Be patient or dump it?

[MrBlackjaw]

Long story begins now.

I won some prizes through the BYO label contest. One of the prizes was two packets of dry yeast from Mangrove Jack. One packet was the US West Coast ale yeast and the other packet was the Bohemian Lager. I decided to brew 11 gallons of a session red IPA with a friend. Then split the batch with ale and lager yeast.

The OG is 1.045. The ale version hit 1.008 without any issue and is getting bottled this weekend. I happened to check on the lager half today (16 days) and to my surprise, it is only at 1.042 @ 50F (temp controlled chamber).

I have never tried a lager before, so I am wondering if I need to be patient? Pitch more yeast? Or do I dump it for safety reasons (I did not see any mold)?

Additional info: The yeast came in the mail in June. I did follow proper rehydration directions. I also added pure oxygen at the beginning.

Thanks for your help.

 

[slym2none]

I hear that lagers require huge amounts of yeast to start, more than double what you might use for an ale, so that packet of yeast might needed to have been used to make a starter instead.

Give it time, the yeast will figure it out, but it might take a little while. Or, re-pitch with other yeast, but IDK if that's something you want to do since it is a specialty yeast you're using.

 

[mozart4898]

16 days in and you've only dropped 3 points? Whether you underpitched or not, after 16 days you should be much lower than that. (I would have expected that underpitching might have led to a day or two longer lag, but a packet of lager yeast in 5.5 gallons at 1.045 should still have taken off eventually.) Is there any sign of fermentation at all in the fermenter? My thought, given how small of a change there's been, is that you may have not had ANY fermentation take place, period and the difference in gravity readings is due to an error in one (or both) of them.

If there's no sign of infection, 1) you're really lucky, and 2) pitch some other yeast in there pronto. I'd bet money it's not fermented one bit. One other idea might be to raise the temp to 55-57 degrees as that should still be fine for a lager fermentation and see if it finally takes off, but I'm guessing the yeast went kaput.

 

[MrBlackjaw]

I just visited the Mangrove website and they say use 2-packets for 6-gallons, but no recommend gravity. If one packet serves no purpose, Why not just sell the proper amount in one packet to begin with? That is just silly.

 

[daksin]

Yeah, sounds like an underpitch but if it has definitely dropped, then it's probably just getting going and should work quicker from here on out. What's the suggested temperature? You could warm it up to get it going and then cool it off as activity increases- you're not likely to get ideal lager flavor now so warming it up probably won't hurt.

 

[MrBlackjaw]

There are CO2 bubbles on the surface. I tasted the smallest amount possible for fear of botulism, it did not taste sour, but I think the IBU level would keep lacto at bay. It did not smell like garbage, so I may have avoided other -bacters. It all makes me nervous, but I thought I would get some other opinions first. Thanks.

 

[mozart4898]

There are CO2 bubbles on the surface. I tasted the smallest amount possible for fear of botulism, it did not taste sour, but I think the IBU level would keep lacto at bay. It did not smell like garbage, so I may have avoided other -bacters. It all makes me nervous, but I thought I would get some other opinions first. Thanks.

FYI, botulism is only an issue in cases where there is very little oxygen and a not very acidic pH. Beer wort won't support the growth of botulism. Improperly home-canned foods are one of the most likely sources of it, among other mishandled foods generally in a commercial kitchen.

 

[MrBlackjaw]

I was only kind of half-serious about botulism, but thank you for that helpful info and setting me straight. I was worried I would throw up because it would taste like garbage juice.

 

[MrBlackjaw]

UPDATE:

I checked the lager this past weekend. I was getting my home brewery in order for a batch of Imperial Stout. So, before I dumped the batch of lager, I took a reading and lo and behold, the beer had dropped to 1.0135. Hmph, go figure. I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised it tasted quite all right. I detected the faintest trace of diacetyl flavor, but I figure a diacetyl rest should clear that up.

I know this was not the ideal lager fermentation I wanted, but I guess the beer gods were smiling upon this session red IPL. Next time, double the lager yeast, even for session strength beer.