Quick fermentation of WLP004

On friday i brewed an imperial stout. I made a yeast starter the day before and the brew day went off without a hitch. Mash temp was 152F and hit my TG at a 76% effiecency. I aerated very well before pitching and i also added some yeast nutrient to the boil. The next day the fermentation was going nuts and was staying at around 72F. THe krausen blew out the top with blow off tube attached. THen the yeast quickly began to settle. Not unusual for past fermentations ive had but the SG was 1.093. Seems like it was settling out a little quick for that high of gravity. It is only tues and i plan on a 2-3 week primary fermentation, then a few months in the secondary before bottling.

My question is, has anyone ever had a similar experience using this yeast on a similar gravity beer? Just seems very quick. THe yeast is even settling out on the ribs of my carboy. I usually only see that in the secondary or a primary that is 2 weeks or more old.

Don't know if it helps any, but I pitched this same yeast into a stout on Sunday and by yesterday afternoon the krausen was already completely gone. I remember the same thing happening the other times I've brewed this recipe as well.

I've used that yeast many times for my stout and will be using it again on Friday. I usually keep it under 70*F. I aim to keep it around 65-68 and get decent results with it. Honestly don't know about the krausen due to keeping it in a bucket primary for about 28 days. I usually do not even check on it until the last week.

beerloaf

Yeah im a 5 year carboy watcher. It soothes me sometimes.

I pitched at 64F but the fermentation brought it up to 72 and the krausen fell before i had a chance to cool it down. Though, i dont think this will be a problem with fruity tastes from the yeast since this imperial is as thick as motor oil. Thanks for the input

Seems to me 04 is always a fast fermenter, at least that has been my experiance. I have a Porter that I brewed on Sunday that was past very active fermentation by Wednesday. Not an Imperial Stout but... I have had pretty similar experiances with 05 as well.

Just pitched wlp004 in an oatmeal stout on Sunday. I could see visual signs of fermentation within 2 hours. This morning, 2 days later the krausen has already dropped out. I haven't seen that before with the other yeast strains I've used either. Usually it takes about a week to a week and a half it it to drop out. But this time I did have the temp a little higher that I usually do, around 71 degrees.

older thread, but I wanted to ask about the krausen on WLP 004. I plan on racking an Imperial Stout or something like that to the yeast cake from another beer brewed with WLP 004. Is the krausen thick enough with good yeast to scoop some off and save for a smaller dry stout?

Yeah it should be. You may want to step it up with a starter before you do unless you scoop off a lot of the krausen. Do it fast though because it will drop out fast on that yeast strain. Now if you are racking on a yeast cake be prepared for a huge blow off especially with a higher gravity beer. I usually only use about 1/3 to 1/4 of my yeast cakes just because it will create a huge sticky mess if you don't have blow off tubes.

I noticed a few of you were fermenting it at higher than 70°, have you bottled/kegged any of these batches that were fermented at those temps? I wanted to ask how they turned out because ive read that you should keep WLP004 under 70°. i pitched my yeast yesterday for an oatmeal stout im making and its very active but the temp was at 72. Ive since moved it to a colder spot to hopefully bring it down a few degrees. Im worried about excess diacetyl in my beer, after a week once active fermentatio.s done should i move it bsck to the warmer spot for a warm diacetyl break or am i just overreacting/overthinking it?

Yeah this yeast goes quick! I pitched 004 in an oatmeal stout on Monday (2/12). It was fermenting in 4 hours and blowing-off the next day. I pitched a 1l starter at 65deg and the temp was up to 74deg 12hrs later! Airlock is currently quiet an I'm now maintaining 68degs.

I'm with beerloaf on the krausen falling; I ferment in a bucket and never take a peek until 2-3 weeks when it's time to keg.

BTW, on a previous porter, I pitched this yeast at 75deg and let it go. The next morning it was going nuts at 82degs!!! I set the bucket outside to drop the temp. to 72 (in 4hours) and the airlock activity seemed to cease. It was finished when I racked to keg 2wks later, however it did have a sharp alcohol taste for about a month and finally mellowed out after 2 months in the keg. I just took a sip a minute ago and.....ummmmmmmmm.

I brewed a stout last Friday with 004 and by Monday the krausen had settled the beer was already starting to clear. Haven't taken a gravity reading yet but I'm willing to bet it is there.

Duuuuuuuuude. I pitched WLP004 on Saturday afternoon (it's Monday morning now).

Checking every 8 hours or so, I never saw anything interesting in that bucket. But at some point between viewings, the stealthy gent had apparently built itself a huge krausen (judging by the 4" dried foam ring) and then collapsed back into itself completely, leaving no evidence and screeching down from 1.069 to 1.024 in a day and a half. Freaky.

Yeah she's a beast! My stout turned out awesome and it was the quickest fermentation I've seen yet.

Yeah My fermentation was very fast as well. My stout tastes fine except that it tastes like its higher ABV than it actually is. Has a definite ethanol flavour in the background, I think its because of the overly warm temps in the beginning because I didn't cool the wort enough and had it in a warm spot for the first day or two (which was when most of the fermenting was done )

ADL said:

Yeah My fermentation was very fast as well. My stout tastes fine except that it tastes like its higher ABV than it actually is. Has a definite ethanol flavour in the background, I think its because of the overly warm temps in the beginning because I didn't cool the wort enough and had it in a warm spot for the first day or two (which was when most of the fermenting was done )

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Mine did as well. It mellowed out after 3 months in the keg and turned out great. I bet yours will too.

I figured I could add my 2 cents in to this thread since all the posts discuss running the temperature 70 F or more with WLP004. Where as I ran my temperature fairly low.

I brewed up a batch of BYO "Bad Santa" this past Sunday(11/17) and pitched according to mrmalty yeast calculator. I pitched at 62 F and fermentation was visible in less than 8 hours. Over the next 24 hours the temperature increased to 68 F. So I moved the carboy into a water bath to cool off the fermentation (no fermentation fridge). By 11/20 the krausen had already dropped, the fermentation has held steady at 64F, while the airlock is still slowly but steadily chugging away. I took a gravity reading this morning to see where I'm at, 1.029. Hopefully 004 can work a few more points off the the reading and dry it up just a little more.

Edit: No obvious ethanol flavors in the sample. Still very fresh though, it'll need a few weeks

I ferment this yeast at 18.3C or 65F (temp controlled +/- 0.3C). I've enjoyed stout, red, small IPA and am now brewing a bigger IPA. This yeast hammers fast at the ferment but doesn't push as low as some yeasts. My last stout was at FG in 4-5 days and kegged on day 7. The speed and clarity of my brews are building my confidence in this yeast.
Dry Stouts,
OG 1.040 FG 1.010
OG 1.040 FG 1.010
OG 1.041 FG 1.010

Irish Red,
OG 1.054 FG 1.010

small IPA with 3oz dryhop,
OG 1.047 FG 1.009 good clarity

Two days ago I brewed an IPA with OG 1.066
currently at SG 1.028 40 hours in...

Not liking the yeast character but FG 1.013 was a reasonable attenuation after 7 days. Probably the last IPA I Brew with this yeast.