WLP029 Tolerences?

Ok, so after flubbing my first batch of beer (cheesy simple extract thing), I happened across a cooler and a big stainless steel bucket and am all in on my second batch of beer...

This time an all grain clone of O'Fallon's Cherry Chocolate. I used WLP029, and pitched it when my wort had cooled to 75 degrees. Checked by my digital thermometer.

It's nearly 24 hours later and there's nothing going on...same thing that happened with my last batch of beer. My house is cold, which I know is a problem! I built a little incubation chamber today, in hopes of regulating the enviornment that the fermentation bucket is in.

What are the heat and cold tolerences of WLP029?
I looked on white labs site, and they give the optimum fermentation temp, which I am currently trying to bring my incubation chamber up to.

How long should I wait before I pitch a new yeast? Should that even be neccessary?

What temp are you at right now? Wand where are you trying to get to? What was the OG of the wort and did you make a starter if it was over 1.060?

029 is my choice for Kolsch. It is a pretty clean yeast that works well for Alts. It does get a little hinky below 60. I try and keep it about 65 for about 72 hours which gives me plenty of time for the most active fermentation to occur. Then I drop it to 60 and let it go through the remainder of fermentation. I bring it back up slowly to 68 to 70 for bottle conditioning and leave it there at least a week.

Thanks beerman0001 & badhabit for responding!

-Temp it dropped to in the fermentation bucket was 58 degrees (my house sits at between 45 & 51 average this time of year)
-Current temp I'm up to in the incubation chamber: 64 degrees
-My OG was 1.046 adjusted for temperature of the wort at reading
-I'm trying to get to an appropriate sustained temp that will induce active fermentation

Holding it around 60 isn't too hard, bottle conditioning at 68-70 degrees is going to take some forethought. I'm certain that my slapdash incubator will maintain a temp that high...

I did not do a starter, but I did warm the yeast vial up to "normal room temperature" before I pitched it.

Should I see fermentation on the surface when it does begin? I seem to recall seeing pictures of VERY volcanic fermentation from this strain?!!

I use wlp029 all the time. It's my go to yeast. You should be fine at 60. I typically ferment between 64-68 but I've had it lower with no ill effects.

Did you make a starter? That may be the problem.

You should start to see some activity soon at that temp. Just give the fermenter a good shake to get yeast back into suspension.

Thanks guys! I gave the bucket a good slosh before I stuck it in the incubator. I've got my fingers crossed...am hoping I'll see signs of life when I get home from work tonight!!

fatal_degree said:

I did not do a starter, but I did warm the yeast vial up to "normal room temperature" before I pitched it.

Should I see fermentation on the surface when it does begin? I seem to recall seeing pictures of VERY volcanic fermentation from this strain?!!

Click to expand...

I have pretty active fermentation from 029 but not as grand as others, like S-05. Don't forget to always make a starter. If you need info on doing that there's plenty info here. I think you will be fine.

I actually swiped some yeast from a couple bottles of O'fallons beer...but at the last minute I decided that I didn't want to screw up another batch of beer with wild experimentation. So I sprung for the good stuff while sitting at work, staring at the cooler full of white labs yeast.

There still wasn't any action when I got home from work last night. The incubator is rudimentary, but with some babysittiing, it does the trick. I woke up at 4:am briefly, and had to peek in the bucket.... I am pleased to report that it is full of krausen!

Sounds great. Now make sure that it does not get too warm!!

Thanks! I'm fluctuating a bit, but I've minimized the extremes appreciably. My gravity has dropped from 1.046 OG to 1.036. This morning I took the wort's temp, and it held at 64 all night. Right in the target range! It was super frothy this morning. Starting to get that sulpher smell! At least I have read that the smell is normal. I would've freaked out about that too.

I have a lot of exeperience with WLP029 and it hates COLD! I think 65-68 degrees is right on, and I have used it at 70 before with great results, just a few more esthers, but they were tasty.

I tried the yeast at 55 before, and it did not take off at all....has to be above 60, preferebly higher.

Seeing how that plays out for sure!! It's unrealistic for me to keep an even temp in the 60's, but it is mostly in the proper range now, and the fluctuations are much less drastic. I know I have made other rookie mistakes with this batch that are likely to effect the final flavor...there's room for improvement all around.

Baby steps...right now I'm pleased with active, sustained, fermentation. Especially in my house that can dip into the 30's every night. I think I have identified some of my errors, and will adjust them in future batches!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

Fatal,
Good thing you're paying close attention to the temperature -- it is so important for good beer! But you can trade some money for time at this point. Buy a thermostat and hook it up to an electric blanket. Wrap the e-blanket around your carboy and then wrap a towel around the whole thing for insulation. You can forget about your beer for the week while it ferments at the perfect temp.