First Pressure Ferment (s-23)

I can’t answer why, but papers on the subject have shown it to happen 100 hours+ into fermentation. Gun to my head, I would say it’s just the way their built.

Yes, 3 tsp goferm protect evolution in your starter and boil it 5-10 mins. I pitch the entire starter and yes no need for oxygen at all. If I see 10 points in the first 24 hours,  I usually see twice that in the second 24 hours. Please report back with what your results are on your equipment. I typically do not temper my starter temperature down closer to the wort temperature, but if you normally do I would stick with that procedure.

I’m curious because that hasn’t been my experience.

If you use dry yeast, there is no need for O2 anyway,

Right. When I dry pitch I don’t oxygenate. I wasn’t sure on this case because of the vitality starter with wort first?

Personally I don’t see the point in making a starter for dry yeast. The manufacturers don’t recommend it. Many even recommend against it. I get great performance without it. But if you do,the same thing goes…no aeration necessary.

No aeration if the starter wort but what about the batch it’s pitched into? I think in this case they’re saying no need for aeration of the main batch the starter is pitched into?

Because the sterols the yeast is produced with get used up in a starter, it essentially becomes liquid yeast. So I’d aerate the batch

I agree that the manufacturers don’t recommend it for their brewing side products, but when I looked at their wine side dry yeast it was different in the adjuncts added with the yeast. That lead me to try different things. Here’s some results from the last couple years of dry yeast summed up for the first 24 hours:

1-3 points Sprinkled dry onto wort
1-3 points Rehydated in boiled/cooled strike water
1-3 points Rehydated in boiled/cooled strike water with 1 tsp goferm protect evolution
6-8 points 500ml vitality starter made 4 hrs before pitch
8-16 points 500ml vitality starter with 1 tsp goferm protect evolution made 4 hrs before pitch

The results have been great for my brewing. Seeing low kräusen way earlier and the yeast dumping the pH sooner are positives all the way around to me. It really isn’t much effort on a busy brew day either, but is it necessary… no. I agree you can make beer by skipping a vitality starter altogether.

The goferm protect evolution provides sterols and unsaturated fatty acids in the vitality starter as it is its intended purpose. If you aerate, they will bypass taking them in directly even if readily available and build them from scratch extending lag time.

Update. Hit FG today, tastes like straight butter. Moved to my cold crash keg for a rest of two days. Then cold crash

Yes, but that’s wine, not beer. Different situation

From what I am finding, not many people seem to have issues with diacetyl with s-23. My sample tasted, smelled, and had the mouthfeel of drinking popcorn butter. I’m at FG, but hoping moving to (for lack of a better term) a secondary under atmospheric pressure for a day or two will clear things up.

If it doesn’t clear it up, consider a krausening (starter volume should work well enough, I would think).

Visited the local homebrew store to pick up some yeast and dme to krausen. Walked in, said I had diacetyl after hitting FG before even asking for anything. He said “gonna pitch some yeast to clean it up?”

Bubbling away for about 2 hours now. We will see in a few days the result.

Let us know how everything turns out and what you suspect caused it. I have never had that issue with S23 before.

How is the situation different?

Higher gravity, different pH, different nutrient requirements

Goferm protect evolution is made specifically to reduce osmotic shock when rehydrating to increase vitality and viability, while providing the minerals and micronutrients the book Yeast The practical guide to fermentations describes as essential to brewers yeast health. In my side by side trials with identical wort in all rounder fermenters, vitality starters with goferm protect evolution out performs everything, especially just sprinkling in dry yeast. For the 32 cents it costs per 5 gallon batch, it is doing what it claims and has the nutrients brewers yeast need. It really may not be all that different.

Had my friend over yesterday who got me going again and gave him a sample. He said that in his opinion, it was one of the following -  only using a single packet of yeast, pitching a bit too hot, and setting the head pressure. Or a combination of them. So, rookie mistakes.

Two days of krausening has it cleaned up dramatically, but still has a bit. Still getting a bubble on average 2.5 seconds, so it has some time. Now that I can taste more than a butter bomb, there’s a damn good beer under there.