Anyone familiar with the temperament of this yeast?
I will be using this yeast for the first time in a Porter tomorrow and was curious as to what I might expect. I realize every wort is different and there is no “one size fits all” description, but any education would be appreciated. My usual Porter yeasts are 1450 or Windsor, both of which have given great results.
For 1275, Wyeast says “Med-Low Floc, 77% attenuation, 62-72 temp range”. (Frankly, I would be stunned if I got 77% out of a Porter wort and set the attenuation to 70% in my recipe software.)
My particulars will be one full pack in 3 gallons of approximately 1.060 wort. Fermentation should start in the low-mid 60’s and finish in the mid-upper 60’s.
1275 said hello in about 5-6 hours, resembling foam in about 12-15 and krausen in fine health at about 24-28.
Currently chugging along unemotionally, with the occasional awkward pause, and apologizing for every burp.
Appears finished on day 5 as I’m starting to see the typical fall-out accumulating on the bottom of the fermenter. Not used to seeing fermentation so obviously finished this quickly…almost like Windsor. I will be very interested to see what kind of attenuation I get.
I probably should package it this weekend, but without a free keg, it will likely sit another week.
+1. English strains are known for fast start and finish but often at the expense of attenuation. As long as you plan for the high finish gravity of those strains to meet your goal they can be a great to use.
We need take into account that 1275 came from the brewery that invented the double-drop brewing system. In a double-drop brewery, fermentation is started in an elevated fermentation vessel. After a period of time, the fermenting beer is dropped into a lower fermentation vessel, leaving behind the break and dead yeast cells. Dropping also aerates the wort. I suspect that 1275 may be an O3 yeast strain with respect to O2 demands. I personally have never used the culture, but if 1275 is failing to attenuate one’s wort and leaving behind diacetyl, then I suspect that short burst of O2 24 hours into the fermentation should rectify the problem.
1275 has formed a tight, compact, smooth layer on the bottom of my fermenter, farther below the valve outlet than I can remember any other fermentation. About .25gal loss from 3. Will keg and get FG this weekend.
Finished at 1.013 from 1.060. 78%.
I’ve never had 78% in a Porter before so I have no idea what to make of this. Sample taste out of primary is straightforward Porter. Wyeast says low fruitiness, low esters and that’s pretty spot on at this point. Maybe a bit fruity in the nose? A bit dry in the back? Not carbed up yet so I’ll wait til next week to pass final judgment.
Pretty happy with it at this point, but maybe a Porter wasn’t the best choice to really see what the yeast has to offer. Still, so far so good.
Interesting that Wyeast lists attenuation at 72-76%. Here we used it in a Porter and a Stout and got 78 & 81%.
My Porter came out really nice but I certainly wasn’t expecting the attenuation. The beer definitely leans a bit more to a Dry Stout than an English Porter. I still haven’t found my #1 Porter yeast just yet. Still, I wouldn’t hesitate to use 1275 again. Maybe in a Bitter.
I used Wyeast 1275 a few times in a British Brown Ale, the last time in 2019. Mash efficiency was in the high 80’s each time, fermentation started off strongly in less than half a day and slowed down to almost no airlock activity after 3 days. Fermented at 67 degrees; gravities were on the money. I liked it and would use it again.
In comparison, I used WLP-013 London Ale in my last batch of brown ale. I used it because I couldn’t get any 1275 at the time. The mash efficiency was 81% and the final gravity was off by only 1 point. It started slightly slower, and was essentially done fermenting in a week. Fermented at 66 degrees. I’d use the Thames Valley next time.
