White Labs 351 - Oops?

[Brewticus]

Need some help here... I brewed a Weizen yesterday with the intent of using White Labs 351 "Bavarian Weizen" yeast, as I've liked the outcome on some previous projects.

For whatever reason the process last night took far too long. I couldn't get things to boil nearly as quickly as I have in the past. Thus extending my process time to 3+hrs for a 5gal batch. My frustration continued as I split the tubing on my wort chiller and only got the wort down to around 85F or so....

So at the end of the process, I had a decision to make. Pitch the yeast (which I had in a starter all day and was humming along) higher than I wanted or wait until today and risk infection. Just having ruined a 5 gal batch due to some infection (still not sure what happened) I opted to pitch.

No bubbling on the airlock this AM. Pitched at 11:00pm yesterday.

So, what in the parlance of my native Western New York "What do yous guys think?" did I kill the yeast? Should I visit the LHBS and get another tube and re-pitch?

 

[Lechien]

I personally would have cooled the fermentor with a water or ice bath, I've read of some people here doing no cooling and pitching the next day with great success.

I've never pitched that high so I can't answer if it will be ok.

It's still pretty early for any airlock activity, I know its not the best way to gauge fermentation. You will get lecture about basing anything on airlock activity from some here.

 

[Brewticus]

OK, crisis averted. We have full on bubblage.... Follow on question for those who know more than I.... Basement temperature is a rather constant 60F. It's supposed to surge into the upper 90's here in the Boston area on Thursday, house is an 1840-ish vintage with no artificial cooling...... I plan to move the fermentor down to the the cooler environs to avoid banana-rama with the Bavarian Weizen yeast.

Good idea to keep it cooler, bordering on too cold, or ride the hot blast..... Instinct tells me to "keep it cool" but I'd like to see what "yous guys" think....

 

[Fyeah2010]

Totally tripping out about a White labs trappist ale yeast wlp500. It has been almost 22hours since I pitched my yeast and I have no action in the fermenter. I thought I had my wort temp below 79 degrees But I am starting to think that I may have got a little impatient and added it too quickly. Another mistake i may have made was too violent an agitation. I was trying to clean the yeast from the inside of my bottle neck but reading around today I see many warnings about not splashing right now Im trying to bring the temperature up to 75 degrees i think it may have reached 68 or 65 today. Did I kill it

 

[appanooserapids]

I make a Summer Weiss with the White Labs 351, and just wanted to share my experience. I brewed 6 - 5 gallon batches last week, using 4 vials (which I keep refrigerated) of 351, and two washed batches of 351 (2nd generation). My two washed batches, as well as 3 of the 4 vial batches, were doing great. One carboy had absolutely no activity. That was my first bad vial in about 20 vials, which were all purchased at the same time. Sometimes you just get a dud, I think. I had to resort to pitching WB-06 because I was out of stock on the 351. It is humming along like the others, now.

Against popular recommendations, I don't make starters. I just pitch the yeast from the vial, and it works well most of the time.

 

[Legin]

Brew: What's the current temp? You want to get it into the recommended ferment range as quickly as possible and hold it there. Whatever method will do that use it. Note that carboys are well insulated. Buckets, not so much.

FYeah: It takes much higher temps to kill yeast. You can certainly shock them and slow the starting process, but it should start. Besides, an inoculation of 70 degrees is recommended as it cuts down on lag time. I've had fermentations take two days before showing signs of activity. Not once have I had them not. They are pretty resilient. Never heard of shaking killing them.

 

[Brewticus]

Legin: Right now I'm holding a solid 67F. +/- 1F. I track the temperature with a remote temp/humidity transponder I leashed to the carboy. I'm fermenting in a 6.5gal acid carboy, so I've got that going for me.

We'll see what happens... It's supposed to be 86F in Boston today... At least I was smart enough to ferment in my carboy that actually has a handle!

Thanks all!