Wyeast 1275 Stuck?

[warrenlw63]

G'day all.

Have used this yeast a few times and never found this problem. Even though it's generally on the slow side for me.

Pitched it last Tuesday to a 1.054 wort. Took off like a rocket, slowed to a trickle and is only sitting on around 1.040 and has been this way for 2 days.

I'm still seeing regular airlock activity but no drop in gravity?

This is really weird stuff. Has anybody else encountered a similar problem? I'm tempted to make another starter and pitch it to fire things up a bit.

Other than that could this be the first time in 11 years I've aquired a stuck/stalled fermentation?

Warren -

 

[Tony]

Ive had 3068 do this to me before.

It went nuts and then stopped dead! So dead that it wouldnt even gas the bottles after a month and i had to open them up and squirt in some yeast from a different beer. and then they gassed up in a week.

I would try a fresh starter. Perhaps the yeast has mutated or something and now doesnt perform like it should. Thats what i put the 3068 down to. It had been used a few times and i figure it changed and the alc level killed it.

just a guess.

cheers

 

[warrenlw63]

Cheers Tony!

That's what I plan to do, I'm getting another starter ready now. Maybe it might restart. Really strange, I've never seen this before.

The weirder part is frequent airlock activity.

Warren -

 

[Tony]

maybe they fart in their sleep like me

 

[warrenlw63]

I've made up my mind. No more baked beans in place of yeast nutrient. :lol:

Warren -

 

[warrenlw63]

Well that's 3 days and still no shift from 1.040

I opened the fermenter and pitched another actively fermenting starter of the same yeast and gave it a good rousing. We shall see. <_<

Warren -

 

[therook]

Wazza,

I pitched the starter you sent me last Wednesday on Thursday and it's has been fermenting away nicely ( I think ), I'll take a reading tonight and see how much mine has come down from 1.047.

Rook

 

[BoilerBoy]

Well that's 3 days and still no shift from 1.040

I opened the fermenter and pitched another actively fermenting starter of the same yeast and gave it a good rousing. We shall see. <_<

Warren -

Don't forget to use lots of warm verbal encouragement Warren, you know

"I think somebody needs a cuddle"


Cheers,
BB

 

[warrenlw63]

:lol: Nah I've found it doesn't work. I've been telling the yeast more about its alleged parentage in a rather terse way.

Note to thyself: Administering a Liverpool Kiss to the fermenter serves to solve nothing.

Warren -

 

[jaytee]

I've never struck that problem with W1275.
I used it early in my liquid yeast days and I had the usual smelly ferment or two like most people encounter and I put that down to poor technique at the time.

Just started using it again after a year or two off it and like you said, it's on the slow side.
I've got an ale chugging along @ 16 - 17 in the garage, gone from 1.039 to 1.008 in 15 days

I've never run it that low before, what temp do you have it at Warren ?

cheers, jaytee

 

[therook]

I've never struck that problem with W1275.
I used it early in my liquid yeast days and I had the usual smelly ferment or two like most people encounter and I put that down to poor technique at the time.

Just started using it again after a year or two off it and like you said, it's on the slow side.
I've got an ale chugging along @ 16 - 17 in the garage, gone from 1.039 to 1.008 in 15 days

I've never run it that low before, what temp do you have it at Warren ?

cheers, jaytee

15 days for an Ale yeast, jeez thats a long time, i was hoping mine would be finished by Saturday after 9 days.

Rook

 

[jaytee]

15 days for an Ale yeast, jeez thats a long time, i was hoping mine would be finished by Saturday after 9 days.

Rook

Yea, but I've been running it at the bottom end of it's published temperature range .. would've been quicker if I'd had it 18 / 19 / 20 or so I'm sure.

As it's the first time I've had it this low I'm just letting it go. In days gone by I probably would've just racked it after a week and kegged or bottled a few days later

 

[warrenlw63]

cheers, jaytee

Jaytee

Started at 18 and have moved it up to 20. So temperature is not an issue. I've found it to be slow also. The thing is mine's not shifting at all. <_<

Warren -

 

[devo]

I've never had this type of issue with 1275 and I've used quite a bit over the last couple of years. I have on the other had the problem of you are experiencing and found that racking it to another fermenter tends to wake it up and get things moving along again.

 

[warrenlw63]

Devo

I've noticed it does have a bit of an "odd" habit of entraining a lot of CO2 in my starters. Looks a bit like nothing's happening, swirl the starter to be greeted by a huge woosh and and a massive escape of CO2 which results in some foaming.

I roused it this morning and swirled the fermenter and did not note a lot of action... It's like the yeast sees itself as having finished the job. I'll see what happens with the second starter I pitched this morning.

I'm beginning to wonder if the yeast health is a bit ordinary. Smack pack was 6 months old. Normally not an issue for me.

Warren -

 

[jaytee]

eerrmmm, ok now I think about it, that hydro reading was Thursday .. think I'd better take another look tonight

 

[devo]

I'm beginning to wonder if the yeast health is a bit ordinary. Smack pack was 6 months old. Normally not an issue for me.

Warren -

Normally not an issue for me either...hell I've used one that was hedging on 12 months.