WTK: Typical WLP007 Fermentation Time

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ultravista

ultravista

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I brewed a batch of Arrogant Bastard last week and pitched a 1.5L starter of WLP007 into an oxygenated fermenter (O2 through a 200 micron stone). The OG was 1.067. It has been at a constant 68 to 70 degrees.

As a first time WLP007 user, I am curious to know how quickly, or the typical fermentation time for this yeast strain.

It was going hot and heavy for the first three days, then started to slow down a bit. I have not taken a gravity reading but I am pretty confident it's done.

It has been 7 days today.

From those of you that have used this yeast before, what is the general yeast flocculation/attenuation time?
 
Patience, young padawan. Just give it 2-3 weeks to condition and clean up. You will have beer in 3-7 days after pitching, but it won't be smooth. The yeast need a little more time to reabsorb their off flavors.
 
Ditto on the 2-3 weeks to clean up. It might be a nice experiment when you are taking a gravity reading to give the beer a taste now and then over the next week in primary. I am pretty sure you will notice some harsh, off-flavors dissipate over the week.
 
bobbrews said:
Patience, young padawan. Just give it 2-3 weeks to condition and clean up. You will have beer in 3-7 days after pitching, but it won't be smooth. The yeast need a little more time to reabsorb their off flavors.
Click to expand...

+1 to this. I never recommend doing a primary for less than 2 weeks, just to give the yeast some time to do the job. There job is not just fermenting sugars, but also the clean up work afterward.
 
Dunno, dunno, it all depends how healthy the yeast is and your pitching/culturing practices, but its possible that yeast finished in less than a week. I know this is against typical practice here, but I use that yeast ALOT and it finishes and clears very quickly. It feels safer to give it that extra time to "condition", but trust your palate over trusted techniques. If the beer has cleared up (and this yeast clears dramatically on its own, without cold temps) and it tastes good, then go ahead and proceed. There are usually little to no off-flavors at the end of a healthy fermentation with 007, but for sure once again, this depends on your practices. A yeast that has flocc'd out is not doing much anymore.

I brew with that yeast commercially in conicals, and I brew with it at home. If treated right, in both cases I am drinking those beers within two weeks. The beers are not just fine, they are excellent when clear.

Different strains of yeast can have dramatically different behavior in the same environment.

While I do agree yeast in general beers end up better with some extra time on the yeast, I do think its more useful to understand your yeast strain, rather than treating ALL yeasts with the same philosophy of "2-3 weeks to clean up off flavors". Knowledge is power eh.
 
Budzu said:
Dunno, dunno, it all depends how healthy the yeast is and your pitching/culturing practices, but its possible that yeast finished in less than a week. I know this is against typical practice here, but I use that yeast ALOT and it finishes and clears very quickly. It feels safer to give it that extra time to "condition", but trust your palate over trusted techniques. If the beer has cleared up (and this yeast clears dramatically on its own, without cold temps) and it tastes good, then go ahead and proceed. There are usually little to no off-flavors at the end of a healthy fermentation with 007, but for sure once again, this depends on your practices. A yeast that has flocc'd out is not doing much anymore.

I brew with that yeast commercially in conicals, and I brew with it at home. If treated right, in both cases I am drinking those beers within two weeks. The beers are not just fine, they are excellent when clear.

Different strains of yeast can have dramatically different behavior in the same environment.

While I do agree yeast in general beers end up better with some extra time on the yeast, I do think its more useful to understand your yeast strain, rather than treating ALL yeasts with the same philosophy of "2-3 weeks to clean up off flavors". Knowledge is power eh.
Click to expand...

I fully agree. I'd add that if you start a bit cooler and end a bit warmer you will need much less "conditioning" time. This is also a bot of a generalization but it works that way with 007 and most yeasts.
 
Budzu said:
Dunno, dunno, it all depends how healthy the yeast is and your pitching/culturing practices, but its possible that yeast finished in less than a week. I know this is against typical practice here, but I use that yeast ALOT and it finishes and clears very quickly. It feels safer to give it that extra time to "condition", but trust your palate over trusted techniques. If the beer has cleared up (and this yeast clears dramatically on its own, without cold temps) and it tastes good, then go ahead and proceed. There are usually little to no off-flavors at the end of a healthy fermentation with 007, but for sure once again, this depends on your practices. A yeast that has flocc'd out is not doing much anymore.

I brew with that yeast commercially in conicals, and I brew with it at home. If treated right, in both cases I am drinking those beers within two weeks. The beers are not just fine, they are excellent when clear.

Different strains of yeast can have dramatically different behavior in the same environment.

While I do agree yeast in general beers end up better with some extra time on the yeast, I do think its more useful to understand your yeast strain, rather than treating ALL yeasts with the same philosophy of "2-3 weeks to clean up off flavors". Knowledge is power eh.
Click to expand...

Amen brother! I find that my beers benefit more from 1-2 weeks cold conditioning than an extended primary. Against the popular advice, but works for me ( I've tried both repeatedly ).
 
logdrum said:
Amen brother! I find that my beers benefit more from 1-2 weeks cold conditioning than an extended primary. Against the popular advice, but works for me ( I've tried both repeatedly ).
Click to expand...

I agree with the past few posters.

I used WLP007 for about a year, and recently switched to WLP002 with a 145/158 step mash. The wort is a little more fermentable than I was getting with single infusion, so I am confident that the fermentation schedules would be similar despite 007 being regarded as the higher attenuator.

I like to oxygenate and pitch a big starter at 64F. 12-24 hours after pitching, I increase to 67F. 48 hours after pitching, I increase to 70F. 60 hours after pitching (when fermentation is nearly complete) I add my 1st dry hop and allow the little bit of remaining activity to scrub out any oxygen the hops introduce. 10 days after pitching, I remove the blowoff tube and just cover the little hole on my carboy cap with a piece of sanitized foil and crash down to about 35F. Removing the blowoff tube is imperative in avoiding suckback. Two weeks after pitching, I bottle.

Budzu said it very well. It comes down to understanding your yeast. English strains work hard and fast. You have to embrace their activity early, because they will get sluggish as fermentation slows and they drop out of solution.
 

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