Wyeast 1728-Scottish Ale

[kmlavoy]

I have a question for anyone who has experience with this strain.

I used it for the first time last weekend. I probably pitched a few degrees higher than they recommend, but it was a similar temp to my starter. I got pretty quick signs of attenuation (lots of swirly yeast in the carboy), but it never really got that foamy krauesen you would expect to see. Has anyone else had this experience with this particular strain? I know it's a slow attenuator, and I was thinking I'd take a sample to test tomorrow, but it would be nice to know.

 

[SamBrewer]

I have a question for anyone who has experience with this strain.

I used it for the first time last weekend. I probably pitched a few degrees higher than they recommend, but it was a similar temp to my starter. I got pretty quick signs of attenuation (lots of swirly yeast in the carboy), but it never really got that foamy krauesen you would expect to see. Has anyone else had this experience with this particular strain? I know it's a slow attenuator, and I was thinking I'd take a sample to test tomorrow, but it would be nice to know.

i've just used it for my dark schottish ale! I bottoled today and the AA was almost 77%... and i had a very thin krausen too!!

I would not worry about it! maybe it's just a characteristic of this yeast...

 

[Edcculus]

I've used it a few times, and actually have it in my Scottish 70/- right now. I've always fermented it in a bucket or corny keg, so I can't help with how it looks during fermentation.

How long has it been going? I know Jamil recommends a fairly long ferment around 60-65*F.

 

[rijtjeshuis]

I've just made a starter with the 1728 ( I'm about 17 hours in now) - I've also noticed a very small krausen as well. It's pretty much kept in the 1/2 inch area (fermenting at about 19*C (@65*F)).
Nonetheless, the airlock is going nuts (burps every 10 secs of so).

I've heard some reports of a huge krausen with this strain - but the majority seems to be that it produces an abnormally small one, so I'm inclined to believe that this is a characteristic of the strain.

 

[GrainCounter]

I recently brewed a 60/- with White Labs Edinburgh, their Scottish strain, and it also had virtually no krausen, just like the Wyeast. It really reminded me of a lager fermentation.

 

[llama_boy]

Fermenting an IPA with this strain now. The OG was 1.063 and within 36 hours it hit FG of 1.007. I waited another 24 hours and tested again and no movement, still 1.007. I expect the very high attenuation is due to using sugar to dry out the IPA (~13%).

As for krausen, I ferment 11 gallons in a 14 gallon conical and 1728 doesn't demand a blow-off but I do know the krausen grows ~6" due to yeast deposits left on the temperature probe. Curiously, the last batch was a relatively light 1.048 yet produced the same height of krausen.

IPA was fermented at 66* and the lighter "bastard Kolsch" was fermented at 58*. Kolsch had a 4.5l starter and the IPA was a re-pitch of 700ml of slurry.

The smell from the samples has been outstanding. Very malty but not a overly sweet malt rather a roasty/toasty nose. Clarity has been very quick without the use of any clarifiers. The yeast drops quickly and creates a dense thick cake.

Tasting notes are still pending some aging.

YMMV

 

[osagedr]

I read this thread a few days ago before pitching to know what to expect from this strain with my IIPA, and was expecting a small krausen.

The krausen is massive on my beer. I've noticed a big difference since I started to aerate with pure O2 (0.5 micron stone).

 

[slarkin712]

Just brewed a strong scotch ale on Saturday with OG 1.080 with this yeast. I'm fermenting at 58F. It had a small krausen until this morning. The krausen was near the airlock in my 6.5 gallon carboy, so I put in a blowoff tube. I pitched a pretty big starter, so maybe that's why it's got such a high krausen.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I use this yeast quite a bit. Sometimes the kraeusen is huge, and sometimes it's nearly nonexistent. It's rarely anywhere in the middle. I can't figure out which it's going to be, and that's the only issue I have with this yeast. It's a little unpredictable in this sense.

 

[fxdrider]

Sometimes the kraeusen is huge

That's the experience I had when I pitched 2 packets of this yeast into a 5 gallon batch of Bourbon Barrel Porter 3 weeks ago. It actually blew the lid open on my bucket fermenter! OG was 1.074, and when I racked to secondary after 2 weeks, gravity came in at 1.007! The massive kraeusen had completely disappeared when I opened up the primary fermenter (or should I say - "re-opened"?).

 

[osagedr]

Just brewed a strong scotch ale on Saturday with OG 1.080 with this yeast. I'm fermenting at 58F. It had a small krausen until this morning. The krausen was near the airlock in my 6.5 gallon carboy, so I put in a blowoff tube. I pitched a pretty big starter, so maybe that's why it's got such a high krausen.

How have I never considered using this yeast before? It has all the characteristics I love...works at very cool temperatures; flocculates well; high alcohol tolerance; apparently is very clean and neutral. Mine is going at 58 as well in an IIPA. Now I just have to time my dextrose additions right.

 

[Coldies]

This is a awesome yeast. I suggest fermenting in the lower range as well 60-64. I have a vanilla porter that uses this strain and I love it. In regards to the Krausen, as mentioned its unpredictable.

