US-05, what a PITA!

[Ceejay]

I've had a Blonde Ale in the FV now for 12 days. OG was 1038 and I've fermented it using US-05 rehydrated as per the Fermentis instructions. I pitched 11.5g into 18 litres of wort.

I've maintained a temp of 18.3 to 19 C in the FV. It started really slow, threw a really thin, crispy looking yeast head and it's attenuated down to 1006, which is 84% Now it's point blank refusing to clear down (it's all relative, it is clearing - just painfully slowly).

I understand all these things are characteristics of the yeast, but the attenuation thing has really surprised me. 3 factors I think were:

200g of cane sugar in the wort
66 degree mash temp
Overpitching

Does this seem surprising, or should I have expected this? if I should have expected it, then it's a lesson learned!

Still, US-05 - what a pain in the derriere! :lol:

 

[Aleman]

Normal for the yeast . . .Has the yeast head subsided yet? :lol:

having the ability to crash cool really makes a difference to the speed of clearing

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I've also got 10 gallon of blonde fermenting with this yeast, after 11 days it's still got a thick yeast head on't top...

BB

 

[Ceejay]

Normal for the yeast . . .Has the yeast head subsided yet? :lol:

having the ability to crash cool really makes a difference to the speed of clearing

Some of it's subsided, but there's still a layer of stubborn crud floating about. OK, so tonight I'll take the heater out, crash cool it in the bath overnight and leave it for a couple of days so I can bottle it on the weekend :thumb:

 

[markp]

1006 is not unusual at all......I think if you left it long enough, US-05 would try and eat the FV :lol:

As Aleman says, the ability to cool is a big help.
When using this yeast, I cool to 2 degrees once I've hit my desired FG leave for a week or so and then rack to a secondary to get even more yeast out.

I've made some really nice beer with this yeast. I personally think the little extra effort is worth it.

 

[keith1664]

I'm a bit hacked off with the time it takes to clear as well, so much so that there's a packet of wyeast 1272 american ale 2 in my fridge waiting to be my first foray into liquid yeasts.

 

[mr_spin]

I agree with the crash cooling with US05 yeast - my SNPA was cloudy until I dialed a 4C temp into the TC10 for a few days..

 

[retourrbx]

i have it in primary for 14 days, then put syphon tbe under yeast head and get it into cornie. then corniw in fridge - within a week, crystal clear

 

[Good Ed]

Just done a Blonde (Mad Goose clone) 1044 to 1008 in 5 days at 20C, then put in cellar at 14C for 6 days, down to 1005, then bottled slightly cloudy, but cleared within couple of days, really nice beer. However next up is an APA and am using WLP051 California V, a bit more fruity though, as recommended by Leedsbrewer. However I would still use US-05 again for the right style.

 

[Ceejay]

Sounds nice; there's a few of us doing APAs soon! Must be the time of year for it.

Well, I sort of crashed cooled in the bath overnight, and managed to get it down to 10.5 C, and it definitely looks clearer, with all but a couple of stubborn islands of yeast hanging around up top :thumb:

Cheers guys! :

 

[rickthebrew]

1006 is not unusual at all......I think if you left it long enough, US-05 would try and eat the FV :lol:

:lol:

I`ve done quite a few brews with us-05, i`ve had a proper job clone finish at 1002 :shock: this also had around a kg of sugar in it - lesson learnt there it turned out around 7% but the hops shone through :thumb: If left to do its thing it will clear in the bottle really well - sometimes takes a week or three but it normally gets there.

CJ - i`ve read on the forum that wlp001 is the same as us-05, i`m not sure if it works differentley or not - i also have a tube to try soon - i`m sure aleman has posted about this :thumb:

 

[Hawks]

I don't have the ability to crash cool so I fine with gelatine and it drops out crystal clear :thumb: . Have an APA finishing now that will be done today or tomorrow

 

[Ceejay]

I "crash cooled" in the bath down to about 10 degrees overnight, racked into another FV that seconds as a bottling bucket (since I wanted the FV it was in for Saturday's brew) and it's pretty much completely clear now. Tastes great too, I'm really pleased with my blonde ale :thumb: