White Labs WLP002 English Ale 'Lumpy"?

[Hobo]

I put White Labs WLP002 in the stirrer last evening for an ESB I plan on brewing tomorrow. This morning the yeast has hundreds of tiny lumps floating. It's hard to see in the photo, but you get the idea. Not sure what this all about, do I have a problem here? The yeast was kept refrigerated, made in Feb, 2016 – use by date is Aug 16th, 2016.

 

[Singletrack]

WLP 002 is lumpy. No problem.

 

[cap]

I've used Wlp002 quite a bit. This is normal, it flocks like crazy and looks almost like cottage cheese.

 

[Qhrumphf]

It's an INCREDIBLY flocculant yeast. That's what you're seeing.

You need to be careful with your fermentation temp (NEVER let it drop, only rise), and with many English strains, that one in particular, it's a good idea to rouse it towards the end of fermentation. Otherwise it can quit prematurely.

 

[JonM]

That yeast is known for the Egg drop soup look. All is well.

ETA: definitely warm it up as fermentation slows down. And this yeast can be a BEAST. Fermentation can start to slow down 18-24 hours after it starts, so keep an eye on it. You might need to start warming it sooner than you might expect.

 

[Hobo]

Many thanks for the helpful replies. First time using this yeast and just didn't know if it was normal. Brew day tomorrow as scheduled!!

 

[Natdavis777]

That yeast is known for the Egg drop soup look. All is well.

ETA: definitely warm it up as fermentation slows down. And this yeast can be a BEAST. Fermentation can start to slow down 18-24 hours after it starts, so keep an eye on it. You might need to start warming it sooner than you might expect.

+1

This yeast usually finishes for me within 72 hours. So after 24 hours I will slowly start to ramp up temps. By day 3 I am around 70F. This helps me get a consistent 75% attenuation from this strain.

If you are looking for the characteristics of the strain but want more attenuation, try 007 instead. Same characteristics, but higher attenuation.