Slow fermentation
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AFewTooMany
Slow fermentation
I'm using wlp028 to ferment an 80 shilling and after 2 weeks it's still bubbling away. Only aiming for ~4% and had made a 500ml and then 2500ml starter as the sachet want as fresh as I'd like, but was still within the date. For a beer with this OG I'd normally expect it to finish within 4 or 5 days. Anyone used this yeast and found it to be very slow?
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Jocky
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Re: Slow fermentation
I would agree that two weeks is a long time for a relatively low OG beer to still be fermenting, especially as you've done a starter.
Which leads to the question - is the SG still dropping, or are you just looking at the airlock?
Which leads to the question - is the SG still dropping, or are you just looking at the airlock?
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
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Jocky
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Re: Slow fermentation
And no, I haven't found this yeast to be that slow - it's not a speedy yeast, but it's not a complete slouch either.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
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AFewTooMany
Re: Slow fermentation
It had only hit 1.020 from 1.043 a couple of days ago. Will be checking again when I'm home tomorrow
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stokie_spaceman
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Re: Slow fermentation
I've learnt a bit about this strain recently. It starts ok but slows down then appears to chug to a final gravity usually lower than expected.
I've used a pure pitch pack in an 80 shilling with no starter and found it fermented fine but bottles over carbed within a couple of months after initially finishing at 1.013. I'd mashed around 68 deg c and tried to caramelise the first runnings.
I re pitched into a biggish porter from washed yeast cake with a starter and finished at 1.020 fg albeit from a 70 deg c mash. Getting from 1.023 to 1.020 took an extra week with some rousing and a slight temp increase. Two months down the line the bottles were overcarbing. It had 2 weeks primary and a week in secondary but continues to slowly chug away in the bottle.
I'd top cropped the porter and pitched that into an ipa with a starter. Fermented down to 1.010 ok after 3 weeks but again bottles over carbed down the line.
Top cropping again from the ipa into a low gravity bitter with starter but it didn't perform quite the same. It stalled at 1.020 until raising the temperature from 18 to 19.5 deg c at which point it kicked off again. Og was 1.033. F.g 1.010..higher than expected. This was after 2 weeks primary.
Still waiting to see if these bottles over carb or not.
It behaves a little like fullers strain. It drops bright quick and sticks very well to the bottom of bottles. However, this apparent creeping attenuation is a pain.
I'd be interested if others have found this with wlp028 or if its just my yeast management is iffy. I suppose it's possible that I could be underpitching and the yeast is dropping out before its finished. I'm getting good clean beers though and no off flavours.
Apologies for the hijack but it seemed relevant. In all four uses so far it has dropped quickly leaving bright beer.
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I've used a pure pitch pack in an 80 shilling with no starter and found it fermented fine but bottles over carbed within a couple of months after initially finishing at 1.013. I'd mashed around 68 deg c and tried to caramelise the first runnings.
I re pitched into a biggish porter from washed yeast cake with a starter and finished at 1.020 fg albeit from a 70 deg c mash. Getting from 1.023 to 1.020 took an extra week with some rousing and a slight temp increase. Two months down the line the bottles were overcarbing. It had 2 weeks primary and a week in secondary but continues to slowly chug away in the bottle.
I'd top cropped the porter and pitched that into an ipa with a starter. Fermented down to 1.010 ok after 3 weeks but again bottles over carbed down the line.
Top cropping again from the ipa into a low gravity bitter with starter but it didn't perform quite the same. It stalled at 1.020 until raising the temperature from 18 to 19.5 deg c at which point it kicked off again. Og was 1.033. F.g 1.010..higher than expected. This was after 2 weeks primary.
Still waiting to see if these bottles over carb or not.
It behaves a little like fullers strain. It drops bright quick and sticks very well to the bottom of bottles. However, this apparent creeping attenuation is a pain.
I'd be interested if others have found this with wlp028 or if its just my yeast management is iffy. I suppose it's possible that I could be underpitching and the yeast is dropping out before its finished. I'm getting good clean beers though and no off flavours.
Apologies for the hijack but it seemed relevant. In all four uses so far it has dropped quickly leaving bright beer.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
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Jocky
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Re: Slow fermentation
I've made mostly dark beers with WLP028 and not had particularly slow ferments that I can think of. FG is quite often a few points above where I might expect it, but I've not then see it drop any further.
I'm fermenting an American Pale Ale with it right now as an experiment, using slurry from a batch that was bottled a week ago, so I'll check back in a few days when it's done with progress.
I'm fermenting an American Pale Ale with it right now as an experiment, using slurry from a batch that was bottled a week ago, so I'll check back in a few days when it's done with progress.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
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AFewTooMany
Re: Slow fermentation
A very interesting read. Sounds like it's an odd one then. I'll try increasing the temp a little and giving it a shoogle a couple of times a daystokie_spaceman wrote:I've learnt a bit about this strain recently. It starts ok but slows down then appears to chug to a final gravity usually lower than expected.
I've used a pure pitch pack in an 80 shilling with no starter and found it fermented fine but bottles over carbed within a couple of months after initially finishing at 1.013. I'd mashed around 68 deg c and tried to caramelise the first runnings.
I re pitched into a biggish porter from washed yeast cake with a starter and finished at 1.020 fg albeit from a 70 deg c mash. Getting from 1.023 to 1.020 took an extra week with some rousing and a slight temp increase. Two months down the line the bottles were overcarbing. It had 2 weeks primary and a week in secondary but continues to slowly chug away in the bottle.
I'd top cropped the porter and pitched that into an ipa with a starter. Fermented down to 1.010 ok after 3 weeks but again bottles over carbed down the line.
Top cropping again from the ipa into a low gravity bitter with starter but it didn't perform quite the same. It stalled at 1.020 until raising the temperature from 18 to 19.5 deg c at which point it kicked off again. Og was 1.033. F.g 1.010..higher than expected. This was after 2 weeks primary.
Still waiting to see if these bottles over carb or not.
It behaves a little like fullers strain. It drops bright quick and sticks very well to the bottom of bottles. However, this apparent creeping attenuation is a pain.
I'd be interested if others have found this with wlp028 or if its just my yeast management is iffy. I suppose it's possible that I could be underpitching and the yeast is dropping out before its finished. I'm getting good clean beers though and no off flavours.
Apologies for the hijack but it seemed relevant. In all four uses so far it has dropped quickly leaving bright beer.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
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stokie_spaceman
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Re: Slow fermentation
Turns out my last beer using 4th generation wlp028 is now beginning to overcarb in the bottles after 3 weeks. That's every batch now.
Might do a couple of brews with Nottingham just to check I haven't got some contaminant hanging around my kit. Nottingham never causes an issue in my experience.
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Might do a couple of brews with Nottingham just to check I haven't got some contaminant hanging around my kit. Nottingham never causes an issue in my experience.
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stokie_spaceman
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Re: Slow fermentation
Wondered if there were updates with people finding wlp028 overcarbonating in the bottle?
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Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
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Jocky
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Re: Slow fermentation
Nope. Not had a problem with WLP028.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
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KingBrianI
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Re: Slow fermentation
I've had the same problem. I don't remember all the specifics now but I did a Wee Heavy several years ago that I fermented cool with WLP0028. Gravity stabilized right where I wanted it, probably around 1.018 and the beer tasted great (it was a Traquair House Ale clone). If I remember correctly, it sat in primary for a month. I kegged it and let the keg sit at room temperature for another month or two while I made room in the kegerator and to let it condition some. When I finally tapped it, the gravity had dropped severely and it was no longer rich and malty but thin and dry. I think I ended up dumping it.