Yeast / recipe question

[VAShooter]

My most recent batch recipe called for me to pitch at 65 degrees but the White Labs yeast I used called for 75. Also, recipe instructions call for ferment temp at 65 but white labs states 70 -75.

In the future, who's instructions are prominent? Yeast or recipe?

I pitched 17 hours ago and my primary is in the closet. Thermometer reads 68 / 70.

I'm not concerned (yet) but I am a bit discouraged that i dont have any activity going on yet. I did not use a starter.

 

[SteveM]

Give it time, it's going to be fine.

 

[jonmohno]

Did your batch instructions specify using a certain yeast?If you used what you had i would stick to that yeasts temp window, that you used.

 

[Yooper]

70- 75 seems really high. What yeast strain is that?

 

[VAShooter]

The Yeast is White Labs Belgian Ale - WLP550. I rechecked at it says to pitch at 70 - 75. With no activity I had it at 68 but jacked the house temp up to 70......checked on it about 4 hours later and the airlock was active. Not sure if that had anything to do with it but atleast its fermenting.

 

[SteveM]

The Yeast is White Labs Belgian Ale - WLP550. I rechecked at it says to pitch at 70 - 75. With no activity I had it at 68 but jacked the house temp up to 70......checked on it about 4 hours later and the airlock was active. Not sure if that had anything to do with it but atleast its fermenting.

Possibly - and possibly not. The time between pitching and bubbling in the air lock is not always predictable.

 

[Daver77]

What I have learned recently as a noobie is the the recipe instructions contradict everything I have read in books about brewing and stuff I have learned here.

 

[iron_city_ap]

Keep a close eye on that temperature. Now that you have the wort all warmed up and fermentation is starting, the temperature of it is going to go up. I wouldn't really want to go too much higher than 70. Might be a good idea to cool the house down asap and just keep checking on the temp.

 

[VAShooter]

Keep a close eye on that temperature. Now that you have the wort all warmed up and fermentation is starting, the temperature of it is going to go up. I wouldn't really want to go too much higher than 70. Might be a good idea to cool the house down asap and just keep checking on the temp.

I dropped the house temp back to 68 (family is much happier now). Brew temp is 70 / 72 now. Airlock shoots off 3 fast burps every 2 seconds. Got another batch conditioning in a carboy right next to it at that temp is on 68. Amazing how fermenting creates it's own heat / energy.

 

[VAShooter]

What I have learned recently as a noobie is the the recipe instructions contradict everything I have read in books about brewing and stuff I have learned here.

Amen to that. Glad I found HBT. Tons of info and help on here.

I'm going to let this one sit in the primary for 4 weeks and skip the secondary. When is the earliest I should check gravity again? Do I need to pop off the lid once a week to make sure it's progressing / get a hydrometer reading or is my next peek in 4 weeks when I'm ready to bottle?

 

[iron_city_ap]

If you plan on letting it sit for 4 weeks, then just check it on day 25 and day 28. If you want to make sure you don't have a stuck fermentation, then I'd give it a look around days 14 and 17.

 

[VAShooter]

If you plan on letting it sit for 4 weeks, then just check it on day 25 and day 28. If you want to make sure you don't have a stuck fermentation, then I'd give it a look around days 14 and 17.

A couple noob questions:

How can I tell if I have a stuck fermentation?

What exactly am I observing? i.e. how should my beer look? I'm assuming a reduced Krausen foam.

After 4 weeks of sitting - is the krausen absorbed into the beer at that point?