Fermenting WLP001 yeast at 60 Degrees

Hello, I'm goign to be brewing a Harpoon IPA clone tomorrow. I'm useing California Ale Yeast WLP001. Right now I can't get my temp up to 68. I can't only get it between 58-62 degrees. I live in RI and we're keeping heat low to save money. Will it effect the fermenting at this temp?

You might want to pitch a starter a day or 2 ahead of time to make sure the yeast becomes active. Also make sure that it spends most of its time around 60. The yeast should work, just slower.

How would you recomend to make the starter yeast. Should I open some of the LME or DME and use some of it?

I'm looking it up right now on how to make a starter yeast from the liquid. Only thing is i planned on brewing tomorrow. It is the only day i have for a couple of weeks so i def wanted to do it tomorrow. Is it worth making a starter at this point? 20 hours from now i'd be pitching it.

I have DME from a kit that i never used. It's a year and half old (or so). I can use that for a starter but i'm looking right now on how much to use.

It's worth it if you have a stir plate or aerate the crap out of the starter by shaking it obsessively.

Also, keep it on top of the fridge for a couple extra degrees of warmth from that tomb you call a home ;-)

IMHO.

also, if I were you I'd use the DME for a starter rather then the LME. Personal preference, but the LME can get really messy when trying to reclose it for use on another day.

People make starters anywhere from a few hours to a few days in advance if you want to make one it will definitely help out.

I just pitched a vial of WLP001 yesterday into a 60* wort without a starter or anything and I'm sure it will work fine but if I had made a starter there would have been no question.

If you make one you want to do 1-1.5 liters of 1.040 gravity beer. however much dme that is...

Your ambient temp is perfect for fermentation, in my opinion. Fermentation generates heat, so your beer temp will probably be ~65 during the most active stages.

Make sure you aerate really well (shake the snot out of the carboy before pitching the yeast).

Definitely make a starter if you can - many recommend pitching starters at high krausen, so 12-18 hours should be perfect.

How much DME should i use? OG should be within 1.045 and 1.050.

TyTanium said:

Your ambient temp is perfect for fermentation, in my opinion. Fermentation generates heat, so your beer temp will probably be ~65 during the most active stages.

Make sure you aerate really well (shake the snot out of the carboy before pitching the yeast).

Definitely make a starter if you can - many recommend pitching starters at high krausen, so 12-18 hours should be perfect.

Click to expand...

+1. I love to ferment WLP 005 and 001 at 60 degrees. With a starter it should be very clean. You may make a great discovery here.

depends on how big you want your starter. To get 1.045 w/ 4 cups of water your going to need half a cup of dme.

here's white labs directions:
White Labs

Ok so I just made my yeast starter. Went with 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup of DME. Boiled for 15 min and then put into ice bath. Cooled to 64 degrees and then put into a gallon water jug. Pitched 60 degree yeast in. Shook it up with cap and then put blow off cap on. Everything was sanitized before hand.

I just kegged a DIPA that fermented on WL001 at 60 degrees so I can share my experience. The OG was 1.071 the first sample four weeks later showed 1.020. Not done yet, I hoped. Note that it sat in a fermentation chamber and wasn't roused at all during that time. At the four week sample, I added dry hops and brought it inside for the temp to climb to 68. Fermentation started up again (as evidenced by air lock activity, suspended yeast, and beer movement) and when I kegged it a week later it was down to 1.011. A couple of observations: I made a starter from harvested yeast on a stir plate--so it had plenty of cells--but this batch fermented slow due to the colder temps. Turned out super clean and delicious--it's been in the keg for two weeks now. The same process and recipe fermented at 70 degrees, for example, would finish up way quicker but taste different. For me, CA Ale yeast fermented on the cold side is slower but the final product tastes better.

So why does WLP 001 say its range is from 68-72 if u can get a cleaner flavor from fermenting colder. seems a bit misleading as I would ferment around 68 thinking i was getting the "cleanest" flavor from this yeast by fermenting at the low end.

This is sitting at 60F I pitched a 1000ml starter of wlp001

Thehopguy said:

So why does WLP 001 say its range is from 68-72 if u can get a cleaner flavor from fermenting colder. seems a bit misleading as I would ferment around 68 thinking i was getting the "cleanest" flavor from this yeast by fermenting at the low end.

Click to expand...

It says 'optimal' range is 68-73. My conspiracy theory is that is a generic room temp.

