Yep, 1 pack in 5 gallons and I just sprinkled it over the top of the wort and I had active fermentation in 16 hours. The flavor profile seems very much like 2124 to me. I made a wide variety of beers with it… pilsner, helles, a czech-style lager, a dark Mexican lager, a bock, an amber… all very nice.
This is how I pitch (fill the cone, sprinkle on top, wait a few minutes, complete the fill) and the pitch rate to ensure fast start (I avg the recommendation to 1 g per liter).
It appeared as if fermentation started late yesterday evening. Sure enough, it’s in full swing this morning. I have never experienced a lag time of nearly 30 hours. Crazy! But, okay.
Thanks to everyone for their input!
Have to ask - are you simply observing the airlock or were you seeing the krausen forming?
Both, actually. First, the beer was and still is, quite clear. It still has not gotten cloudy as it usually does. Also, I’m using a blowoff tube in a flask and the liquid in the blowoff tube was at the exact same level as the liquid in the flask. So that told me there was no CO2 pressure in the carboy. Lastly, the foam that gets generated while filling the carboy almost completely diminished until late yesterday when I finally began to see new Krausen starting to form. This morning I have about 2” of Krausen and a very active blowoff.
30+ hours is quite typical for this yeast. Not crazy, but standard. Search the internet and you will find this is common. What is not common is fast ferment starts. Our last brew with this yeast took 36 hours to show initial signs of activity. And we followed the textbook rules for pitching.
34/70 is my go to lager yeast. I have pitched as low as 48* and have seen signs of fermentation in as little as 12 hours. I pitch big, maybe overpitch but I want activity sooner rather than later although 24-36 hours isn’t going to hurt anything.
When using fresh, I pitch directly onto the wort, no need to rehydrate. It is a waste of time IMO. I also harvest my yeast and make a starter a few days prior to brew day. Also, pitch the yeast, whether dry or harvested, at fermentation temps. If you pitch higher than fermentation temps or IMO above 60* you run the risk of esters that you don’t want in lagers.
That’s one of the intricacies of this hobby - we never stop learning. I’m just fortunate I found the answers I was looking for very quickly. I have taken great notes on my experience so the next time I use this yeast, I’ll know what to expect. Trust me, I went over my process again and again thinking I missed a step or I did something that killed my yeast! Thanks for your help!
I wonder why we have such a variety of results. Some see long lag times, others don’t, uwwong the same procedures. What do you suppose makes the difference?
I agree with you on the re-hydration aspect. The reason why I like to re-hydrate my dry yeast is to make it easier to pitch onto my carboy. Too many times I have pitched dry directly onto the carboy and much of the yeast sticks to the walls of the glass and I end up having to put extra work into getting it off. I’m sure the little bit stuck on the walls may not make a difference - I think its more of an OC thing. :-\
That’s an excellent question. I was wondering the same thing. I attribute the difference to the water perhaps or possibly the wort composition??? Great question. Ill be watching the responses.
Do the ones getting a long lag use yeast nutrient? If so, what brand, how much, and when is it added?
I used to get long lags but I began pitching more yeast and using yeast nutrient. The OP pitched plenty of yeast…
I still use 1 pack unrehydrated for 5.5 gal. up to 1.060 OG. I try to use yeast nutrient, but I occasionally forget and it doesn’t really seem to make much difference, at least in lag
time.
I never use yeast nutrient. All the nutrients that your yeast need should be in a properly done mash. That is, in mine, RO water that has had all of the required salts and the use of fresh ingredients.
Zinc can be deficient even in all-malt worts, because most of it tends to be lost during lautering. Extra zinc can be added in mineral form (ZnSO4 or ZnCl2), or it can be incorporated in a nutritional product.
To get around the law, German brewers would incorporate zinc plumbing fittings in their breweries, or add zinc chains to the rakes or simply add live yeast to the boil kettle.
Using yeast nutrient can be a help if you reuse your yeast. But I agree it’s not crucial.
From the Fermentis website…and they state no nutrients needed:
Fermentation starts immediately, but significant CO2 release and aroma formation will only be perceptible after 12 to 24 hours for ale yeasts and 16 to 32 hours for lager yeasts.
At a family brewery in Niederbayern, the brewer had gotten yeast from his buddy a couple of towns over that brews more often. It was a big tub of yeast. Looking at pictures last year, I did a double take, it was galvanized, i.e. zinc coated. There are ways around the BHG.
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Do people aerate with dry yeast? In theory you don’t need to, but regardless of how the beer turns out it could change the lag time.