Bottom fermentation

[fmgenealogy]

i pitched wlp029 yeast that i harvested from a kolsch in a lager i made. The kolsch did not ferment too crazy. When i pitched in the lager along with yeast nutrients it almost looked as if the yeast was eating all sugars on way down as it was cloudy at top and that cloudy white band slowly worked its way down. No airlock activity. Small film and a few bubbles on top. Its been 4 days with no airlock activity although it seemed like a few times i saw it move. Today i Pitched yeast i harvested from an english ipa wlp001 in hope to get it going. Would appreciate any comments/ideas/suggestions. Thanks Nick

 

[mashpaddled]

When you say there was a film on top can you be more specific?

Is it a thin layer of krausen or a thin white foam? These would suggest a sluggish fermentation which might just be from lagering the yeast and not giving them a starter in between beers.

If you mean a film like it looks like a layer of saran wrap on the beer or a white film on the beer then it sounds like an infection, especially with the cloudy white appearance in the beer.

 

[fmgenealogy]

I added 5teaspoons of the nutrient after pitching the first time. 2 days later i added 2teaspoons of the nutrients and that seemed to cause some bubbles at the top. I say film but its tiny bubbles and then there are areas of bigger bubbles. I dont think its infected as i have seen some pictures of that. I did make it somewhere and bring it home to pitch the yeast. Wonder if i had it too cold from the car ride when i pitched. I can see yeast coming from bottom forming bubbles at top but just very sparingly and small. The third picture was from the other day and you can see the milky white band in the middle. That slowly worked itsself out. The other pictures is what it looks like now. Hard to see bubbles in the picture. It does not smell foul to me.

 

[divrack]

Uh. That's a lot of unusable information and very little useable information im afraid.
So firstly are you making a lager at lager temps with 029? If so this is the problem, it needs to be over 17c.
Bubble activity means nothing unless you have a well sealed ferment vessel, but if it understand you you are saying there is only a thin film of something and no kreausen so probably nothing doing.
If your temperature is low then 001 won't like it either.
Both of those years are top fermenters btw. This has nothing to do with temperature and in my opinion is a misnomer worth ignoring generally.

On the other hand if you are fermenting at the right temperature and not making a lager in the traditional sense and there is no sign of a kreausen then we'd need to know about how you harvested the yeast, how old it was etc, although that's now irrelevant as you seem to be making an American pale now, although would be worth knowing what your harvesting method is and temp is to guess as to its prospects.

 

[divrack]

Oop there we go. Does that say 64f? That should be ok. I can confirm it looks like there is nothing happening/happened.
So assuming the wort is ok which not knowing your proscess is hard to say .-does it taste sweet? - leads me to assume bad yeast from whatever your proscess in harvesting or storing is. The new yeast should in theory take over and do their thing.
No idea about the falling yeast ring you describe, but they were not eating all the sugar as they feel unless you have mutant super xman yeast

 

[fmgenealogy]

I apologize.
I washed the yeast and it was in fridge for no more than 3 weeks. Id say it was about and inch and a half worth of yeast in a glass ball jar. Fermenting temp in my house is around 65 F. I did not make a started just left the jar out for over 6 hours and pitched. Probably a mistake. I was planning on fermenting between 65-70 and then lagering in my wine fridge after. To me it seems like just a very slow ferment not infection.

When i pitched the wlp001 i did the same process. Just left it out overnight to get to room temp and then pitched with about a teaspoon of nutrient mixed in.
Recipe:
8oz pilsner
4oz caramunich
2oz victory malt
3lbs light dry extract
3lbs pilsner liquid malt
1oz hallertauer hersbrucker
1oz saaz
1oz tradition

 

[fmgenealogy]

Not a big deal just wondering about bottom fermentation as i did not see much info about it. I appreciate your guys time and replies. I will see what happens after this wlp001. I have only brewed 5 batches so far so I am still learning.
Best regards
Nick

 

[divrack]

Tbh if the yeast was ok it should have been going gangbusters within a few hrs. I suspect maybe a problem with your yeast washing proscess, or harvesting.
Looks like a good amount of something in the bottom, but it needs to be yeast.
Infections don't really affect the fermentation noticeably. If you have sugar and yeast at a decent temperature you should have fermentation by now. Yeast of that age would be fine unless you've somehow killed it all. A starter shouldn't be necessary but would tell you if the yeast was viable or not.

 

[fmgenealogy]

Ok thank you for the information and advice. Nick

 

[fmgenealogy]

One of my other concerns was that i did not get enough oxygen in before my first pitch. Just gave a good shake and after 20 min im starting to see a good bit of activity coming to surface.

 

[fmgenealogy]

Wrapped up to get temp up and have alot of airlock action. Not high krausen yet but building up.

 

[divrack]

It lives.