Adventures In Underpitching

I think I just majorly underpitched a Belgian ale. Here's the recipe:

8lb XLt LME (UC Pale)
2lb sugar
2lb Pilsner malt (partial mashed @150F for 45 min)
2oz Styrian Goldings @ 5%AA bittering
1oz Saaz @ 4%AA 15min
.75oz Saaz @ 4%AA 5min

I had planned ahead with a 3qt starter of Wyeast1388 Belgian Strong Ale and all was going well until I decanted the starter and accidently dumped most of the yeast down the drain. I poured some bottled spring water into the gallon jug to pick up the bottom sedimentand pitched that and followed with a vial of WL500 Trappist that I had in the fridge. On top of that I didn't get enough of a sample to measure OG accurately. (I know its over 1.088) Way I see it, I'll either get a stuck ferment or a lot of esters and fusils. Any guesses/suggestions?

Here's the way I see it: RDWHAHB! Long lag time...probably not cause for a stuck fermentation. Possibly a few off flavors, especially if some unforseen nasties made their way into the fermenter to compete with the yeast. That extra vial of yeast should've taken care of any possible problems.

Well, as of this morning the airlock is bubbling @ 1bps. Musta had enough yeast between the two to do the job. Nice white inch thick krausen too. MMMmmmm...

Carne de Perro said:

Well, as of this morning the airlock is bubbling @ 1bps. Musta had enough yeast between the two to do the job. Nice white inch thick krausen too. MMMmmmm...

Click to expand...

In all honesty, I didn't even use starters until my last batch. The second batch I did was an Irish Red, with a 1.058 OG. I know it's not that high of gravity, but by all accounts, a starter should be used for that when using liquid yeast. I had a vial of White Labs Irish Ale yeast (1004 I think), and to be honest, I thought at the time that liquid cultures had a higher cell count than dry yeast :cross: , so I just pitched the vial. It still took off within 24 hours, and the beer tasted great.

On the other hand, I have a batch of oatmeal stout bottle conditioning right now, and I didn't use a starter for that yeast, either (Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale). Again, I ignorantly thought that a starter wasn't necessary. I thought the smack pak functioned as a starter. That one took a bit longer to start fermenting, and from a couple of samples I've tasted, it's really not all that pleasent. I've been told that oatmeal stouts require quite a bit more aging, but so far I'm not very impressed.

Regardless, it sounds like your ferment took off well within a reasonable amount of time. I bet you'll be just fine.

Trust me, all concerns of a lag time or stuck ferment have fled completely. I'm watching the krausen grow from 1 inch to 2&1/2 inches in less than an hour. Might need to wrap towels around the neck and keep an eye on it today.

Don't let it get too hot. You want fruity, not juicy-fruity!

It's 70F right now and bubbling @ 2-3 bps. I mentioned towels as I don't have a blowoff hose and the krausen in about 2 inches from the neck. At this rate I may need to put an umbella over the carboy to protect the ceiling. And I worried about lag time... I wish I knew what my starting OG was though, the hydrometer sank like a rock with the line at 1.088.