Liquid Yeast

[llazy_llama]

SOOOO I am happy to report that there is some SERIOUS movement going on with the beer. I got a text from my little elf at around 9:30 this morning. It was pitched at 5:00 p.m. yesterday. So it probably started fermenting early in the a.m. I am excited to see how liquid yeast will contribute to the beer. WOOHOO:rockin:

Thanks for all the replies!!!!

Rock on, brother! Glad to hear that WL yeast finally worked out for you. Personally, I love the stuff and use it every chance I get. Sounds like you need to switch over to this new LHBS, at least for yeast.

Orange, I'm home from work now! It's 10 AM, and I've already had 3 liters of homebrew. YUMMMY! I lied about the Honey Brown, and it hurt me all night! I feel so much better now that I can drop the deception. After a good stout and a porter, brown ale is my 3rd favorite style.

 

[RC0032]

The small starter can help wake the yeast up, but you won't get significant propagation unless you make 2-qt starters or larger.

Any supporting evidence of this?

 

[ArcaneXor]

Any supporting evidence of this?

Yes - Wyeast and/or White Labs statements in various interviews. To summarize, there are sufficient yeast cells in the vial/smack pack to process that small amount of sugar, so there is no need for them to replicate in significant numbers. It's basically an extreme overpitch.

You can also verify this by yourself by simply measuring the thickness of the yeast bed before and after fermentation. It only thickens slightly, and much of the increase is trub from hotbreak/coldbreak.

 

[Tokugawa]

I'm glad I read this thread. I made the 20 min drive to AHS today specifically to pick up a WL british ale yeast for a Nut Brown I'm brewing tomorrow morning. I have never used liquid yeast before, but between the advice I got at AHS, and all the tips I found in this thread, I'm feeling much more confident in pulling it off. Thanks for all the helpful tips, even though they weren't specifically for me.

 

[COLObrewer]

Yea hot wort seems logical for inhibiting fermentation. Is it necessary to agitate the yeast before cracking open the tube? Also could the liquid yeast not start working due to "under" aerating the wort?

I hope you are cooling the wort below 85F before you pitch the yeast, otherwise it will die, (Or become severely crippled or retarded). Yes you should shake the vial, yes you should aerate the wort. I've never had a problem with white labs and I pitch straight to the fermentor.