WHC Bond dead in the wort

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Eric
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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Eric » Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:00 pm

Soay4699 wrote:
Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:32 pm
Checked again and it has dropped another point. So two points in 48 hours. I would rather not take the lid off just yet to check the surface. I can see a bit through the sides as it is a plastic fermenter and see nothing as yet.

Just suppose I had made a starter, would it have taken as long as this to show signs of life? I like to plan exactly when I brew and this making a starter that could take anywhere between hours and days to get going is a bother.
It would be worrying if no obvious signs of fermentation after 48 hours.


I've used wet yeast for well over a decade. A quick check through my logs suggests only 2 dried yeast were pitched in the last 10 years.
It is five and a half years since a yeast of US origin was pitched here and that was likely to have been repitched several times.
I wouldn't say their yeasts are troublesome, but their British, Scottish and Irish yeast might not be exactly what is claimed.
R0010735.JPG
Typical morning after pitching.
R0010735.JPG (1.46 MiB) Viewed 2551 times
Making a starter would in itself show how quickly the yeast became active and then you would pitch working yeast rather than dormant yeast.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Jocky » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:24 pm

Soay4699 wrote:
Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:32 pm
Just suppose I had made a starter, would it have taken as long as this to show signs of life? I like to plan exactly when I brew and this making a starter that could take anywhere between hours and days to get going is a bother.
I brewed on Saturday, pitched a 1 litre starter of Wyeast 1056 about 130pm. There was bubbles coming out of the blow off tube when I checked it at 930pm.

The starter had been made on Monday, given 12 hours on a stir plate, 36 hours to ferment out and was put in the fridge to store on Wednesday until brew day on Saturday.

So if you can plan things out, it’s really not a bother.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Soay4699 » Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:27 pm

Jocky wrote:
Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:24 pm
I brewed on Saturday, pitched a 1 litre starter of Wyeast 1056 about 130pm. There was bubbles coming out of the blow off tube when I checked it at 930pm.

The starter had been made on Monday, given 12 hours on a stir plate, 36 hours to ferment out and was put in the fridge to store on Wednesday until brew day on Saturday.

So if you can plan things out, it’s really not a bother.
I am not really up to date with making a starter. Did you use dried malt extract diluted with boiled water to SG1036 and pitched. I like the idea of being able to store in the fridge for a few days to match the right day for brewing. Did you buy or build your stir plate?

Anyway this morning my recalcitrant yeast has woken up. I am now at 1033. Not too vigorous but still doing something at least.

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by guypettigrew » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:32 pm

Good to know your fermentation has started. Let's hope it's just the yeast you pitched doing the work and not some uninvited wild thing.

When I make a starter I dissolve about 115g of dried malt extract in a litre of water, together with a bit of yeast nutrient. Boil it for 10 minutes to ensure it's completely dissolve and sterile. I use 1 drop of an anti foaming agent to make life easy, otherwise you have to keep lifting the flask off the heat and swirling it round and blowing into it. You need a 2 litre flask for 1 litre of starter to give plenty of head room.

Cool to 20-25°C then add the yeast. Use a foam stopper or a piece of foil to stop any unwanted wild yeasts or bacteria dropping in. A stir plate helps, but isn't absolutely necessary. If you don't have a stir plate just swirl the flask round every time you pass it.

Once the activity in the flask has died down, probably after 48 hours or so, the yeast you've grown will settle on the bottom of the flask. This can then be kept cool, as Jocky says, until you need it.

Warm it back up to room temperature on brew day, carefully tip off the clear liquid and then tip the yeast into your wort. You should see fermentation within a few hours.

Hope this helps.

Guy

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Jocky
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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Jocky » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:54 pm

I do exactly what Guy does.

My stir plate was bought, but as Guy says they're not absolutely necessary.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Eric » Mon Sep 20, 2021 2:10 pm

Soay4699 wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:27 pm

I am not really up to date with making a starter.
Anyway this morning my recalcitrant yeast has woken up. I am now at 1033. Not too vigorous but still doing something at least.
There are many different ways to make a starter and you will soon determine what suits you best. As guy advises, yeast nutrient is a great aid. While there is nutrition in break and trub, that type of material is likely more valuable to invaders than to yeast.

If you find yourself in a similar situation again without a fresh starter, take a small sample of wort just before the end of the boil, quickly chill it with running cold water to the the temperature of the yeast and combine the two. By the time the bulk of the wort is ready for the yeast, most of it will be active.

Stop worrying about this brew, most of us have had something very similar happen and we have long forgotten about it, but we did learn the importance of making starters.

I don't have a stirrer, apart from my wife.
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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by Soay4699 » Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:50 pm

I re-pitched the yeast yesterday into a Firkin Brewery Dogbolter clone and this morning it was fermenting well. My plan is to re-use it five times, from one brew to the next without making up a starter. So, one down and four to go.

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by IPA » Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:04 am

There is absolutely no need to use an antifoaming agent when boiling a mixture of DME and water.
Put the DME into a small saucepan and add some boiling water. Mix it until all of the extract has disolved.
Pour it into the Erlenmeyer flask and top up to the required volume with boiling water and put it on the gas hob
to boil for five minutes. I can guarantee that it will not boil over.
Also as Eric said take the lid off of the fermenting vessell and have a look. Your eyes are far more accurate than
electronic wizardry.
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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by guypettigrew » Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:03 am

IPA wrote:
Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:04 am
There is absolutely no need to use an antifoaming agent when boiling a mixture of DME and water.
Put the DME into a small saucepan and add some boiling water. Mix it until all of the extract has disolved.
Pour it into the Erlenmeyer flask and top up to the required volume with boiling water and put it on the gas hob
to boil for five minutes. I can guarantee that it will not boil over.
Also as Eric said take the lid off of the fermenting vessell and have a look. Your eyes are far more accurate than
electronic wizardry.
Very true, IPA. But a drop of antifoaming added to the litre of cold water before the DME means one less item to wash up and one less thing to worry about.

Guy

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Re: WHC Bond dead in the wort

Post by MashBag » Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:24 am

Soay4699 wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:27 pm
I like the idea of being able to store in the fridge for a few days to match the right day for brewing. Did you buy or build your stir plate?
Alternatively you could keep dried yeast sealed in the fridge, and rehydrate it properly in half hour on brewday.

Different folks different strokes. A stunning ammount of alcoholic beverages are made beautifully from dried yeast every day. It is should not be discounted. Starters are not a mandatory prerequisite for good beer, please don't think you have to.

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