WYEAST London Ale Troubles

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chewyheel

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About a week ago I brewed the bourbon barrel kit from Midwest, which came with the Wyeast london ale yeast. I popped it before brewing and pitched after the wort came down to 73F. Three days later, there was zero fermentation.

So I went out and bought another pack, pitched again, and now it's been another 3 days with zero fermentation once again. Any advice on what to do next? I properly aerated the wort each time and the pitch temperature was in the desired range.
 
Subscribing. I am fermenting an ESB with this yeast now, it started bubbling within 24 hours of pitch from a starter.

Curious to see if you have taken any gravity readings?
 
+1 to taking a reading! Airlock activity means nothing really and if your vessel has a leak in the seal that's where all the escaping gasses are going;)
 
Wyeast 1968 (aka, the "cottage cheese yeast") is good stuff, but is quick to flocculate out at cooler temps. I'll run it at 63-64*F the first few days, but then let if rise to 66-68*F after that until done. Nice thing is that when you cold crash it, it drops out like a rock and forms a very firm cake.

Curious as to whether the OP made a starter and, like everyone else, if you have taken any gravity readings.
 
I did take a gravity reading, it was 1.070 both times I measured it. I did not make a starter though.
 
Any idea what the date was on the smack packs? If this thread is any indication, they shipped you a pack with extremely low viability which would under-perform unless you made a starter.

I've used 1028 a lot and have always had good results. It's a beast and can expected to attenuate very highly. Very slow flocculation is the only thing that keeps me from using it as a house strain.
 
So I went back and looked at the dates on my packs, They were both Wyeast 1028 and they were both made in December 2012. I'll be more careful next time to make sure I'm getting fresh packs.

Good news though, fermentation has finally started.
 
I used the Wyeast 1968 this past Saturday and am encountering a similar problem of stuck fermentation. Bubbled initially within 6 hours for a solid 2 days, now has fizzled out. If the gravity reading comes out good, should I pass to secondary now?
 
I used the Wyeast 1968 this past Saturday and am encountering a similar problem of stuck fermentation. Bubbled initially within 6 hours for a solid 2 days, now has fizzled out. If the gravity reading comes out good, should I pass to secondary now?

1968 has a tendency to re-start once you go to secondary and that the yeast is roused. If it's stopped, go ahead and go to secondary, and take a gravity reading while you're at it.

MC
 
I used the Wyeast 1968 this past Saturday and am encountering a similar problem of stuck fermentation. Bubbled initially within 6 hours for a solid 2 days, now has fizzled out. If the gravity reading comes out good, should I pass to secondary now?

I would advise against moving the beer off the yeast cake before fermentation is complete. Just give your carboy/bucket a good swirl to rouse the yeast back into suspension. Do that every day or two for a week, and you should be good to rack.

If you do not get another krausen, do not be worried. Check gravity every few days if you want to confirm it's working.
 
I use WY1028 for Bitters/Browns. Using a yeast starter per Mr. Malty or Yeastcalc and aeration (I use paddles on a drill) seems to result in a strong fermentation. Here is a very recent graph of fermenter temperature, original gravity and a rough gravity sample (by refractometer) with this yeast.

WY1968 can drop out too early. It's the only stuck fermentation and significant over-carbonation I've had, on an oatmeal stout, and the gravity was in an ambiguous range where the stuck gravity could have been in-style for that beer. A swirl (or VERY gentle stir with a sanitized spoon) and heating the fermenter up a few degrees could really help if you suspect the final gravity is too high.


Graph.jpg
 
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