Did I expect too much from Wyeast #1056?

Brewing Master » Homebrew Beer » Did I expect too much from Wyeast #1056?

Categories: Homebrew Beer

Question:

— "Good people drink good beer." Hunter Thompson, the bottle for Road Dog Ale

Good ‘ole boy Hunter Thompson. Can’t just accept his punishment for driving while impaired. He’s going to prove he was innocent by proving the police had no right to check him for alcohol content. Cool guy. Back to #1056. I’m brewing my first batch with it. In the primary fermentor I noticed a milky looking substance in the trub, along the sides of the glass. Is this normal for #1056 or should I suspect bacterial contamination?

Response:

Dale- give us more info on recipe particulars. All grain, mash profile,etc.

Response:

Back to #1056. I’m brewing my first batch with it. In the primary fermentor I noticed a milky looking substance in the trub, along the sides of the glass. Is this normal for #1056 or should I suspect bacterial contamination?

I’ve seen this accumulation of yeast on the bottom of my primary fermentor with several different yeasts. I don’t think you would ever accumulate bacterial sedimentation like that. The bacteria that grow in wort don’t produce that much sediment. I think you’re seeing a normal fermentation.

Response:

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t seen such a milkly type sedimentation with any other yeast. Nonetheless, I posted this some time ago and have tried the beer since. It is very good. No hint of any off flavors at all.

Response:

Sunday I racked a batch of IPA to a secondary. The Starting Gravity was 1.068, at racking it was 1.028.(after six days) . . causing me some concern (I didn’t worry though, instead I had a homebrew B^) ) I pitched a one QUART starter of Wyeast #1056, within 12 hours it was rolling furiously, blowing off well.Now it is really sluggish, and I was afraid it might be stuck. I warmed the area to 70 deg. F, and took the S.G. last night (Tuesday)and it was 1.025. Is there some school of thought that says the 1056 is too moderate of an attenuator for this application? Should I supplement with another yeast? Which one? Or should I just relax and have another homebrew? I expected a Final Gravity of 1.017 +/-, and the sample I took last night tasted pretty good, so I’m not worried. Any and all advice welcomed! TIA, Dale — It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to have to paint it. — Steven Wright _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/ _/

Response:

Sunday I racked a batch of IPA to a secondary. The Starting Gravity was 1.068, at racking it was 1.028.(after six days) . . causing me some concern (I didn’t worry though, instead I had a homebrew B^) ) I pitched a one QUART starter of Wyeast #1056, within 12 hours it was rolling furiously, blowing off well.Now it is really sluggish, and I was afraid it might be stuck. I’ve fermented plenty of beers in that range of gravity with Wyeast 1056. I can get it to attenuate pretty much to wherever I want if I choose an appropriate mash temperature. It might be a problem with an insufficiently fermentable wort, but I doubt it: 1.025 seems very high for that. Did you change your mash temperatures or switch brands of extract? A friend in my brewing club had problems with mysterious stuck fermentations. After having tried changing virtually everything in his procedure, the problem eventually went away after he changed from the generic brand of bleach he was using to sanitize. I believe he had made other changes and I’m not convinced that the improvement in his problem is conclusive proof that the bleach was the cause. But, for what it is worth, he seemed to believe he found the problem, and he has brewed several very good beers since then. — "Good people drink good beer." Hunter Thompson, the bottle for Road Dog Ale

Brewing Master