 

[RickFinsta]

I think this is my house strain from now on; I'm going to try some side-by-sides on some porters to finalize that decision, but it just likes to get the job done well with whatever I throw at it (so far). I'll use some specialty strains (belgians, for instance) but this will do the brunt of my fermentations.

 

[slarkin712]

How have I never considered using this yeast before? It has all the characteristics I love...works at very cool temperatures; flocculates well; high alcohol tolerance; apparently is very clean and neutral. Mine is going at 58 as well in an IIPA. Now I just have to time my dextrose additions right.

I think it's a great yeast for certain styles. But it might not attenuate well enough for an IIPA. I like my IIPA to be a little dry so that any residual sweetness doesn't cover up the hops flavor. With dextrose additions it might work?

 

[osagedr]

I think it's a great yeast for certain styles. But it might not attenuate well enough for an IIPA. I like my IIPA to be a little dry so that any residual sweetness doesn't cover up the hops flavor. With dextrose additions it might work?

Funny story behind the decision to use it in the IIPA, the buddy I brew with ended up getting a second package after we decided to brew a Scotch ale...so I looked on the Wyeast site at the other styles this yeast can be used for and lo-and-behold there was IIPA. I hope the dextrose additions dry it out enough.

With 133.6 IBU and 5.5 oz of dry hops hopefully the malt doesn't dominate...

 

[RJS]

Drinking a robust porter right now, made with 1728. Awesome brew

 

[borden]

I've used this yeast a handful of times and have always had pretty low key fermentations. I see that some people do get big, dramatic krausen, but there are so many variables that I wouldn't sweat it.

I love this yeast, too. Got another 80/- to bottle soon, and I can't wait to try the sample!

 

[BrewChem]

I'm currently fermenting a wee-heavy/gruit ale that had an OG of 1.120... used a single pack of 1728 with a starter that I started 2 days prior on a stir plate... started with 1 liter of DME wort then added another 2 liters after 24 hours, let stir overnite, cold crashed, decanted, allowed to come to room temp then pitched...

I'm using a glass carboy and saw the first signs of bubbles within an hour of pitching... the next morning (after about 8 hrs) the headspace in the carboy was full of foam ... thankfully I used a blowoff tube..! The bucket of water that the tube went into looked like it was boiling.!!

The temperature crept a little higher that I wanted but has calmed down now... as of this morning, it's been 48 hours and slowed to where I could switch to an airlock.

I've used this strain before on heavier beers and had really good luck. Just make sure to plan ahead with a starter and you won't be disappointed..!

 

[Genjin]

This yeast has become my house strain as well. My basement stays at a consistent 62-63, making it a pretty good fit. My smoked porter I just bottled was awesome on this stuff. Currently brewing a Smash with it and the Krausen is small, but lots of activity.

 

[Brewed_Dude]

I've got this yeast in a partial-mash Scottish Ale at the moment, and judging by the airlock (It's only been two weeks in the primary and I don't want to open it) it's still bubbling about once a minute. I make fairly strong starters, including this one for example. I use a swirl plate and bleed 1/8 LPM pure oxygen into the beaker and my fermentations seem to go very well and very thourogh.

To answer the question, my krausen may be there, but I usually don't see it. I primary 4-6 weeks then bottle/keg. There is definitely hop residue and what I assume was krausen sticking to the sides of my bucket after the fermentation.

I'd put more faith in the hydrometer than anything. I've had some funky looking beers which have tasted delicious. If all else fails, bottle it, put it somewhere for a long time, forget about it, remember it, drink it, and reap the results! :rockin:

 

[Samophlange]

I pitched it at 70F (a bit warm) with the expectation that it would drop off as it usuall y does. It has been fermenting so rapidly and intensely that the temperature has jumped up to 75! The krausen was visible up into the airlock as well.
I'm going to have to get it down ten degrees somehow...
Out side it goes!!

 

[ghpeel]

I use this yeast quite a bit. Sometimes the kraeusen is huge, and sometimes it's nearly nonexistent. It's rarely anywhere in the middle. I can't figure out which it's going to be, and that's the only issue I have with this yeast. It's a little unpredictable in this sense.

I use WLP028 more than the Wyeast version, but 028 is unpredictable as well. I recently pitched a Golden Promise EKG Smash Braggot with a quart or so of slurry from an ESB with 028 and the krausen was super thick and several inches tall in the bucket.

 

[Judochop]

I love this yeast. One thing that perplexes me, though. What is up with the claim that this attenuates on the low side of things? I mean, mention the a low attentuating yeast in brewer's circles, and what comes to mind? Probably ESB, followed by Scottish ale.

I've found that theory to be quite a bit of bunk. I get unusually HIGH attenuation with the 1728 (yes, all-malt worts). Never seen it land below 80%. Hit 87% with a hoppy red a few months back. It's a beast of a yeast as far as my brewery is concerned.

I just don't get it. Where do those theoretical attenuation averages come from? Not from my house, that's for sure.

