Accidentally pitched German Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1007) into imperial stout

[OlDirtyBrewer]

I was making the Ten Fidy clone yesterday when after a long brew day, I pitched the wrong yeast. I meant to pickup some 1056 but either the wrong yeast was in the 1056 bin or I just grabbed the wrong one. What can I expect from this yeast. I've never used it and according to Wyeast, it's not meant for imperial stouts. Any suggestion on what to do (if anything)?

 

[bajaedition]

Put it in a refrigerator set at 45 degrees and go for it

or just repitch

do you have any dry yeast in reserve?

 

[MrPowers]

Don't do 45 degrees. It's still an ale yeast and it will stall.

Keep it in the high 50's to low 60's and it should probably turn out just fine. 1007 is a very clean fermenter.

 

[leonardoreges]

I say boil a little bit to kill this yeast and then repitch with the right one.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Uhh...

I don't think I would just "let it ride." The attenuation on 1007 is lower than 1056, and with such a big beer, you're not going to want to undershoot it. But I don't think it's time to panic. Big stouts take time anyway, and time heals all.

You could boil or use some campden, as leonardoreges suggested. Personally, I'm probably too lazy to put that much effort in. But it would work.

I guess if it were me, I would just pitch a second yeast. You'll end up with some kind of a blend of flavors, which could be good or bad. But it won't be as extreme as the 1007 would produce on its own, and aging will mellow and blend the flavors. Plus, you'll get a higher attenuation, which you need.

Or you could just let it ride and call it an experiment. But I don't think you should expect it to be the same.

Let us know what you decide to do and good luck! Interested to hear how it turns out.

 

[OlDirtyBrewer]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I don't have a dedicated fridge so lowering temps will be hard. Here in SoCal (currently in the 90's outside) I have to use one of those Cool Brewing bags to have a chance of not getting esters, etc. I'm also somewhat lazy and don't feel like getting all my brew gear out again and boiling so I think the re-pitch of the right yeast is probably what I'm going to go with. Hope it's not a problem that it'll be two days into fermentation. I'll let them fight it out and post back once it's done Thanks again.

 

[dmtaylor]

1007 is a fantastic yeast. Ferment at about 60 F and it will be wonderful.

 

[burninator]

Arches Brewing makes a Baltic porter that they ferment with lager yeast. If they can pull that off, I think a cool fermentation with 1007 should produce quite a nice beer, even if it's not what you originally intended.

 

[bajaedition]

opps I thought he said German lager yeast

ignore everything I said

MY BAD

 

[JimRausch]

1007 is a fantastic yeast. Ferment at about 60 F and it will be wonderful.

I agree with Dave. The 1007 is a real fermentating beast and will attenuate at least as well as the 1056, and is actually cleaner.
Now of course the next question has to be: "Did you make a big enough starter?"

 

[Barley_Bob]

I agree with Dave. The 1007 is a real fermentating beast and will attenuate at least as well as the 1056, and is actually cleaner.
Now of course the next question has to be: "Did you make a big enough starter?"

I stand corrected... the two yeast strains do have about the same reported attenuation rate. I usually get over 80% with 1056/001/us-05, however, which led me to my statement.

But the recommended is 55-68. @OlDirtyBrewer can you hit that temp range?

I still stand by my recommendation, and I would pitch a second yeast. Both for the attenuation and the temp range. You have so much money in this beer, I would play it safe with a second yeast. It won't hurt it, and it may help.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I'm in the "let it ride" camp, assuming you pitched enough in the first place.

 

[OlDirtyBrewer]

The brew store was closed so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to buy the yeast. That'll be two days into fermentation. I've been adding an extra ice bottle from my usual to keep the temp down. I have 3 frozen 2L bottles in the Cool Brewing bag but as the days warm up, I'll realistically be able to keep it in the mid to high 60's.

In my opinion, pitching the correct yeast could solve at least two problems: "Did I pitch enough yeast?", Probably not. Usually 1 package of yeast is enough and I've not had any problems. However, this is a pretty big beer. So a second pitch may help.

Also, I can't help but think that having the correct yeast can help save this beer in the long run. I was planning on bottle conditioning it for a few months (6?) anyway.

