34 replies to this topic

[positiveContact]

ken, when wyeast has something to sell (easy to use yeast smack packs) I tend to take their recommendation with a grain of salt.  that's the best explanation i have for the discrepancy. 

[Big Nake]

ken, when wyeast has something to sell (easy to use yeast smack packs) I tend to take their recommendation with a grain of salt.  that's the best explanation i have for the discrepancy.

I could see it being a marketing gimmick but I don't remember hearing homebrewers laughing off that language as a bunch of nonsense. I would say that 25% of the beer I make is fermented with yeast in its "first-run"... yeast from a pack or a starter. The other 75% is beer that is fermented with slurry that was harvested from a prior primary. I occasionally get a bad batch which is almost always from infection but I know that 25% of my beer doesn't have a defect from underpitching so I just wonder if there are variables. Does underpitching ALWAYS mean you're going to experience something problematic? I would bet that the last 5-to-8 packs of ale yeast I have bought (1099, 1469, 1056, 1272, 1764) were pitched directly from the Activator after it swelled, into 1.050ish, well-oxygenated wort and my beers have been coming out lovely.

[Mya]

there seems to be a variation among accepted pitch rates, even among the pros

[denny]

There is a lot of language on the Activator pack about how it's designed to be directly pitched into 5 gallons of well-oxygenated wort (up to 1.060) and how you would get the same pitching rate suggested by professional brewers. I don't pretend to know if that's right or not but that's what it says. I still don't do that for lagers but one fresh Activator into ales is something I have done many times with no issues.

 

IF the pack you get is only a few days old, then MAYBE you'd get that rate.  But after that, viability declines and you're not anywhere near that.  And unless you use a microscope and hemacytometer to count cells, you really have no idea how many viable cells are in that 3 week old smack pack.

[denny]

Sounds reasonable but why does Wyeast print that on their package?

 

Because it makes things easy and you'll still make beer.  It may not be the best  beer you can make, though.

[positiveContact]

so it really comes down to what is the optimal pitching rate.  i go with yeastcalc and it's been working well for me but i can't really say what would happen if i pitched less as i'm not willing to try it.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I stopped trying to wash yeast. I either make a fresh starter or if I'm gonna use one a lot I make a big starter and save some yeast from the starter to make another in a couple days.

[JMcG]

I stopped trying to wash yeast. I either make a fresh starter or if I'm gonna use one a lot I make a big starter and save some yeast from the starter to make another in a couple days.

I almost always make a starter unless the harvested yeast is less than 3 days old.

I've smelled the "green olives" before in comp beer.  Any chance it's oxidation?

[djinkc]

I almost always make a starter unless the harvested yeast is less than 3 days old.

I've smelled the "green olives" before in comp beer.  Any chance it's oxidation?

 

acetaldehyde would be my guess

[chadm75]

So I dumped this after almost three weeks in the fermenter.  It smelled awful and tasted worse.  I've gotten slight acetaldehyde in some of my beers in the past but nothing like this.  But from the reading I've done, acetaldehyde goes away with cold-conditioning?

 

Other than making sure I pitch a boat-load of yeast next time, what else can I do to prevent acetaldehyde in my beers?

[denny]

AFAIK, cold conditioning will not remove acetaldehyde.  You could try krausening, though.  Adding a qt. or 2 of actively fermenting wort.  I've only used it to reduce diacetyl, but it should work for acetaldehyde, too.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Krausening is the only thing that will remove acetaldehyde. Probably has to be in low levels to begin with. I doubt it would really work well if you have it.

[Poptop]

Got a chance to brew this past Sunday.  I didn't have time to make a starter so my brew shop gave me 2 WLP565's for the price of one b/c the "Best Used By" date was 11/29.  I made a 1.060 Saison, pitched both and scared the sh!t out of my wife and son on Monday when the bubbler exploded.  I didn't use a blow off considering the questionable viability of those 2 vials  

 

That was my first explosion ever.  Lesson learned regarding consistent use of blow off hose for the first couple days anyway.

Edited by Steppedonapoptop, 04 December 2013 - 06:25 AM.

[Big Nake]

Got a chance to brew this past Sunday.  I didn't have time to make a starter so my brew shop gave me 2 WLP565's for the price of one b/c the "Best Used By" date was 11/29.  I made a 1.060 Saison, pitched both and scared the sh!t out of my wife and son on Monday when the bubbler exploded.  I didn't use a blow off considering the questionable viability of those 2 vials   That was my first explosion ever.  Lesson learned regarding consistent use of blow off hose for the first couple days anyway.

There's a guy who brews one block over and he asked me to come over one day while he was brewing. He was making a porter and at some point I noticed three packs of 1056 sitting on the table. He said he didn't have time to make a starter so he was pitching three Activators.

[SchwanzBrewer]

There's a guy who brews one block over and he asked me to come over one day while he was brewing. He was making a porter and at some point I noticed three packs of 1056 sitting on the table. He said he didn't have time to make a starter so he was pitching three Activators.

 

Best way to do it if you don't have time. Not cheap though.