Severely expired (Aug '17) pack of 2206 in a 3 L starter, stirred for 36 hours, crashed for ~60 hours because I had to delay overnight while the wort cooled a few degrees. Brewed Monday, pitched Tuesday at 0900, 12°C, 1.45 M/mL-°P. Airlock was bubbling by 6 pm (<9 hours). As of this morning (96 hours since pitching) gravity has dropped from 17.4°P to 12.0°P, and I’ll probably start bumping up the temperature tomorrow.
I didn’t see anything about aeration there; I bubble through the wort for 10 min with an aquarium pump immediately before pitching.
I was wondering about 2206/Weihenstephan 206, I’ve always heard it’s a slow one. Using 2124/Weihenstephan 34/70, pitching at 10°C and oxygenating, I would think something was really wrong if lag time were not on the order of a10t2’s (under 12 hours, it usually starts while I’m sleeping.) Expect 3 1/2 days to ~1°P to go and time for temp rise. Can I really expect a similar fermentation schedule with 206? If so I ought to try it sometime.
Not that fast, IME. Even at high krausen I don’t see a drop of more than 2-3°P/day. Roughly a week to FG depending on gravity and how aggressively I want to ramp it.
This was a little bit of a fast start too; 12-18 hours is more typical.
Well crap. The airlock activity didn’t increase like it usually does, so I decided to run to the LHBS to get some dry yeast. I’d concluded that I under-pitched dramatically. THEN… I see this:
First was the length of time the warm wort was exposed to the air while it drained into the fermenter. I will set yet one more hop/trub removal device on the shelf, the last in a line of failed devices.
Second, some time ago I posted that I was done with wet yeast for this very reason. All the yeast I get here in Yakima is dead or mostly so. I thought it would be OK ordering from More Beer in CA. It is Spring so the temperatures are not extreme, and I paid for the most expensive insulated & cooled mailer. How many times do I need to learn this lesson?! So I will brew this again, but with DRY YEAST!
That really sucks. I get great, very fresh Wyeast here in Ohio (from LHBS,) and you are so close to the original source. How do others out there (like Jim) get their yeast without this problem? There must be a way.
I never have fresh yeast on hand. That is why I’ve never tried the shaken. That said, I’ve never had any issue with getting yeast that was damaged in shipping.
Here’s another thing that is a possibility. I never used to have issues with yeast until I went with the shaken not stirred method. But at that same time I decided I would can my starter wort. I now find myself wondering if my starter wort is killing the yeast.
I cannot imagine how. I use whole grain 1.040 wort, and pressure can it. I don’t add anything.
It’s just a puzzle that I am trying to consider all possibilities for.
I use nutrient in starters and, generally, in the brew as well. At the least, it’s harmless, and cheap insurance. My current line of experimentation is suggesting that cold break material is an even cheaper version of this.
The possibility of micronutrient deficiency leads me to another thought. Is it possible your liquid yeast was not delivered in poor condition, but that the dry yeast was grown on a medium that ensured an adequate supply of the nutrient missing from your starter? I’m thinking the reserve such a nutrient the liquid yeast brought with it could have been exhausted in the starter phase, with none carried into the ferment. (Zinc being the obvious prime suspect.)
I see lots of replies to this, but what makes you think this is an infection? I’ve had totally normal fermentation begin this way, and you described pitching in a different method than usual so the beginning ferment might look different. I see no mold here. What are you smelling? Did you check pH? I’m betting you get healthy krausen soon.
My lager starters are about 10C cooler than my ale starters. So they are slower at showing sign of activity to the naked eye. Normally, I see activity in my ale starters at 6-8 hrs. 8-12 hrs for lagers. I see air lock activity, usually, with ales at about 24 hrs. But it could be well before that, I don’t look every hour… I usually see airlock activity in my lagers by 36 hrs (Morning after 24 hrs) but…
First visible air lock activity is not the best method of determining end of Lag Phase. If your yeast are visibly active (off gassing co2) in your starter, the mothers have finished budding and are fermenting. Maybe some daughters are too. Some daughters are still budding. Bloop, into the main beer wort… more oxygen… more budding… basically “they” are immediately in Log Phase.
How long until they reach max density, and produce enough co2 to overcome retaining co2 at lower than ale temp, and create enough pressure to bubble your air lock? Dunno… But that’s not the end of Lag Phase, start of Log Phase. They’ve been in Log Phase since you pitched the active starter.
By the way - air lock is not a good indicator of phases.
As to infection? I’m not seeing a pelicle, I’m seeing islands of white stuff that might be yeast rafts, or might be islands of foam, or might be… infection. Hard to say from just a photo