23 replies to this topic

[wengared]

i brewed a tripel yesterday, got the slap pack ready, pitched as they say and 26 hours later no action . OG is still 1.092, i have some other dry yeasts on hand. ale and wine. let it ride longer or pitch something else.? on hand: saft-58, saf us05, us06, nottingham, and munich, plus D-47, k1-v1116, , cote des blanc and montrachet.the wheat i brewed yesterday morning started fermentation in less then 4 hours on us-06.so any suggestions out there?

[chuck_d]

Actually, not all that surprising if you just pitched a pack with no starter into 1.092 wort that you wouldn't see anything at 26 hours. Wait another 22 before you even think about taking action. Then wait another day before actually taking action.Edit: Just did a quick calculation in my spreadsheet using the pitching calculator. If you have 5.5 gallons of 1.092 wort you'd need about 343 billion cells. You only put in 100 billion and their vitality is less than those from a starter.

Edited by chuck_d, 09 June 2009 - 04:30 PM.

[wengared]

Actually, not all that surprising if you just pitched a pack with no starter into 1.092 wort that you wouldn't see anything at 26 hours. Wait another 22 before you even think about taking action. Then wait another day before actually taking action.

thanks, i was following wyeast instructions, see how it goes.

[DaBearSox]

100 Billion Yeast cells is really really low for a 1.092 beer. According to Mr Malty you should have in excess of 300 billion cells to start that beer out....so thats over 3 packs. You're gonna have to wait it out on this one...they gotta reproduce ALOT to get that thing goinhttps://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

[chuck_d]

I did this as an edit, but everyone replied too fast so reposting....Just did a quick calculation in my spreadsheet using the pitching calculator. If you have 5.5 gallons of 1.092 wort you'd need about 343 billion cells. You only put in 100 billion and their vitality is less than those from a starter.

[wengared]

I now have mr malty locked into my favorites, thanks

[ncbeerbrewer]

Hopefully the underpitch will not result in a final gravity much higher than you wanted. 3787 is a great yeast but 1.092 is a huge beer. Patience and the action will occur. Good Luck Wen.

[wengared]

Hopefully the underpitch will not result in a final gravity much higher than you wanted. 3787 is a great yeast but 1.092 is a huge beer. Patience and the action will occur. Good Luck Wen.

I know i can throw some other yeast in it to bring it all the way down, but i don't want to screw up the taste, it takes me at least a week to get another shipment of 3787. still learning this big beer thing.

[MolBasser]

Imma shout it again.STARTERUnless it is some weird emergency, no homebrew should just be pitched with a smack pack or a tube of white labs.That is my opinion, but Imma stick by it. Use a starter.BrewBasser

[Recklessdeck]

I brewed a golden strong with that yeast last weekend and it took off real quick, and a very vigorous ferment and I made no starter. Then again it was a 2.5 gallon batch. I hope it all works out for you and your tripel!

[DubbelEntendre]

The first time I did a Dubbel, I made a similar mistake. 1.080, no starter. Only 1 vial of WL yeast. Plus side (if your into this kind of thing) - the under pitching is going to stress the hell out of your yeast and they are going to throw out lots of esters.Potential down side - under attenuation, although once it does take off the Belgian strains pretty much ferment anything.As has been suggested, give it a full 96 hours before doing something drastic. Mine took ~80 hours to get going when I just used a vial. If you are really worried about it check the bottom of the carboy and see if there is a thick layer starting to form. At least you will know that you have cell growth.Also, +1 to Basser comments. Make starters. Or, make more beer and take 1 strain and make yourself a Belgian Pale ~ 1.060 harvest that yeast and then make your tripel and use the harvested yeast for the bigger batch. Still, make a starter for the first beer though

[wertydc]

+1 on the starter info aboveIf I see no activity in my airlock by the next moring after pitching yeast (12 - 15 hours), I will rock the fermenter a few times. This typically results in some foaming up of the wort and the airlock bubbles quickly for about a minute. This gives me the feeling the yeast are doing their thing, albeit slowly at that point. I know that the major activity will be going soon after that. I usually attribute the slow start to under-pitching or cold wort temps.3787 gets going pretty good in my experience, so get a blow off tube ready if you have not already.

[denny]

thanks, i was following wyeast instructions, see how it goes.

Their instructions are to make a starter for a beer of that OG.

[NWPines]

So wait, Basser, I don't follow..... are you saying he should or shouldn't have made a starter??But seriously wengared, you way way underpitched which will result in a very long lag time (in addition to several other potential issues).

[wengared]

I talked to my lhbs about their statement that wyeast doesn't need a starter, they danced around that for a while, option b was to add nutrient and energizers, stir it up and it's going good now.there was a lot of good advice here for the next batch and i appreciate them all. i have a packet of 1214 on hand for a dubbel and it will be started first, and my planned barlywine will be thrown onto a yeast cake of probably t-58. as i'm getting my all grain system down, i will feel more comfortable with the problems that crop up and keep eliminateing them. thanks again to all.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Sounds like you have a good plan for some up coming brews. I definitely think its worthwhile to pitch yeast on beers increasing in gravity. Its like you get a free beer from one of your yeast cakes. Plus thats one less starter you have to make. Even though they can be a pain to make a starter is well worth the time when you know a quality beer will be created. Good to hear your Tripel started. Let us know how low the FG gets for you too. Happy brewing and fermentations.Mike

[MolBasser]

I talked to my lhbs about their statement that wyeast doesn't need a starter, they danced around that for a while, option b was to add nutrient and energizers, stir it up and it's going good now.there was a lot of good advice here for the next batch and i appreciate them all. i have a packet of 1214 on hand for a dubbel and it will be started first, and my planned barlywine will be thrown onto a yeast cake of probably t-58. as i'm getting my all grain system down, i will feel more comfortable with the problems that crop up and keep eliminateing them. thanks again to all.

If your LHBS was dancing around the need to make a starter for your particular (high gravity) beer, I would very much question all the info they give you.....BrewBasser

[wengared]

If your LHBS was dancing around the need to make a starter for your particular (high gravity) beer, I would very much question all the info they give you.....BrewBasser

I was refering to the advice given from members of this board, thanks

[pete maz]

The best thing to do when Brewing Belgians or other big beers where some type of sugar is added is to add the sugar at the end of primary. Brew a 1.060 beer, pitch your yeast, then add the remaining fermentable (sugar) in the amount that would reach your intended OG. Not only is this easier on your yeast, you don't need to pitch as big a starter from the get go. The fermentation alone will build enought yeast cells to handle the sugar addition easily. The result is less stress on your yeast and FG that is easily attainable.

I've done this on my last two hi gravity Belgians, and had very good results. Unless I find a downside, this will be my go-to method from now on.