Slow Motion Danstar Munich dry yeast

I've used this yeast in a couple extract kits before with no problem. One was Brewer's Best Weizenbier. The other was Midwest Supplies Hank's Hefe. Both had vigorous fermentation within 12-24 hours. Now here I am over 48 hours into fermentation and this is all I have to show for it:



Now, I'm glad to see that there is finally activity... yesterday there was absolutely nothing, and this morning there were just some patches of tiny bubbles. But can you help me work on better practices for future brews so that I have more healthy starts to my fermentation? And if you have any tips on this one, I would appreciate them as well. Here's my procedure.

I followed Deathbrewer's Easy Stovetop Partial Mash method to brew his Dunkelweizen recipe.
3 #'s wheat malt
2 #'s munich malt
.25 #'s pale chocolate malt
3 #'s wheat dme
.75 oz tettnang bittering hops
and I decided on Munich yeast.

0 hours: After boiling I cooled wort down as much as I could. I believe it was around 90 when I siphoned into the bucket. While I was cooling the wort I rehydrated the yeast in about 86 degree water. I stirred it after 15 mins per directions. I topped off the bucket with cold tapwater and it rested at about 82 degrees. By this time the rehydrated yeast was about 84, so I added a bit of wort, waited a few minutes, then pitched. After pitching I took the bucket into my SOFC with a blowoff tube and set the temperature for 60 degrees. This was about 8:00 pm on Monday.

12 hours: I was surprised when I didn't hear the blowoff tube bubbling the next morning when I left for work.

24 hours: I let it be, but when I got home from work I was concerned that it still wasn't bubbling. I opened the lid for the first time to see that the surface of the wort was still placid. No activity whatsoever. I bumped the temperature up to 65 degrees in the chiller.

36 hours: I had another look this morning. I saw some patches of tiny bubbles on the surface so I didn't change anything.

48 hours: I picked up some Nottingham at Friar Tuck's on the way home from work because they didn't have Munich or any other yeasts for wheat beers for that matter. Checked the fermenter again and saw what is pictured above. Raised the temp in the chiller to 67-68. Will check progress again tomorrow.

72 hours: ????

In the future would I be better off cooling the wort to 65 in the chiller before pitching, then sprinkle the yeast on dry? Rehydrating and then adjusting the temp of the yeast from 85 down to 65 before pitching seems like quite a chore.

Any other advice for future brews?

Any advice for this brew? I haven't bothered to take a hydrometer reading since the yeast appears to just be getting started. I suppose I just let the yeast run its course and check the FG before making any other decisions. It's just funny that I've followed this procedure twice before without any problems.

I know I'll probably get blasted with Revvy's fermentation may take 24-72 hours link, but from what I have read and the little bit of experience I have had, I thought that was geared more toward liquid yeast than dry.

60 hours:


Still very little progress.

72 hours:


*yawn* I guess it's alive. I'll keep an eye on it and post any updates. After a week or two the hydrometer will tell the story.

One question, why do you keep opening your fermentor??

enderwig said:

One question, why do you keep opening your fermentor??

Click to expand...

Valid question. I opened it the first time because it had been 24 hours with no visible activity and the temperature of the fermenter was no warmer than the chiller. Then, since I didn't see any signs of activity, I kept opening it every 12 hours or so to verify that fermentation had started and is progressing.

After the latest one I don't intend to open the lid again for another week or so just to see if I can get a gravity reading. Normally I don't touch the lid for a week, but things have just been unusual this time around.

Just following up as I am about to bottle this (hopefully tomorrow). A little bit more than a week after pitching the gravity was down to 1.014, so we'll see how it tastes in 3-4 weeks.

6 weeks later and it definitely has a funk about it. It has a sour taste and then sour smell is stronger.

Now I'm kicking myself for not replacing the racking can and hoses I used to rack this to the bottling bucket. I have already used the same equipment for 2 more brews.

Oh well, all I can do now is hope for the best on future brews and try to choke this down while hoping it improves.

Even though your temps weren't ideal when you pitched the yeast, I am really starting to question the Danstar products line.

Slow fermentation and funky, trash can aromas seem to be a common component when using their yeasts.

Look for the Nottingham yeast recall threads.

Why can't they print their information along the edge of the satchets? I've seen additional yeast packs since their lot recall and most still have a stong print impression and possibly pin holes in the pack.

I've got a 5.5 gal of dunkelweizen i pitched with the same yeast. OG was 1.070, after 14 days, it's only 1.030... i know weizens have estery smells, but this one smells very cidery.... probably the last time i'll use this yeast. maybe t-58 next time, or if i decide to go high dollar some liquid yeast.

I just made hefeweizen today and used the DanStar Munich yeast... This is the first yeast that when proofed showed absolutely ZERO activity after 1 hour in the jar with a teaspoon of sugar... I wasn't expecting a strong takeoff like with Safeale S-04, but jeeezz, I expected at least some signs of life or a bubble or 2... instead it sank to the bottom of the jar and just sat there...