I too ferment WLP001 at 60-62*f ambient air temp (likely 65-67 actual) and get great results. Some had reported a subtle peach flavor with a low ferment temp, but i havent noticed it.

hop guy: I think 001 yeast is happier at 68-72 and it does its job more productively. Fermenting it cooler is akin to treating it more like a lager, more time and yeast required, and it comes out cleaner on my palette (meaning, less fruity esters). In the summer, it's more practical for some folks, myself included, to ferment around 70 degrees and it turns out fine. That said, hand me a pint of both and I'll grab the one that fermented colder first...

Hm, I have some washed WLP001 in the fridge and was gonna brew another batch soon. Maybe ill experiment and ferment a few degrees colder this time. 64-66 degrees or so. Maybe ramp it up to aroud 68-70 after a week or two, what do u think

This is my go to yeast for IPA's and I always ferment at 62 degrees which means my ambient temps get down to about 54 when the yeast is really going. I just checked my latest batch last night. OG was 1.070 and it took it down to 1.012 with no problem. Of course, proper pitching rates and oxygination are key, especially if you are at the low end. With your ambient temp or 58-60...you should be golden

Blow off.





Actual temp.

This is a red ale I breed Saturday night. Wlp001.

mux said:

Blow off.

Actual temp.

This is a red ale I breed Saturday night. Wlp001.

Click to expand...

That's not how I normally make my beer, but to each his own.

another one for it being fine at low temps. i regularly take 05 or 1056 down to the low 60s. actually, the last time i used 05 is let it kick off at 58 degrees ambient (60ish in the fermenter) before bringing it up to 60 ambient (~65 in the fermenter).
i would always make a starter when using liquid yeast, especially when fermenting cool.

+1 for 60*. I ferment my house pale ale with WLP001 at 60* for a super clean finish.

If you're worried about attenuation and/or a low FG, try your best to bring it up to ~68-70 for a few days.

well i checked my stater about an hour or so ago and it stared to bubble so i'm pretty happy right now. And all this talk about fermenting at 60 degrees is making me feel better. My temp right now inside with my test is at 60 - 62 degrees.

Quick question now. I was going to brew today but something came up. My starter is in 61 degree room right now which is where my carboy will be placed. I'm not going to be able to brew until Saturday now. Will it be ok if i leave it there until then? Or is that to long of a period?

I read once someone claiming to not use their starters for 7 days. I would probably just put it in the fridge and the day of the brew take it out and let it warm up to pitching temps, decant, then pitch.

Kmart0104 said:

Quick question now. I was going to brew today but something came up. My starter is in 61 degree room right now which is where my carboy will be placed. I'm not going to be able to brew until Saturday now. Will it be ok if i leave it there until then? Or is that to long of a period?

Click to expand...

It's fine. It's like a little mini batch of beer.

Thank you for the quick reply but i just got two different answers.

Kmart0104 said:

Thank you for the quick reply but i just got two different answers.

Click to expand...

Welcome to homebrewing!

It'll be fine if you just left it alone. But I agree with H-ost that sticking it in the fridge might be the way to go. That way the yeast will drop to the bottom and go to sleep--this makes it easier to decant the beer without wasting billions of suspended yeast cells. Be sure, though, if you go the fridge route, to take it out the morning you plan to brew so it can come back up to room temp. I decant right when I take it out of the fridge, leaving a little beer behind so I can swirl up a slurry to pour it in the primary. Good luck! Also, if you have a huge starter, it's not a bad idea to pull off a bit for your next batch to make another starter from--it'll save you the trouble of washing yeast since there's no hop matter and little trub in there now.

Ok thanks I threw it in the fridge. I'll leave it alone until Sat morning the day i'm goign to brew. And you're saying to take the top layer of the wort that i made off of the yeast? So dont pour that into the carboy with the yeast is what you're saying? What or why wouldn't you pour that with it?

Back to the original problem. I was having a problem with cold nights a week or so ago. I also keep my heat low (or off). I went down and bought a 15 dollar space heater and for the room it was in. Takes a little trial and error and the temperature wasn't steady like a rock but it worked pretty good. Also I wrapped my fermenter in an old sweat shirt but I'm not sure how much that helped.... Good Luck!



***Edit: wasn't steady like a rock

Any ifo helps. I'll deft wrap an old sweatshirt or blanket around it. Hopefully that will get the temp up a degree or two.

There's no reason you can't pour the whole thing in but some folks just want the yeast (not the beer it made from your starter). Think about it: you likely used DME for the starter, didn't add hops, and fermented on the warm side. So adding one or two liters of that to your wort might change up the flavors a bit. Frankly, I doubt it matters too much but I choose not to, especially for light colored beers. Others disagree and want every last yeast cell to pitch--cold crashing will drop a lot of those cells out.