Wrong Yeast

[curtnsheri]

So the story goes...haven't been doing this too long, and brewing with a new local supplier with new extracts etc. I brewed 6.5 gal with 10 lbs of light LME and 2lbs of grains (10L and 40L crystal). I was shooting for an Imperial IPA and my OG was 1.078 (higher than anticipated). When I bought my ingredients they were out of WLP-001, so based on my recipe the shop recommended and sold me WLP-041 (pacific ale yeast). Turns out after looking it up that this yeast doesn't have near the attenuation potential that I was looking for. After 8 days it is down to 1.040, but I'm pretty sure it isn't gonna hit the 1.015 target. I know now there are a lot of things i could have done better...but is there anything i can do to get the FG down where I want it? (i don't like sweet beer). Would you add some WLP-001... let it sit forever... re-pitch....or just take whatever it makes, bottle and drink it?

 

[kegtoe]

you could repitch a higher attenuating "cleaner yeast" that will get your gravity down and not contribut much else to the flavor. I'd add soem yeast nutrient too, if you have some. it might help the little guys in the alcoholic environment.

 

[mbird]

Curtnsheri,
even with the substituted yeast you should have gotten more than a 49% attenuation after 8 days. This tells me that something else is effecting your ferment. Could be temperature. In any case, once the yeast stops it's difficult to get it going and although you could roust the yeast or add additional yeast you can pretty much count on it not going much lower. This is just my personal experience. My recommendation is to dump it and start with a new batch using the yeast you prefer and carefully monitering the fermentation temperature. You might also reduce the LME by a pound or two and replace it with sugar to dry it out a little. II've noticed over the years that malt extract, whether dry or liquid tends to be less fermentable than the all-grain beers I brew and adding some fermentables like sugar help get the attenuation you want. Hope this helps. Also, consider the amount of bottling sugar you use if you go forward with this beer because you have a lot of existing sugar that could create 'bottle bombs' if not careful.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

 

[dan1978]

so ran out off my normal yeast i use can i use a active yeast that i usually use for baking

 

[Clann]

Roust your yeast and warm it up a bit. DONT dump your beer!

Never used wlp-041 but mabye it is just slow.

Keep some us-05 in the fridge as some backup, andI think its the same strain as wlp-001

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Yeah, what is your fermentation temperature? The yeasties have already done their replication and chewed through the first bit of sugar. I would bring the temperature up, maybe into the high 70s/low 80s and swirl the yeast back into suspension.

 

[curtnsheri]

Temps were mostly in the 66 degree range. I brought it up to the mid-upper 70's a couple times on day 8 and 10 and swished it around. It was still definitely fermenting since from day 9 to day 14 it dropped from 1.040 to 1.030. I think I probably am just a classic case of impatience...therefore I pitched a couple packs of rehydrated US-05, and the thing is bubbling like mad now. I think that WLP-041 is just a slow fermenter, plus I should have made a starter for my relatively higher gravity IPA. Oh well, I think it will turn out great Thanks for all the advice, and I'll try to post the results.

 

[jtejedor]

I only used that yeast once and got the slightly unpleasant tartness that many describe from that strain. I don't remember it fermenting particularly slow though but the dry yeast should have a problem finishing your brew out.

 

[SenorWanderer]

First off, NEVER DUMP THE BEER!

Second, what you did by rousing the yeast and adding the US-05 was spot on. keep in mind that WLP-001= US-05 = WY1056. It's the "Chico" ale strain that Sierra Nevada made famous. There are many more overlaps between manufacturers, and you can see them here.

Third, most successful Imperial IPA recipes i've seen (including my own) have a good 8-10% (1-1.5 lbs for a 5g batch) simple sugar in there to help things dry out. This can be anything from table sugar (cane or beet), honey, corn sugar (dextrose), or belgian candi sugar. The best way that i've found to use the sugar is to add it at high krausen, when the yeast are at their most active. Yeast are very lazy, so if you add it during the boil or at the end of the boil like some recipes call for, the yeast will eat the simple sugars first (mostly glucose and sucrose), and be too tired to finish eating all the more complex sugars once they've finished the simple stuff. Without constantly measuring your gravity, high krausen is usually about 12-24 hours after fermentation starts. if you are measuring your gravity, 1.035 is right about the sweet spot. if you're using dry sugar, make a saturated solution on the stove with as little water as possible, don't boil it or you'll risk caramelizing it, cool it, and add it slowly cause it'll probably foam on you.

Fourth, and this is the big bummer, but it's just really hard to get super low gravities from high gravity worts when you're using extract. The fermentability profile of the extract is already cooked in by the manufacturer and there isn't much you can do. Two things you can do is to use a pitch rate calculator so that you're sure you're always pitching the correct amount of yeast, and allow the fermentation temp to slowly rise a few degrees toward the end, just to help the yeast stay active and get those last few points.

Good Luck!

 

[Tir727]

This is all less than stellar feedback.... I have a starter already made up, which come to think about was a bit lackluster compared to California or California V. Anyway, too late to turn back now! The Pacific will go into a 15 Minute (boil) Chinook/Centennial APA. I will report back my observations over the next couple weeks.

sorry...slightly off topic...but for those of you who can relate, I recently found "the 15 Minute boil". This method is keeping the dream alive, becuase a 4 year old boy and 1 year old girl seem to think they run my life. Kids...making nuts on a daily basis...gotta love'em.

 

[terrapinj]

This is all less than stellar feedback.... I have a starter already made up, which come to think about was a bit lackluster compared to California or California V. Anyway, too late to turn back now! The Pacific will go into a 15 Minute (boil) Chinook/Centennial APA. I will report back my observations over the next couple weeks.

sorry...slightly off topic...but for those of you who can relate, I recently found "the 15 Minute boil". This method is keeping the dream alive, becuase a 4 year old boy and 1 year old girl seem to think they run my life. Kids...making nuts on a daily basis...gotta love'em.

sounds like OP didn't make a starter - with 1.078 OG the yeast were prob very stressed out

 

[Tir727]

Pitched approx 16 oz starter of WLP041 to my 15 Min APA (O.G. = 1.054) at 68 degrees F. Based on some research (white labs), swirled carboy several times over 18 hours to resuspend yeast and trying to keep wort at approx 65 degrees F. Most reviews said to keep fermentation <68 degrees F, optimately 65 degrees F. Reviews also stated fermentation was dreadfully slow. APA fermentation started approx 18 hours post-pitch. Analogy: this fermentation = slow simmer, WLP001 = rolling boiling. Will update after a SG measurement. So far, so good.

The photo shows (if uploads properly) low tech cooling vessel and carboy, another full primary, and 2 mason jars with APA wort innoculated with WLP041 for future use.

 

[Tir727]

tyring picture again

 

[Tir727]

This fermentation just won't end...its not a problem, but I'm use to WLP001 which goes from none to done in 3 or 4 days. Patience is a virtue...more easily accepted after a few 7.5% home brews. Nice!