I went ahead and pitched it based on recommendation from AHS, but my gut feeling is telling me that this yeast was dead on arrival...
I once proofed a Munton's yeast packet that barely showed a few surface bubbles and all was well, so I guess I will pick up a spare packet from my LHBS and hope for a miracle...

I just brewed that same deathbrewer recipe, pitched it onto a yeast cake used for a wheat made with wyeast weihenstephan yeast.... oh boy did the fermentation ever stink!!!! Smelled like ass. I'm looking for to it though. My first partial mash.

Sorry to hear about yours. Hopefully it mellows out for you.

Don't be sorry about my batch... it will still probably be awesome!... I'm just not sure the Danstar Munich is going to take off... It is the first time I've done a yeast proofing that failed the test... it *may* still work... I'm not sure yet... and if it doesn't, I will go and get some more yeast... some have said that this yeast is very slow to start...

To followup, mine did mellow out over the course of 6ish months. It went from being undrinkably sour to one day being tolerable. I forced a lot of bottles down just to empty them, but toward the end it even became pleasant.

Come to think of it, I gave my brother a sample 6-pack of homebrew a couple weeks ago and he said that this was his favorite one. He claimed the others were too hoppy.

I also bought a Honey Wheat beer from Midwest Supplies that has been happily fermenting for a week and a half now which came with Munich. It took off within 12 hours (It was rehydrated).

Don't worry, there is hope! Just stash it away for late fall.

You mention that you ran to the store and bought more yeast? Did you re-pitch or just hang on to it as a backup?

20 hours into fermentation and the carboy looks like a jug of flat apple juice... no kraussen, no airlock activity, dead silence when putting my ear to the side of the better bottle...

This is the first yeast I've done that failed to "proof" when following Palmer's method... I probably should not have even pitched it... his book says to get new yeast if this happens... either he is right, or Danstar Munich is the slowest yeast in the world...

56 hours in... its finally going strong.... although it failed the "proofing" test, it is just slow to start... maybe this is a characteristic of this particular yeast... I never opened the carboy, but after 30 or so hours I did give it a good vigorous swirl at the neck...

I know this is an old thread,

I made a wheat extract brew and pitched a packet of Danstar Munich.
It's been 24 hours and nothing (let me also add that the 30 odd brews i've done in the past I've always had vigorous fermentation by 12-13 hours). The wort also smells "funky".

Should I RDWAHAHB? Or stop it before it gets infected.

geoffny25 said:

I know this is an old thread,

I made a wheat extract brew and pitched a packet of Danstar Munich.
It's been 24 hours and nothing (let me also add that the 30 odd brews i've done in the past I've always had vigorous fermentation by 12-13 hours). The wort also smells "funky".

Should I RDWAHAHB? Or stop it before it gets infected.

Click to expand...

If I was in your position, I would probably pitch more yeast. I have used Munich before and after this brew and it was the only one that took so long to ferment, and it was the only one that tasted like crap early on. I actually brewed this Dunkelweizen recipe again recently and it turned out much better.

I was not impressed with the results. I ended up with a hefe that didn't taste good without using an orange slice. I won't be using danstar Munich in the future. It is the slowest yeast ever to start. Make sure and swirl the carboy several times to try and wake it up. Or don't and just add some Nottingham

I'm bumping this up just for my two cents worth. I did a Dunkel with Danstar. OG was 44 and the thing stalled out on me at 20 after two weeks. That's only the second time I've used Danstar and both times it wouldn't finish for me. It's time for me to re-think using Danstar. Fourty+ dollars worth of recipe just to not ferment completely because of a five dollar yeast pack.

Having the same problem with Danstar Windsor yeast right now. My Milk Stout started at 1.064 and is just not moving from 1.027. Been swirling my bucket all week to get it going, but looks like I might need to pitch some more yeast to get it at least down to 1.020 and ideally a notch below that.

"ass" "stink" "problems" "thin and watery" "little flavor"....

These are some of the descriptions of Danstar Munich I have read here.

I am definitely concerned. I have read exactly one (1) thread where Danstar seemed to have some success at achieving true Hefewiezen style results.

I am making my first Hefeweizen from a kit using this yeast tomorrow. The LHBS was out of Weihenstefen 3068, so I had to toss the recipe and use a Brewer's best kit.

I'm planning on trying to Ferment in the basement with an ambient Temp of about 66. That should probably lend itself to having the internal temp around 68 to 70?

What the heck am I gonna get? Is it going to be at least somewhat of a Bavarian Hefe?

I have had successful fermentations with Danstar Munich as well, this was apparently a weak sachet. I think you can get some more variety out of liquid yeasts when it comes to wheat beers. I have used it for more "American" style wheat beers that are not real estery or clovey... I think you'll make beer, but it may not have the precise profile that you are looking for.