What do you guys think about pitching 2 packets of 1056? Tilt the odds in the correct yeasts favor.

Thanks everyone for your comments and please let me know if you think of anything else that may help.

 

[MaryB]

I would let it ride... it might be fine as is! Part of the fun of brewing is experimenting!

 

[rupert130]

The brew store was closed so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to buy the yeast. That'll be two days into fermentation. I've been adding an extra ice bottle from my usual to keep the temp down. I have 3 frozen 2L bottles in the Cool Brewing bag but as the days warm up, I'll realistically be able to keep it in the mid to high 60's.

In my opinion, pitching the correct yeast could solve at least two problems: "Did I pitch enough yeast?", Probably not. Usually 1 package of yeast is enough and I've not had any problems. However, this is a pretty big beer. So a second pitch may help.

Also, I can't help but think that having the correct yeast can help save this beer in the long run. I was planning on bottle conditioning it for a few months (6?) anyway.

What do you guys think about pitching 2 packets of 1056? Tilt the odds in the correct yeasts favor.

Thanks everyone for your comments and please let me know if you think of anything else that may help.

By now the 1007 has likely propagated enough in your beer to be at the saturation point. As long as it has the alcohol tolerance you need, you can let it go. Any unwanted esters have mostly been produced. If you're worried about bottle conditioning, pick up a dry pack of CBC.

 

[JimRausch]

The brew store was closed so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to buy the yeast. That'll be two days into fermentation. I've been adding an extra ice bottle from my usual to keep the temp down. I have 3 frozen 2L bottles in the Cool Brewing bag but as the days warm up, I'll realistically be able to keep it in the mid to high 60's.

In my opinion, pitching the correct yeast could solve at least two problems: "Did I pitch enough yeast?", Probably not. Usually 1 package of yeast is enough and I've not had any problems. However, this is a pretty big beer. So a second pitch may help.

Also, I can't help but think that having the correct yeast can help save this beer in the long run. I was planning on bottle conditioning it for a few months (6?) anyway.

What do you guys think about pitching 2 packets of 1056? Tilt the odds in the correct yeasts favor.

Thanks everyone for your comments and please let me know if you think of anything else that may help.

Instead of the 2 packs of 1056, you might just want to get a pkt. of US-05 and pitch that. Pitching two different yeasts are always a crapshoot, because who knows if one will dominate. But having said all that, if you are unable to maintain temps in the low 60's for the 1st 3-4 days, then a US-05 or WY1056 pitch might be wise. Good luck!

 

[OlDirtyBrewer]

1056 pitched. Didn't notice a whole lot of bubbling like I usually do by this time. Hopefully that means it hasn't totally taken off yet. I'm sure the beer will be "good" but I was hoping to get it as close to the real thing as possible. Hopefully a few months in the bottles will blend it out. Thanks again everyone for your advice.

 

[OlDirtyBrewer]

Update.

After pitching the 1056 my wort went from 1.104 to 1.040. It seemed to stall there for several days. I tried upping the temp a bit and rousing the yeast but to no avail. After a little research I thought I might add a metric $h!t ton of dextrose to get the abv I wanted but that would probably be too sweet. After talking to the homebrew shop guy, he suggested yet even more yeast. He suggested WLP090 and gave me some WLP099 that was about to "expire". I didn't want to add all that yeast just in case it worked too well and over attenuated. Adding the WLP090 and waited a few days, nothing. Finally added the WLP099 and WOW. It's like it's going through primary again. I'm going to give it a few more days and I'm hoping to hit around 1.025. Another worry I have now is that it's been in the fermenter for about a month already. Will update again with progress/notes in case someone else finds themselves in a similar situation.

 

[OlDirtyBrewer]

Final Update.

The WLP099 worked perfectly. I ended up hitting my exact FG number and the beer has been bottled. It's been about 2 months and it's tasting very good. I'm hoping it hits it's stride in another month or so. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Final Update.

The WLP099 worked perfectly. I ended up hitting my exact FG number and the beer has been bottled. It's been about 2 months and it's tasting very good. I'm hoping it hits it's stride in another month or so. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

That's amazing. Congratulations! Enjoy a hard won victory!