Coopers Yeast Fermentation

[boingk]

Hi all. Last night I pitched a starter made from the dregs of a Coopers longneck bottle. It seemed to be going along fine in the jar I had it in, but now not much is happening in the fermentor. No bubbling at least, anyway - and this is a fermentor which has a pretty decent seal. There is some residue on the bottom but this may have been grain residue from a mini-mash I did for the batch.

Its coming up on 24hrs since I pitched the yeast and I'm thinking of pitching again. Good idea, or should I just wait it out?

Cheers - boingk

 

[BoilerBoy]

Tell us more about your starter.

How much did you build it up and over how long?

Was it active when you pitched it?

BB

 

[kram]

I would wait it out, there's plenty of 'no visible activity' going on when yeast is in its initial stages in the wort. Provided you didn't grossly underpitch, chances are you'll wake up in the morning and it'll be away.

Just recently did a batch with recultured coopers yeast and I think I saw a krausen around 24-36 hours. Fermented 17-18

 

[boingk]

I made up a 500ml starter with a bit of LDME and waited until I saw decent activity, then left for a few more hours. It was definitely active when I pitched. It was in a sanitised jar with cling-wrap over the top. Wort temp was 25'C, dropping to 20'C as of now.

I think I'll take krams advice and wait until the morning to see whats happening. If it still doesn't look like much then I'll take an SG reading and pitch another yeasts if theres no change.

Cheers - boingk

 

[fergi]

kram has it sorted, dont repitch, i use mostly recultured coopers yeast now for my pale ales and it is notorious fora slow start, i usually make a starter from just a coopers stubby "1inch in bottom of bottle is all i ever use" start with about 500 ml then up to a litre, while its really going i have put that into my fermenter and it still takes 24/36 hours to really get going, you cant see it but it starts really slowly in the fermenter and then it winds up and does its thing, leave it alone it will kick off. you would have been better uping that to a litre over 2 or 3 days but that will eventually kick off, you are just down a bit on yeast numbers.
cheers

fergi

 

[boingk]

Sweet, thanks for that fergi. Its my first time using a recultured yeast, and I know it should've been a bit larger...now. I did have a larger one lying around but I found it behind my computer monitor and thought I'd better make up another instead as the chances it was still usable weren't too good (hot room, 2 weeks, light struck etc). Next time I try and culture something I'll definitely use a longer timeframe and a larger volume, make it all less worrisome.

Thanks again - boingk

 

[boingk]

Pitched a standard Coopers 7g dry yeast just then, took an SG reading and there was zero difference from pitching so thought it was time for an alternative option. Looks like I messed up, oh well. Now, for culturing the yeast out of a bottle of Chimay!

Cheers - boingk

 

[Hutch]

Sorry to hear you ended up pitching the dry yeast, though I guess you were concerned about infection risk with such a long lag. I'd strongly recommend you ferment at 17-18 degrees if you can, to get the best result from the coopers cultured yeast.

Starters from liquid yeasts, particularly recultured yeasts really need to be made up to at least 2 Ltrs, which for Coopers usually takes several days (in my experience). A home-made stir plate REALLY helps multiply yeast in a starter, guaranteeing you'll pitch a good amount of healthy yeast every time, and get a fast start to fermentation.

2c. Hutch.

 

[boingk]

Thanks Hutch, I've heard that the cultured Coopers yeast gets excessively fruity above 18'C so thats what I was planning on fermenting at, if not lower. For me its almost a stock temp as I've found most ale yeasts I've tried have performed well there. And yes, I was definitely beginning to worry about infection due to the lag so figured something was better than nothing.

In future I'll try and make up to 2L for sure - even got an old port bottle or two lying around that'd suit just fine. As for the stir plate, I'll probably wait until I get a place of my own as the less stuff I have for the move the easier it will be!

Cheers - boingk

 

[BoilerBoy]

When culturing a yeast from a bottle IMHO there is at least some degree of uncertainty? as to what condition the yeast is in, therefore ensuring an active healthy starter built up drom at least 2L as Hutch suggested to get the numbers up prior to pitching is critical.

I've been doing this method for a few years now

Start woith 100-150ml starter, when yeast is active add a litre, when that ferments out add another litre and let it ferment out then stick it in the fridge to settle the yeast out

After doughing in I take the yeast out and tip off the spent starter wort and let it warm up.

After chilling add 1L of the new wort and when high activity is reached usually 4-6hrs... pitch.

Having a built up an active healthy starter removes much of the angst of hoping, but prep is the key.

Cheers,
BB

 

[boingk]

Thanks BoilerBoy - I'll follow that method for the next attempt; a Chimay reculture for a Belgian Blond. Might go down this avo and get one or two actually, give me some time to properly prep it before I put the batch on.

Cheers - boingk

 

[Ronin]

Thanks Hutch, I've heard that the cultured Coopers yeast gets excessively fruity above 18'C so thats what I was planning on fermenting at, if not lower. For me its almost a stock temp as I've found most ale yeasts I've tried have performed well there. And yes, I was definitely beginning to worry about infection due to the lag so figured something was better than nothing.

In future I'll try and make up to 2L for sure - even got an old port bottle or two lying around that'd suit just fine. As for the stir plate, I'll probably wait until I get a place of my own as the less stuff I have for the move the easier it will be!

Cheers - boingk

Fruity indeed...I had a coopers yeast get away last summer. Ended up at 24C and smelt like those banana lollies. The beer ended up OK after the banana went away, but it was scary for a while :unsure: