wlp 530?

[Fat_Bastard]

is this yeast a slow worker?
I brewed dubbel 9 days ago,I added my sugar additions 3 days into fermentation.I still have fermentation activity as of tonight.Is this normal for this yeast?
The only other strain I have used that took this long was wlp 400 which took 2 weeks to finish.

 

[rexbanner]

It's not normal. Did you pitch enough? What temp was it fermenting at? 530 is my house strain. For dubbels I keep it at 75 degrees.

As a point of reference 530 takes my 1.095 SDAs down to FG in five days at 82 degrees.

 

[Fat_Bastard]

The OG before sugar additions was 1.062.I pitched a 2 liter starter plus a whole vial into 66 degree wort that was oxygenated with a tank and stone.I started at 66 degrees and raised the temp over 5 days to 70 degrees where it is still at.white labs lists 66 to 72 degrees as optimal.

 

[matt2778]

I found that my last batch with 530 took as long to finish the last .01 as did to get there. My 1.082 took twelve days starting at 66 degrees and letting it rise to 72.

 

[TimTrone]

It's a perfectly acceptable fermentation time, especially considering that you did a sugar addition just 6 days ago. Don't try to rush it. The yeast don't give a **** about your time table.

 

[g-star]

You can get it down to FG in 5-6 days by raising the temperature quickly and holding it at 75F+, but in my experience, that produces too much solvent/hot alcohol character.

I recently did a dubbel with 530 and held it at 64F for 3 days, then slowly increased to a final temp of 75F over a week and held it there for the last 2 days. Took 10 days total, but it finished right on target at 1.012.

I get a nice mix of esters & phenolic character like this, with absolutely no hot/fusel alcohols.

 

[rexbanner]

The OG before sugar additions was 1.062.I pitched a 2 liter starter plus a whole vial into 66 degree wort that was oxygenated with a tank and stone.I started at 66 degrees and raised the temp over 5 days to 70 degrees where it is still at.white labs lists 66 to 72 degrees as optimal.

Yeah, I've always wondering why White Labs posts those temps, because they're flat out wrong. Consider that the brewery where that yeast comes from takes it way higher. Check out this thread, too. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f73/pious-westvleteren-12-style-quad-multiple-147815/

If you want this yeast to shine, up the temp. It doesn't produce any fusel alcohols if you pitch adequately and aerate enough. I just let it roll at 70-75 for dubbels, no ramping up needed. For a quad, you definitely need to get it around 80.

 

[g-star]

Yeah, I've always wondering why White Labs posts those temps, because they're flat out wrong. Consider that the brewery where that yeast comes from takes it way higher. Check out this thread, too. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f73/pious-westvleteren-12-style-quad-multiple-147815/

If you want this yeast to shine, up the temp. It doesn't produce any fusel alcohols if you pitch adequately and aerate enough. I just let it roll at 70-75 for dubbels, no ramping up needed. For a quad, you definitely need to get it around 80.

In my experience this is bad advice. Aerating and pitching the correct amount of yeast will not negate fusel alcohol production if you just let the fermentation rip in the mid to upper 70's. I've tried it this way, as aeration and pitch rate is something I always pay attention to.

I think there are too many differences between the home and commercial setting (mostly fermentor geometry/open vs closed) to think the practices of the Trappist breweries mentioned in BLAM are automatically amenable to the home brewer.

For what it's worth, JZ recommends a temp range of 64-70. I have found this to produce a nicely balance of esters and phenols, though a ramp to 75 towards the very end of fermentation is helpful to get the beer to dry out fully. Staying in the mid 60's for the first 72 hours is critical.

 

[rexbanner]

In my experience this is bad advice. Aerating and pitching the correct amount of yeast will not negate fusel alcohol production if you just let the fermentation rip in the mid to upper 70's. I've tried it this way, as aeration and pitch rate is something I always pay attention to.

I think there are too many differences between the home and commercial setting (mostly fermentor geometry/open vs closed) to think the practices of the Trappist breweries mentioned in BLAM are automatically amenable to the home brewer.

For what it's worth, JZ recommends a temp range of 64-70. I have found this to produce a nicely balance of esters and phenols, though a ramp to 75 towards the very end of fermentation is helpful to get the beer to dry out fully. Staying in the mid 60's for the first 72 hours is critical.

Respectfully, I disagree. I'm drinking a dubbel I made right now and not a soul in the world would say it has any fusel alcohol. I've used this yeast so many times I've lost count. If you check the Pious thread, you can see many people have used this yeast at high temperature. I wouldn't pitch it at 80 degrees, but I certainly have no qualms about taking in there. 530 is a super yeast that in my opinion is the best Belgian strain and one of the best yeasts period. My experience is the closer you take it to 80, the more dark fruit. With dubbels and tripels, I let it roll in my basement at 68 for one day, then move it upstairs for 75ish. I have a ferm chamber with thermowells as well as an aquarium heater, and I've messed around ramping it to specific temperatures, but I came to the conclusion that it really can handle higher temperatures early in fermentation.