Topics

16

Yeast and Fermentation / Smack Pack - No Swell blues

« on: June 22, 2010, 01:55:53 pm »

I'm planning on brewing up an Oktoberfest Friday or Saturday.  I have a Wyeast Oktoberfest blend smack-pack.  The plan was to pitch it into a 3 qt starter today and brew this weekend.  I took it out of the fridge around noon today (3:30 now) and I have no swell.  I'm worried the inner pouch might have already been broken or the yeast is a too old (Feb. manufacture date).  Should I go ahead and pitch it in my starter and see what happens?

17

Yeast and Fermentation / Vexed by Acetaldehyde/Esters

« on: May 31, 2010, 08:41:27 am »

I've got the brewing version of a hitch in my swing.  With one exception, every time I have ventured into a lighter beer, I have run into moderately strong acetaldehyde/fruity off flavors.  I did manage to brew a Wit last year without them, but now I am wondering if the flavor was masked/integrated into the Wit.  I thought I had my problem diagnosed, but now am forced back to the drawing board.

Last year, I brewed a Cream Ale w/ S-05 and this year a Blonde, also with S-05.  I fermented both cool (low 60s).  While the Blonde is not as sever as the Cream Ale was, both have the same off flavor.  I was blaming my problem on a combination of the S-05 and perhaps too cool of a fermentation, causing the yeast to flocculate before their job was done.  However, I just transferred a CAP fermented with San Fran Lager yeast (WLP810) at 57 degrees to secondary after two weeks and change in primary. I picked up the same problem.  Yes, it's early for this beer yet, and I'm hoping some conditioning helps, but by now, I know the problem when I see it.  I'm going to try to clean it up by doing a warmer (64) rest before bringing it down to the mid 50s for conditioning.  However, I would really like to nail down the cause of the problem in the first place.  The recent issue with the CAP has eliminated yeast as an option.  That leaves me with just two possibilities: pitch rate and water.

Being in Illinois, I have hard-ish water.  Anything lighter than an Amber, it's too hard.  So, when I have gone lighter, I get water from one of those drinking water vending machines at the grocery store.  I didn't think the water could cause this problem, but as it's the only common thread between the beers, I'm now wondering if it's part of the problem.

I'm also wondering if my pitch rate and aeration is causing the problem.  I've always thought my aeration was o.k.  When I transfer from my boiler, I run the wort through a spray aerator, a strainer, and a funnel into the carboy.  This usually produces enough foam that it's coming out of the carboy.  I do concede that under-pitch could be a problem.  I would think a rehydrated pack of S-05 would be adequate.  The CAP did have a problem, though.  I had a failure to start from a harvested yeast, so I straight pitched another vial.  While fresh, this is probably not the best.

O.k., that's the long run-down.  Any insight as to the cause of my problem would be appreciated.  I would hate to be banned from entire categories of styles!  Thanks in advance!

18

Yeast and Fermentation / Acetaldehyde strikes again

« on: May 15, 2010, 09:30:40 pm »

Hey all. I need your help diagnosing a problem. I just opened the first bottle of my Blonde Ale (OG 1.052, FG 1.010) I brewed at the end of April (4/24). It turned out fine except for a strong green (acetaldehyde) off flavor  . This brew spent two weeks in primary at 62 degrees, two weeks in secondary at 60 degrees, and two weeks in the bottle. I realize it’s a little early yet, but I have seen this flaw before in my Cream Ale that I brewed last year, and it never aged off completely. This is the second time I have brewed a light ale and the second time I have gotten hit with this off flavor  . So, I’m trying to diagnosis the problem. I have come down to a few possibilities:

1. The yeast – S-05. I fermented both with S-05, but then again, I ferment a lot of things with it. It’s probably my most used yeast. Plus, everybody else raves about, so I doubt this is the problem. Nonetheless, I’m tempted to try Danstar Nottingham next time. I did manage a Wit last year that didn’t suffer this problem, which caused me to question the yeast, but I am probably looking in the wrong direction.
2. Ingredients – both used Rahr 2-Row as the base, but again, I use Rahr in a lot of things. I doubt this is the problem.
3. Water – Because of my hard-ish water, I use water from the grocery store self-serve RO/drinking water machines. Again, I used the same thing for my Wit, and many people brew with soft water. So, I doubt it, but worthy of consideration.
4. Yeast handling – With the Cream Ale, I rehydrated as usual. With the Blonde I direct pitched. Seems like no matter what I do, I’m getting the off flavor. Nothing I’m doing here is helping or hurting the situation.
5. Racked too soon.  The Blonde had dropped almost clear, so I'm not sure keeping it on the yeast did it.
6. Fermentation temperature. As I mentioned, I fermented the Blonde cool, but still in S-05’s optimum window, to minimize ester production. I didn’t have my cooler and temp controller last year, so I kept the Cream Ale in a water bath that I maintained between 62 and 64. I’m wondering if fermenting so cool isn’t causing the yeast to flocculate before they cleanup their mess. This is my favorite explanation as of right now.
7. Something else I'm not thinking of??

As always, thanks for your thoughts and insights!