Problems with German Lager Yeast (WLP830)

[Let's Brew Beer]

Hey Gang, long time no post. Did an all grain DoppleBock about 7 weeks ago and put it into a 20L cube, as we were going away and didn't have the time to ferment it. Thought i'd do things right and go get a proper yeast seeings as the all grain took me 6 hours LOL. Anyways, the instructions on the vial say to do a 2L starter if the OG is 1.065 or higher (mine settled at 1.066) so syphoned 2L of wort into a demi-john and pitched yeast, 24 hours later and no activity, the instructions claim that activity should be present around 5-15 hours. Anyone out there tried this yeast?
tried leaving it outside initially and it was at a constant 20C so tossed it in the fridge @ 10C and still nothing, somewhat perplexed. cheers.

 

[tanked84]

It can take 24-48 to show something.It is a bottom fermenting yeast, so It may not display as much “activity” Compared to ale yeasts.
Did you take a hydrometer reading ?
I’ve used this yeast before @10C but pitched at 16C dropped it overnight and it has taken a couple of days to drop a few points from the OG using a tilt hydrometer.

 

[Tony121]

Used it a number of times, pitching around 8-10 deg C, never an issue. Takes a couple of days to show signs from above but that doesn’t mean it is not fermenting. Do yourself a favour and double your starter volume - more yeast the better.

 

[Let's Brew Beer]

Yeast seems to have taken hold now, some 48 hrs after making starter. somewhat sluggish but perhaps thats the characteristic it has.

 

[citizensnips]

Consider stepping up your starter again if you want to be safe. Unlikely you'll be any where close to over pitching if you did.

 

[Let's Brew Beer]

Might let it go another cuppla days then pitch.

 

[labels]

Run your starters closer to 30C just make sure you gradually chill the starter to the same temperature of your wort prior to pitching

 

[fungrel]

Might let it go another cuppla days then pitch.

If you have a pH meter handy, just check that you haven't picked up any nasties on the way. pH should be 4-4.4, any less and you may have a problem.

 

[portsparky]

I've actually got a batch of this yeast in the fermenter at the moment, and also spun up another lot this week for a mate.

I felt that it didn't produce as much yeast as I expected on the stir plate.

As far the actual fermentation, it was a lot slower to start than others I've used too. Refer to attached screenshot. After a couple of days, I upped the temp to 13 C to try and kick things along, which seemed to do the trick. I then came down to 11 C, then 10 C. Krausen seemed slower than normal too. But, it's working fine now.

A point of note - The yeast itself in the starter smelt amazing. I did this 850 German Lager at the same time as a WLP940 Mexican Lager, and the German smelt awesome.