Windsor Yeast

[going down a hill]

Im up to my third brew now and I decided to have a play with different yeasts. I bought a packet of Windsor yeast and split my Cascade Choc Mahogany Porter into two carboys. The first carboy has the packet yeast and the second has the Windsor. I was pretty proud of myself; I can now do a comparison of kit vs good packet yeast through taste testing.

Now comes the problem, the Windsor website states Moderate attenuation, which will leave a relatively high gravity, how do I know when the second brew has finished fermenting? They both started at 1040, three days later the kit brew is now 1018 and the Windsor is 1022. Do I just keep doing readings until it has stayed the same for a few days?

And one more little problem. Is it bad to take readings from carboys seeing that you have to take the airlock off to get at the brew?

Any help with these problems would be appreciated

Cheers

 

[mwd]

You have not said what else you added to the kit to make up the recipe so hard to judge what a suitable FG would be.

To avoid testing every day just leave until the krausen has all gone and you can see the beer starting to clear from the top then take a reading as it should be nearly or totally finished fermenting. Still recommend taking a couple of readings three days apart to be sure. The less times you open the carboy the better. I am guessing you will need to siphon the beer into bottles or keg when finished.

 

[going down a hill]

It was a Kg of stout improver from brewcraft. The ingredients stated dry malt and corn syrup. They didn't state what % but it looked about 90/10 in the favour of Malt.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Necro thread - thought it was my turn.

Great yeast - but it does finish high.

I like it as a high finishing thick syrupy winter beer maker. My 2010 Duff Street Darkie finished at 1.022. And to me, it was perfect. Exactly what I wanted it to do.

Goomba

 

[Yob]

Necro thread - thought it was my turn.

^ +1.

Pitched a windsor into a dark ale on Sat morning. Monday night it is almost finished :blink:

2.5 days... man thats a fast ferment.. havnt even dry hopped it yet which I had better do tonight..

ye gods!! I hadnt read it was that hungry, took me by surprise...

OG 1036 - SG 1012 after 2.5 days

:blink: :blink:

 

[WarmBeer]

I had my oatmeal stout conk out at 1.026 using Windsor, from an OG of 1.056, in a temp-mate controlled fridge at 20 degrees.

Roused the yeast back up using a sanitised spoon, and pumped the temp up to 22, and got it to attenuate down to 1.020.

I think this yeast gives up a little too easily, and don't think you can assume it's completely finished just because you're getting consistent readings. Understand your apparent attenuation from the maker's specifications, and if you're not getting similar results, it might need some human intervention. Especially if you don't want bottle bombs once the weather turns warm again.

 

[Yob]

I had my oatmeal stout conk out at 1.026 using Windsor, from an OG of 1.056, in a temp-mate controlled fridge at 20 degrees.

Roused the yeast back up using a sanitised spoon, and pumped the temp up to 22, and got it to attenuate down to 1.020.

I think this yeast gives up a little too easily, and don't think you can assume it's completely finished just because you're getting consistent readings. Understand your apparent attenuation from the maker's specifications, and if you're not getting similar results, it might need some human intervention. Especially if you don't want bottle bombs once the weather turns warm again.

I should think at 1012 its quite low, in contrast to what others have experienced.

This is my first time with Windsor and was 'expecting' a bit of a battle, but as it turns out the battle was over before I got on the field...

Yob

 

[WarmBeer]

I should think at 1012 its quite low, in contrast to what others have experienced.

This is my first time with Windsor and was 'expecting' a bit of a battle, but as it turns out the battle was over before I got on the field...

Yob

You're a lucky man getting that sort of attenuation.

Thankfully you everybody in the case swap, I persisted with the rousing, as that's the beer I put in.

It was an unpleasant enough experience that I decided to swear off Windsor for good.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Used Windsor again on the mild i brewed on Wednesday. Pitched it Thursday morning when the wort had cooled to 20 degrees.

Given I had made 35L (see my 35L from stovetop method thread) of mild at 1.039, i had to split between 2 fermenters and, owing to a purchase of 2 packets of Windsor, one to be used for an aborted Perry, I pitched one packet per approx 17-18L, and gave it a bit of a stir.

Due to this low cloud and rain, the temp under the house is around 20-21 degrees during the day and nights are considerably warmer than is usual for this time of year.

I came home Thursday night, and i was greeted with 2 inches of krausen per fermenter.

Looked a couple of hours ago, and the krausen was reducing down to post ferment levels.

Which means in little more than 24 hrs, that Windsor has ripped through most of a ferment.

I thought I'd have my larger fermenter free before I'd need to used it for blending, ccing & gelatin.

Nice problem to have though.

Goomba

 

[warra48]

I have a Windsor yeast in transit as we speak. Good to read this thread.

Given the usual experience of brewers, I think I'll mash at no more than 54 or 65C, to ensure I get enough attenuation.
However, I generally achieve apparent attenuation at the higth end, or even higher of the manufacturer's specifications, so I should be OK.