WLP002: finish dry

I’m about to brew an American IPA with WLP002. I want it to finish dry. My LHBS was out of WLP007. I was thinking of mashing at 149, but can I go lower?

5 Gal batch
10 lb 2 Row Pale
.5 lb Munich
.5 lb Crystal 40
About 70IBUs, Cascade and Centennial hops (maybe Columbus near the end of boil?).

I appreciate any advice.

Yeah, you can safely mash at 148 F for 90 minutes to get the beer as dry as possible.

You might also just want to throw out the crystal malt, if you want the beer super dry.

Also throw in a teaspoon or two of gypsum, that will give an impression of dryness big time if you use a lot of it.

I’ve only done 3 AG batches so far, so I’m not sure how much heat my mash tun will lose. It is the 10 gal Rubbermaid round cooler build (I don’t think it loses much heat at all, but I’ve never mashed for over 65 minutes).
I will just check the temp halfway through and add a small amount of near boiling water if I need to raise temp.
The crystal malt is already mixed in with the Munich. I think it will be fine, I’m not worried about it.
This is my hop schedule right now:
.75 oz Centennial (9.9aa) - 60 min
.75 Centennial (9.9) - 20 min
1 oz Cascade (5.4) - 20 min
1 oz Centennial - 10 min
1 oz Cascade - 10 min
1 oz Cascade - flameout
1 oz Centennial - flameout
And I think I’ll try dryhopping in the keg. I’m considering throwing in Columbus somewhere near the end…what do you think? I’ve only ever used it as bittering hop.

Columbus is a fairly strong hop, but I like it. Go for it.

Alright, thanks for all your help. I will toss in 1 oz Columbus at 5 minutes.

I better get started on the mash.

[quote=“jonesbrewer”]I’m about to brew an American IPA with WLP002. I want it to finish dry. My LHBS was out of WLP007. I was thinking of mashing at 149, but can I go lower?

5 Gal batch
10 lb 2 Row Pale
.5 lb Munich
.5 lb Crystal 40
About 70IBUs, Cascade and Centennial hops (maybe Columbus near the end of boil?).

I appreciate any advice.[/quote]

It would be a good idea to rouse this yeast at least once a day for at least the first week.

Because the yeast is so highly flocculant, ok. So, by rouse, I assume that is just picking up the fermenter and gently swirling it, focusing on making the bottom layer (settled yeast) gyrate more than the top of the fermenter? I hope that makes sense. Rouse it Every day?

I was planning to try to keep fermentation around 64F.

Side note: this was my 4th AG brew. What is good efficiency? I have read other threads, and I see different opinions.

I measured the gravity once I transferred to the carboy. I had almost exactly 5 gallons, the OG was 1.053 According to brewersfriend.com calculator, my brewhouse efficiency is 65.68% Is this okay? What efficiency do people report usually? I am confused

This morning I roused the yeast in a mead I’m making, the current gravity is 1.028 (from 1.136) which is about 14% or so and I want at least 2 or 3 more. I used a racking cane to gently stir up the bottom layer.
At least the first 4 or 5 days then take a gravity reading.

So with 5 gallons of OG 1.053, I roused the yeast on days 3, 4 and 5. It finished at 1.009, 82% attenuation and it was very clear. Thanks for the advice

This morning I roused the yeast in a mead I’m making, the current gravity is 1.028 (from 1.136) which is about 14% or so and I want at least 2 or 3 more. I used a racking cane to gently stir up the bottom layer.
At least the first 4 or 5 days then take a gravity reading.[/quote]

Hey Rookie – how many points did you shave off of your 1.028 after rousing, especially in such a high alcohol content brew? I have an R&D beer churning along with WLP002 that is at 1.024 (down from 1.104) and I’m debating rousing the yeast to see if I can get over the 1.016 (4 plato) hump.

Cheers,

-Andrew

[/quote]

Hey Rookie – how many points did you shave off of your 1.028 after rousing, especially in such a high alcohol content brew? I have an R&D beer churning along with WLP002 that is at 1.024 (down from 1.104) and I’m debating rousing the yeast to see if I can get over the 1.016 (4 plato) hump. [quote]

I haven’t taken another reading yet. I probably will next week when I rack it to a secondary.
I’ve gotten up to 18% with the yeast I used: Lavlin 1118.
I bet you could get a bit lower if you roused.

[quote=“Rookie L A”][/quote]

Hey Rookie – how many points did you shave off of your 1.028 after rousing, especially in such a high alcohol content brew? I have an R&D beer churning along with WLP002 that is at 1.024 (down from 1.104) and I’m debating rousing the yeast to see if I can get over the 1.016 (4 plato) hump. [quote]

I haven’t taken another reading yet. I probably will next week when I rack it to a secondary.
I’ve gotten up to 18% with the yeast I used: Lavlin 1118.
I bet you could get a bit lower if you roused.[/quote]

It got down to 1.018 without rousing, so I just bagged it and racked it off. I have to have the dry hopping run done before my wife gives birth next week.

Cheers.

I took a reading over the weekend and it’s down to 1.017, from 1.136 is almost 16%.

I have never had a problem with this yeast not finishing. I never rouse it or mess with it. I usually mash at 150-154 for an IPA and start in the 1.060-70 range. It usually finishes at 1.012-14 after a couple of weeks in primary. I usually use 10% crystal too so that should not be a problem. Just use a good amount of fresh yeast to start out with.

I have used this yeast with OG of 1.078 and slid down to 1.015 with some rousing and a temp bump. This yeast will stop or slow down when the temp gets below 64 deg.