 

[TriggerFingers]

1728 is great! On saturday I bottled a 4% session porter that turned out spectacular! I can't wait to see how it tastes carbed with some age. I pitched straight from a smackpack and it never got out of hand. Anyway, I used a little over a cup of the unwashed slurry from the little porter to make a big porter later in the afternoon (eventually a bourbon barrel porter). Anyway, it took off after 16 hours and seemed to die down after about 30 hours. I awoke this morning (36-38 hours) with an airlock clogged with gunk (fortunately it only got on the lid and not on the carpet). I rigged a blowoff tube out of some spare tubing and the base of a 3 piece airlock fed into a jug starsan solution--14 hours it is still bubbling like crazy and I am getting a little leakage through the bucket lid! Next time I will have a proper blow off tube ready.

If I get 80% attenuation that will bump up my 8% ABV porter to nearly 9% -- yikes! :rockin:

 

[RickFinsta]

I generally get around 80% on mine as well. I've adopted 1728 for almost everything I do.

 

[thetragichero]

will be using this for an english barleywine i'm brewing sunday. should be about 1.100 SG (all maris otter and a pound of brown sugar). should i rig a blowoff even though my batch size will be 3g in a 7.5g ale pail?
i'm psyched to give this a try, it'll be my first age-worthy beer!

 

[thetragichero]

after decanting the liquid and taking a sniff of the yeast, it reminds me of fresh apple cider
SO PSYCHED to use this!

 

[Judochop]

There's an article in the newest edition of Zymurgy about Scottish ales. And there it is again, the claim that you'll get a fuller beer with the relatively low attenuating Scottish ale strain. "Expect an attentuation in the lower 70's".

It drives me mad. Not angry mad, but googly-eyed mad.

 

[rico567]

I just racked a batch of Walker's Gruagach Scottish 80/- at two weeks that used this yeast. This is my second batch, and I haven't noticed any large amount of krausen. My basement is about 60 F during the Winter, so with most beers fermentation isn't particularly enthusiastic. I normally just ferment a month and bottle, but I racked this time because I need the fermenter space.

 

[thetragichero]

WOW this took my 2.5g barleywine from 1.117 to 1.20 in five days
probably didn't even need to dump the yeast energizer in there, but i did anyway
smells AMAZING too!
not to let it sit for another three weeks or so before transferring to secondary for three months or so

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

I have my first batch with 1728 in the fermenter now, a Russian Imperial Stout (O.G. 1.103) from my club's Big Brew on Saturday 4/28. I pitched one fresh pack of 1728 then, and two outdated packs that I had planned to build up with for starters. I also reoxygenated at 24hrs, 2 l/min for 90 seconds. All week I had it at 62* in the fermentation fridge, and had a slowly puttering airlock with no krauzen at all. I was wondering if I should repitch. Well, I haven't taken a gravity reading, and decided to try turning up the temperature controller to 65* before thinking about repitching today. I'm glad I did. Today I have 3 inches of krauzen and a much busier airlock. Is 1728 that temperature sensitive? Is that the key to the krauzen mystery?

 

[Genjin]

That is really interesting. I was listening to a Session episode where they were interviewing the owner of Hair of the Dog brewery in Oregon. He brews very high gravity ales and the house yeast is 1728. He said that he chose it because it was very tolerant of temperature, gravity and had a clean profile. My uneducated guess is that it took longer because it is such a high gravity and the lower temperature. Even though this yeast is tolerant of low temperatures, it is my understanding that all ale yeasts work faster at higher temperatures.

 

[Cellarbrau]

So, to recap: Everyone doing 60/- and 70/-'s are reporting little krauesen and the IIPAs, Robust Porters and Barley wines are getting lots. Hmmmm....

 

[ImperialAlchemist]

1.090 OG 2 packs of 1728 with no krausen. There was a ton of movement in the carboy though.

 

[bierhaus15]

I have a 60/- on tap now with wlp028 (same strain) and it put up a huge krausen when fermented at 58-62F. Usually it does nothing, so I was somewhat surprised.

 

[siobhan]

Well, I just used it for the first time. Wee Heavy style, 5gal batch, stepped starter. I don't know what the krausen looked like (bucket), but it fermented within hours and gave off gas like a rocket. It spewed a fine mist of my airlock solution into the air for 2 days. If I'd done a 5.5gal batch, it would have been all over the floor.

And I just transferred to secondary. It settled out into a firm cake (I stopped rocking the bucket about 5 days before), and I got all but 1/4 cup of beer off without disturbing it. I like this yeast!

 

[awshepard]

Late to the party, but I just brewed an NB Wee Heavy extract kit. Used a 1L (actually 650ml) starter with this yeast, hand-shaken for about 30 hours before pitching. OG ~1.090, 5 gallons in a 7.5 gallon bucket, ambient temp in the chamber ~61-62F. Took 24 hours to see airlock activity, but after 36 hours, had lots of wort in the airlock with a nice little "whistle" going on, and the lid was bulging up. Tape thermometer on the side says it's about 64-65 in the bucket. I swapped out the airlock which relieved some pressure. Will have to keep an eye on it til it quiets down, but it smells great!