My first try with this yeast after i could not get WY 1272 from MLBS and i have never seen fermentation like this. I followed directions pitching at 72 and holding until fermentation started then dropped to 67 where i want to ferment. Fermentation started as normal with a thin layer on the surface but did not build up but continues to form and goes into large bubbles on one side of the carboy where they expand and burst. Good bubbling activity in the airlock but no real kraeusen formation.
Should i be concerned? Is this normal for this yeast? Do i have a problem? Comments would be appreciated.
I just used this in a red IPA and made a starter and pitched at 70 into a 68 degree wort. 8 hours later, lots of airlock activity and a slight sulphor smell. I have this in a pail so I can’t see it but 2 1/2 days later, the activity is much less as to be expected.
I have read that it does best in the mid 60’s and anything in the mid 70’s will give off flavors but I’ve not used this before so I can’t say I’ve seen that.
Personally, I think you’re fine but I’d like to hear from others who’ve used this yeast as well. I plan on harvesting this for future use.
When I used WLP051, it was in a bucket so I never really looked to see what the krausen looked like. As long as you’re seeing other signs of fermentation (i.e., airlock activity), I wouldn’t sweat it.
One tip, this yeast takes forever to flocculate out. I bottled my Pale Ale after almost 4 weeks in the fermenter. After yet another 2 weeks in bottles it still tasted like doing a shooter out of a White Labs vial. The beer is tasty now, but needed well over 3 weeks in bottles for the yeast to drop clean.
I bottled the blond ale from the WY1072 using slightly more than 1/2 cup of table sugar on 2 out of 3 batches i made and had very good carbonation. I also bottled from the WLP051 2 batches using the same amount of sugar and kegged the third. I have extremely high carbonation on the 2 bottled batches of the WLP051 to the point of a bottle bomb. I checked the FG before bottling the WLP051 which was actually lower than the estimated from BeerSmith and checked it for several days. The fermentation was over 3 weeks. This beer contains 1/2 pound of Carafoam. Is it possible that the WY1072 did not ferment the carafoam (as it is designed not to do) but the WLP051 was able to in the bottles? Any thoughts on this or other reasons for the high carbonation as i have never experienced high carbonation in bottles on many different beers.
I used WLP051 for an IPA I brewed last year, but I can’t remember what type of activity I observed. I imagine as long as you pitched the right amount of healthy yeast, you’ll be fine. I’ve experienced fermentation activity like you’ve described (with other strains) and the beer has always turned out fine.
[quote=“erockrph”]When I used WLP051, it was in a bucket so I never really looked to see what the krausen looked like. As long as you’re seeing other signs of fermentation (i.e., airlock activity), I wouldn’t sweat it.
One tip, this yeast takes forever to flocculate out. I bottled my Pale Ale after almost 4 weeks in the fermenter. After yet another 2 weeks in bottles it still tasted like doing a shooter out of a White Labs vial. The beer is tasty now, but needed well over 3 weeks in bottles for the yeast to drop clean.[/quote]
That’s strange, it’s a much more flocculent strain than WLP001. I’ve always had it clear out after 3 weeks. Maybe you’ve got another source of haze?
