Best Practices for Ringwood yeast?

I picked up my first Wyeast smack pack of Ringwood yeast recently -- I haven't used it yet. I also bought a 6 pack of Shipyard Export Ale last Friday to taste and smell what characteristics the yeast will produce. It was interesting, I kind of like it.

From my reading here, The yeast does best with amply wort aeration prior to pitching, daily rousing of the yeast, and an open fermenter.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like this yeast is just sensitive to CO2 levels in the beer. An open fermenter is only different from an airlocked fermenter in that the amount of dissolved CO2 in the beer would be slightly lower(atmospheric air pressure would be the same for either fermenter -- the only difference is the additional amount of pressure needed to move the airlock liquid to allow the gas to escape.) Rousing the yeast in the fermenter is also going to cause some of the dissolved CO2 to form bubbles and leave the beer.

Are there any other tips for this yeast besides the "stay in the optimum fermentation temperature range" and "allow a few days to do a diacetyl rest"?

 

I can't offer a ton of advice, but I have used Ringwood with good results.

I'll say this, don't taste the Shipyard Export Ale and expect a similar flavor. Alan Pugsley appearently smuggled the strain from the Ringwood brewery and claims to have the only true ringwood strain in America (I call BS on that claim). I will say this, Shipyard has a house flavor.

However, as compared to other Ringwood Breweries I've visited (Geary's, Gritty's (pubs not bottles), Cooperstown, the Ship Inn) Shipyard drops a diacetyl bomb. Appearently, Pugsley loves the character but I really find it over the top.

Geary's Pale Ale is probably a better example of what your beer could taste like. I have no idea why Shipyard brings the esters to that next level. It could be scope of the brewery, it could be temps, it could be pitching rates. Whatever the cause, the result is me reaching for the Geary's.

Good luck with it -
Joe

 

I like the shipyard export ale more with every bottle. I only have one bottle from the 6 pack left. I'm looking forward to using the ringwood yeast to see what flavor it yields.

 

From what I understand too is the true ringwood strain isn't what wyeast is offering. I have a pack and need to use it myself. But I was wondering if dog fish has the true strain or not since they use it also

 

I asked a brewer at Geary's that "true" question a few years back. He kind of rolled his eyes.

I wouldn't fret.

Joe

 

I have also heard that Dogfish Head uses Ringwood. Not sure if it's true but Ringwood does make a very tasty IPA.

 

I'm brewing an AK47 Pale Mild today. I decided to use Ringwood yeast. I'm hoping the yeast makes a complex ale.

 

I have good airlock activity this morning at 8AM, I pitched the smack pack at 2PM yesterday. The krausen head isn't large yet, but it is curdled looking. From reading all the threads about ringwood being a slow starter and ringwood yeast requires open fermentation, it seem to be start off fine for me. I really have to question the open fermentation issue -- it seems kind like hoodoo superstition since the only difference between open and "closed" fermentation is a few milliliters of water/sanitizer in the airlock. If you don't put liquid in the airlock it is open fermentation and the air pressure is the only force keeping the CO2 in solution(dissolved in the wort). With a few milliliters, in the airlock the pressure would be more but I can see it being that much more then air pressure anyway. That being said, I put just enough sanitizer in the airlock to allow it to bubble. I guess I'm not immune to hoodoo superstition --- until I get a few more ringwood batches under my belt that is.

 

The krausen is building and the airlock is passing 3-4 bubbles per second in rapid-fire bursts!!! This is a low gravity beer(1.040 -- recipe stated 1.036, I achieved better efficiency!!) and I'm shooting for a quick turn around like Ringwood is known for. I'm hoping to bottle next Saturday.

 

Open fermentation does make a noticeable difference in ester production I don't have my reference books handy but there are concrete numbers in Brewing with Wheat.

 

Does it increase or decrease ester production? I'm shooting for increased production since I like Shipyard. The krausen has fallen but the airlock is still bubbling strong. I will probably take a gravity reading on Thursday.

 

I live in Denver which is a mile above sea level, the atmospheric pressure is less here. Water boils at a lower temperature here then at sea level because of this air pressure difference. The pressure keeping the CO2 in the wort would be less meaning less of the CO2 would stay dissolved in the beer. So my "close" fermentation in Denver probably has less air pressure on in then a closed fermentation at sea level(east coast). Dalton's law of Partial Pressure and the Ideal Gas Equation could be used to calculate this.

 

Open fermentors are usually shallower than closed (conical) fermentors and the shape of the fermentor is said to have an impact on the esters the yeast produce.

 

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to understand how the shape of the fermenter would affect the ester production. The only difference I can see would be the CO2 produced at the bottom of the fermenter has farther to travel to reach the surface to escape, but my 5 gallon carboy is much more shallow(shorter) then a commercial open fermenter. I have been to Scotland to the whisky distilleries in the Highlands were some of the distilleries tout that the stills are the same shape and and have the same dents and dings as the original stills to make sure the flavor is the same. This still hoodoo is for tourist consumption -- a dent in the still is not going to have a flavor impact --- but grain quality, mash temperature, yeast, and fermentation temp will affect the flavor. This open fermentation feels like the still superstition. My batch's krausen has completely fallen, the airlock is still going strong. I'm probably going to take a gravity reading tonight. I will know what flavors the yeast produced shortly.

 

It increases ester production by increasing access to O2, it's measurable, Sierra Nevada for instance found that they weren't happy with their Kellerweis until they tried an open ferment. Anchor Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, and Samuel Smith's all use open fermenters. It's helpful if you want to top crop yeast as well.

 

Since CO2 is denser then N2 and O2(major components of air) how does the O2 get into the open fermentation? I remember a simple high school chemistry experiment where we made CO2 in a tall glass by mixing baking soda and vinegar. We then carefully(so as not to spill the liquid) tipped the glass sideways over the top of a burning candle, the flame flickered and when out as the CO2 gas reached the flame. I guess the lag time between putting the wort in the open fermenter and the krausen forming a capping CO2 layer would allow some O2 to dissolve into the wort, but that would be in the parts per billion range. Hmmm, I could probably shake the fermenter for a few seconds a few hours after pitching the yeast to introduce a more O2... Interesting stuff to think about. Thanks everyone.

 

Tasted the Ringwood pale mild last night, the gravity reading was (OG 1.040)1.013. There is a some diacetyl in the finish. It tasted similar to to a lighter Shipyard Export Ale, though it is flat. I'm going to check the gravity again on Thursday. If it is 1.013, I'm going to rack to a secondary, cold crash, and then bottle it on Sunday!

 

I bottled this yesterday. The diacetyl is gone, but it still has the ringwood aroma and flavor --- the priming sugar makes it a little sweet, but it tastes really good. I'm looking forward to trying it when it is all carbonated up.

 

Waiting to crash my ringwood ale. OG was 1.062, that was 10 days ago. Still getting airlock activity every 10-15 seconds and gravity is at 1.011. (dropped .004 in the past three days. So much for getting the job done quickly.

Sample shows no diacetyl though