Has anyone else had a problem with this yeast? I created a starter Wednesday night, brewed and pitched at noon this Saturday and have yet to see any activity. I left Wyeast smack pack out all night Wednesday with no noticeable swelling whatsoever. I shook the starter like crazy Friday night and saw some real slow movement in the airlock lid and one small bubble. At what point do I declare it a loss? Starter and primary fermentator have been between 50-60 deg Farenheit at all times.
Lager yeast problem - Wyeast 2000 Budvar
- Thread starter gopokes98
- Start date
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menschmaschine
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum!
I don't have any specific experience with that yeast, but have done lots of lagers. You should really start a lager starter 7-10 days before brewday... especially if you're keeping the starter temp at primary fermentation temps. That could be why you didn't see any activity in the starter... it just didn't have enough time at that temp. And, consequently, you underpitched. Your lager could have a significant lag time. Lately, I've been getting under 12 hours on all my lagers, but my first one was like 36 hours. You'll want to keep your temp down as low as possible (like 50dF) to help keep the ester production (due to under pitching) at a minimum. I would wait at least 48 hours before taking any action. If it doesn't start by then, you could get another yeast pack or just resort to dry lager yeast.
I don't have any specific experience with that yeast, but have done lots of lagers. You should really start a lager starter 7-10 days before brewday... especially if you're keeping the starter temp at primary fermentation temps. That could be why you didn't see any activity in the starter... it just didn't have enough time at that temp. And, consequently, you underpitched. Your lager could have a significant lag time. Lately, I've been getting under 12 hours on all my lagers, but my first one was like 36 hours. You'll want to keep your temp down as low as possible (like 50dF) to help keep the ester production (due to under pitching) at a minimum. I would wait at least 48 hours before taking any action. If it doesn't start by then, you could get another yeast pack or just resort to dry lager yeast.
korndog
Well-Known Member
I had a similar situation occur recently with the Urquell strain. I repitched some fresh packs from a new shipment and had active fermentation within 12 hours. I'm not sure if the Czech strains have more viability issues than other lager yeasts, since I am new to the style, but I would think that taking the time to make a good starter as stated by mensch, and verifying you are actually getting production is important. The first packs I pitched (3) without a starter (time constraints) did not swell. The fresh yeast packs (2) swelled up fully and were pitch directly without a starter due to concerns about the long lag time.
AdIn
Well-Known Member
I used both Budvar and Urquell strains and do not recall any problems like you mentioned. I usually make starter 4 days in advance and keep it at room temperature. Could it be that the pack you used was very old?
