g batch of wort up to 1.060. You should have used two packs.

Underpitching can bring about delayed ferment, off flavors due to stress and/or failure to fully attenuate. It doesn't always, it just can.

Should I pitch half a second packet tomorrow? Sadly I only thought to get the one packet. I know I should always have a backup.

Or, should I let it be and give it a few weeks in primary?

Anyone think I should pitch another dry pack tomorrow, or am I better off letting it ride?


Thanks guys!

Let it ride. Yes you are under pitching a bit but not to worry. Just rehydrate the yeast. To do so Boil water for 10 min, cool to 75-80 degrees, add yeast and stir it up. Cover with foil for a half hour then add it to your wort. I have pitched a single pack into a brew that is as strong without re-hydrating the yeast and it came out fine.

I vote "let it ride". Don't know your recipe details, but a "dark wheat" as you posted probably has enough other flavor components to mask any minor off flavors. Wheat beers don't have "clean" flavor profiles anyway. I expect it will just start slow and maybe finish a bit high, but otherwise probably be OK.

Re pitching rate: according to BeerSmith for a 1.086OG, 5.00 gallons, you need 26.38g of dry yeast (WB-06 comes in 11.5g packets).

Something to consider for high gravity brews in the future: appropriate pitching levels and aerating the wort. Both help it get off to a good start and reduce the odds of off flavors or other ferm problems.

See Fermentis web site for re-hydration instructions. With dry yeast, I have re-hydrated and then pitched into a starter to step up with no ill effects.

Let it ride. You'll be fine.

Let it ride, you would be surprised by what yeast can do.

1/2 krausen has formed, and we have a lot of CO2 production. This went off a lot faster than my Noddy 2 weeks ago. Now I will check on it every few hours.
In the last few months I've missed a day of work because I drank 120 oz of green beer. Yes, I searched this site and figured out my kit was a pipe dream....ferment for 1 week, bottle for 2 weeks....drink great beer at the 3 week mark. My Toilet Paper bill, almost cost as much as the kit. My second batch was a brown ale. It was in Primary for 2 weeks, and is racked to secondary for a week. Next week I plan to bottle it at the 3 week mark. Then I will wait a month and then try it. I have this odd feeling that I may be missing Monday to babysit this blow off tube.

argodzilla said:

1/2 krausen has formed, and we have a lot of CO2 production. This went off a lot faster than my Noddy 2 weeks ago. Now I will check on it every few hours.
In the last few months I've missed a day of work because I drank 120 oz of green beer. Yes, I searched this site and figured out my kit was a pipe dream....ferment for 1 week, bottle for 2 weeks....drink great beer at the 3 week mark. My Toilet Paper bill, almost cost as much as the kit. My second batch was a brown ale. It was in Primary for 2 weeks, and is racked to secondary for a week. Next week I plan to bottle it at the 3 week mark. Then I will wait a month and then try it. I have this odd feeling that I may be missing Monday to babysit this blow off tube.

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A suggestion: forget about calendar dates and base your decisions on hydrometer readings...this will keep your TP bill down.

Route the blow off tube into a bucket and just let it go...it will be fine.

argodzilla said:

1/2 krausen has formed, and we have a lot of CO2 production. This went off a lot faster than my Noddy 2 weeks ago. Now I will check on it every few hours.
In the last few months I've missed a day of work because I drank 120 oz of green beer. Yes, I searched this site and figured out my kit was a pipe dream....ferment for 1 week, bottle for 2 weeks....drink great beer at the 3 week mark. My Toilet Paper bill, almost cost as much as the kit. My second batch was a brown ale. It was in Primary for 2 weeks, and is racked to secondary for a week. Next week I plan to bottle it at the 3 week mark. Then I will wait a month and then try it. I have this odd feeling that I may be missing Monday to babysit this blow off tube.

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Drinking 120 oz of any beer at once would have me rockin' the thunder bucket for at least a morning, if not most of the day.

argodzilla said:

1/2 krausen has formed, and we have a lot of CO2 production. This went off a lot faster than my Noddy 2 weeks ago. Now I will check on it every few hours.

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If it is going that fast, you should be fine.

As to green beer having adverse effects, I usually associate that with less than a week corked in a bottle.

Some people are probably more sensitive.

I drink mine at a week frequently and don't have big issues.

..."rockin' the thunder bucket"...

That there is funny