Yeast questions....

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Brew day yesterday, and today, no activity. I am not too worried yet but want to explore my options early as I have no LHBS and must order by mail.

1. I brewed a batch of Northern Brewer's Fat Tire clone. The yeast provided was Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abby II. I'm concerned because the yeast pack spent close to six days in the UPS truck in the summer heat. I smacked the pack 5 hours before I pitched into 76 degree wort. At pitching time, the pack had barely inflated at all.

- My question is: If I don't see any sign of healthy yeast activity, what is a good dry yeast for this style of beer? When is the best time to repitch (if I have to)?
OG was 1052

2. After scolding myself for not making a starter, I decided to make one for my next batch (AHB Magic Hat clone). 24 hours later and nothing, not one bubble. I'm thinking again that heat may be the culprit. I made the starter with 1 cup DME, 3 cups water, cooled and pitched White Labs California V Ale WLP051. Not extremely worried because it is only a starter but, again I would like to know a good dry yeast substitute.
OG should be around 1050

Thanks for the help.

 

[mrb]

Give it time!!!

 

[Beerrific]

If it comes down to it and you think the yeast is dead...go with Nottingham, but give it at least another day or two. But, you could go buy the Nottinham to have on hand for another day.

With the starter, did you look at it during that 24hours? You might not ever see anything in the airlock with a starter. Also some people say you should not use an airlock you want as much oxygen in there as possible since it promotes cell growth and reproduction. I made a starter with Kolsch yeast WLP029 and never saw any activity, pitched it, fermentation started in <12hrs. With WLP300 the thing was bubbling like crazy.

Are all the yeast at the bottom? Does it look like more than you started with? Give it swirl to get them back into suspension.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

thanks, MrB

As I stated before, I'm not too worried yet. Just looking for advice on dry yeast as I am concerned about the heat in the back of the big brown delivery trucks.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

If it comes down to it and you think the yeast is dead...go with Nottingham, but give it at least another day or two. But, you could go buy the Nottinham to have on hand for another day.

With the starter, did you look at it during that 24hours? You might not ever see anything in the airlock with a starter. Also some people say you should not use an airlock you want as much oxygen in there as possible since it promotes cell growth and reproduction. I made a starter with Kolsch yeast WLP029 and never saw any activity, pitched it, fermentation started in <12hrs. With WLP300 the thing was bubbling like crazy.

Are all the yeast at the bottom? Does it look like more than you started with? Give it swirl to get them back into suspension.

Good, I have some Nottingham on hand. I will wait a few days and see what happens.


On the starter, It still may be too early but, It looks like the same amount of yeast that I started with. There is a small circle of yeast on the bottom. I've swirled a few times since yesterday and haven't really noticed any increase but I feel it is still early.

I just wanted to get extra yeast on order if I thought that there may be a chance that I would need it.

Thanks for your help Beerrific!

 

[malkore]

in general, those smack packs MUST be started at least a day in advance so they can propagate. 3 days is better so you can build up an even larger quantity.

making a starter also shows you whether the yeast pack is totally dead, or just 'wounded' from the heat. as long as there are a couple of live yeast cells left, they will grow to an appropriate colony size, given time and food.

 

[cheezydemon]

What temp are you fermenting at? If it is really cold (like in the 60s) That may be a problem especially with "wounded" yeast.

Other than that, I would be more concerned about the yeast. I could be wrong, but it seems like those strains of liquid yeast should be showing more results by now.

 

[Evan!]

Ah, yes, the Abbey II. Over the past 5 weeks, I used it for a Rochefort 10 clone, then used that cake for a clone of the Stone VE 06.06.06. Good stuff. It's supposedly Rochefort's strain.

Once upon a time, I used the Abbey I on a cranberry dubbel. Smacked it, swelled fine. Pitched it. Took over 3 effing days to start.

Since then, I've never used commercial liquid yeast without a big honkin' starter (2000mL w/ at least 6oz of DME). I would suggest the same for you in the future.

As for this batch, give it a couple more days. While heat can harm the viability of the yeast, it's highly unlikely that it cooked 'em all dead. If, after 3 days, there's nothing, then I'd pitch a replacement.

Oh, and by the way: with belgian-styled brews like Fat Tire, a very large proportion of the character and style of the beer comes from the yeast, compared to many other styles. If you do end up using Nottingham, only do it as a last resort after 3 days...and be prepared for an entirely different beer. Without Belgian yeast, it won't be anything like Fat Tire.

 

[Evan!]

Other than that, I would be more concerned about the yeast. I could be wrong, but it seems like those strains of liquid yeast should be showing more results by now.

Without a starter, those Belgian strains can take quite awhile.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

cheezydemon, my fermentation chiller is kept between 68 and 71 at the moment.



Evan!, I was a bit concerned with a different taste from the Nottingham. I will use it if I have to but I hope I don't. Are there any dry yeast strains that you would suggest for a substitute? BTW, I will only use starters from now on it's just too easy of a process to ignore given the benefits.

 

[Beerrific]

cheezydemon, my fermentation chiller is kept between 68 and 71 at the moment.



Evan!, I was a bit concerned with a different taste from the Nottingham. I will use it if I have to but I hope I don't. Are there any dry yeast strains that you would suggest for a substitute? BTW, I will only use starters from now on it's just too easy of a process to ignore given the benefits.

That is interesting. In AHS' clone kits, they offer WLP001 Cal. Ale, Wyeast 1056, and Nottingham...nothing from Belgium.

BTW, this is next on my list...care to share the recipe you used (mine is the same as the one YooperChick posted).

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

That is interesting. In AHS' clone kits, they offer WLP001 Cal. Ale, Wyeast 1056, and Nottingham...nothing from Belgium.

BTW, this is next on my list...care to share the recipe you used (mine is the same as the one YooperChick posted).

Not a problem.

This is the extract kit from Northern Brewer BTW I see that Yooper's is AG. Sigh, one day, I too will brew AG.

Specialty grains
.05 lbs Victory malt
.05 lbs Briess Caramel 60

Fermentables
6 lbs Munich malt syrup
1 lbs Pilsen DME

hops

3/4 oz Liberty (60min)
0.5 oz Hallertau (15 min)
0.5 oz Hallertau (5 min)

Wyeast #1762 Belgian Abbey II

I do full boils, If you do a partial boil you should bump up to 1 oz Liberty
__________________

 

[Beerrific]

Not a problem.

This is the extract kit from Northern Brewer BTW I see that Yooper's is AG. Sigh, one day, I too will brew AG.

Yooper also posted an extract that she 'converted' herself, IIRC.

Very different recipes. Wonder how they compare to each other and the real thing?

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Very different recipes. Wonder how they compare to each other and the real thing?

Huh, I'm not sure. I'll have to compare mine against the real thing in about 6-7 weeks. If I remember, I'll post my findings here.

 

[Beerrific]

Huh, I'm not sure. I'll have to compare mine against the real thing in about 6-7 weeks. If I remember, I'll post my findings here.

Same here.