Please help - Augustiner Helles clone with WLP860

[Kye]

Hi everyone,

Could really do with some help here, I am currently fermenting an all-grain Augustiner Helles brew with staggeringly slow results. The brew day went perfectly and I hit target gravity at 1.053, no issues to report at all, however it took 3 days for any bubbling to start in the fermenter, and today after 6 days I'm only at 1.045 (it's been in the fermentation fridge at 10degC as per instructions). I took a sample yesterday (1.048 at that point) and left it on the side at room temp and that has continued fermenting in the hydrometer sample tube to c 1.020.

I pitched liquid WLP860 yeast straight into the brew i.e. no starter as I didn't think the gravity required one, after some aeration (i.e. sloshing it around in the fermenting bucket on transfer from the Brewzilla). The yeast was from Get 'er Brewed cold chained in an ice packet and that went straight into the fridge at 4 degC and has plenty of time left before the best before date ( slowly raised the yeast back up to to 20degC as per instructions).

Am I being impatient? Should I raise the temp for the diacetyl rest in the hope that the warmer temp speeds thing up? I have a packet of Diamond Lager yeast that I could pitch if things stop entirely but I really don't want to do that.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Cheers
Kye

 

[Rochefort]

Hi Kye,

I don't have much experience with WLP860 but have used half a dozen other White Labs lager strains, what I would do if it isn't fermenting at 10C is bump it up to 11 or 12C (probably 12C). Some of the dry 'lager' strains need a bump a little higher than that, but that is what you do if thing are not going as planned.

It looks like the yeast will do the job from your experiment, so just give it a boost to 12C.

 

[thegrantickle]

It's going to be pretty slow at 10C but it's still going... I would be tempted to hold it at that and forget about it for a couple of weeks.

 

[samale]

I always thought you needed a large starter for a lager.

 

[thegrantickle]

I always thought you needed a large starter for a lager.

Why?

 

[samale]

Why?

I have only made the one. Czech pilsner and it needed a large starter. I have never pitched a liquid yeast without a starter.
Sorry make that two if you count a doppelbock. I still have the yeast slurry in the fridge.

 

[thegrantickle]

I have only made the one. Czech pilsner and it needed a large starter. I have never pitched a liquid yeast without a starter.
Sorry make that two if you count a doppelbock. I still have the yeast slurry in the fridge.

Define *need*?

 

[Kye]

thanks for the advice all, I've let it rise to 12deg overnight and can already see that airlock activity has sped up. Will see how it goes for the next couple of days

 

[Hanglow]

You've massively underpitched and under aerated, so might struggle to get proper attenuation

 

[thegrantickle]

You've massively underpitched and under aerated, so might struggle to get proper attenuation

 

[foxbat]

Define *need*?

To raise the low number of cells in a liquid yeast pack to the cell count required to achieve the standard pitch rate for the brew. You may get away with an underpitch or you may suffer one or more of the problems listed in the linked Wyeast Labs document, second to last of which is a stuck fermentation.