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34/70 - WTF?


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#1 Bklmt2000

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 01:32 PM

Brewed an Am. amber lager 2 days ago, and pitched a healthy blob of 2-week old 34/70 slurry.  Wort temp has been a steady 60°, but there's been no activity since.  No krausen, nothing.

 

So, in the interest of saving this batch, I had some US-05 slurry (also 2 weeks old) that got pitched into said AAL (now an AAA, I suppose).

 

That said, I'm puzzled and a bit miffed at 34/70. 

 

I've had this yeast usually take off like a shot when pitching fresh slurry, but this is the 2nd batch in a row with no activity 2 days post-pitch.  Maybe that should've tipped me off.

 

34/70, your days are numbered as my house lager yeast. 

 

Maybe the S-189 cake I have in the fridge needs to be resurrected?



#2 Steve Urquell

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 01:51 PM

Shake the fermenter. May be fermenting and co2 hasnt been released from solution yet

#3 Bklmt2000

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 01:52 PM

Shake the fermenter. May be fermenting and co2 hasnt been released from solution yet

 

Great minds think alike; i gently swirled the fermenter last night, and again this morning.

 

Nothing activity-wise since.  I figured since I was nearing the 48-hour mark since pitching, the time was nigh to use a backup yeast and hope this batch isn't doomed.



#4 MyaCullen

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 03:45 PM

did you check the gravity of the wort or did you only assume the worst based on visible signs?



#5 Big Nake

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 04:51 PM

So, in the interest of saving this batch, I had some US-05 slurry (also 2 weeks old) that got pitched into said AAL (now an AAA, I suppose).

:covreyes:

#6 Bklmt2000

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Posted 08 July 2017 - 06:29 PM

:covreyes:

 

It was either that or take a chance on losing the batch.  Not on my watch.

 

did you check the gravity of the wort or did you only assume the worst based on visible signs?

 

Nope, didn't take a gravity reading.  However, i've been down this road before, and all indications were that the yeast (for whatever reason) wasn't playing ball.

 

Methinks it be time to replace all of my 34/70 with fresh, or perhaps take the plunge back into liquid yeast.



#7 Big Nake

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 06:43 AM

Chils has mentioned that the MJ's dry yeast has done this too (M84 specifically) and now 34/70. I have this M76 which I would be tempted to make a starter for because I wouldn't want days to go by without activity. In my relatively limited dry yeast use, S-189 did not do this to me... it started right up with just a sprinkle over the top of the wort and that was just one pack. I did not :covreyes: because you didn't let the 34/70 do its thing (although it would have been much preferred) but because it was US05 to the rescue. Maybe you'll get lucky and some of the 34/70 character will come through. As I use this Augustiner yeast and the occasional Czech yeast, S-189 or whatever, I'm still reminded that beers that I make with 2124 (W34/70) are still my favorites. Hell, I changed the PIN number on one of my debit cards to 2124. :lol:

#8 Bklmt2000

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 06:56 AM

Understood.  I intend to dump my remaining mason jars of 34/70 slurry and start with fresh packets. 

 

I suppose I could've used more of the remaining harvested 34/70 i had in the fridge, but i wasn't (and still am not) confident it was viable.

 

As of this morning, a healthy krausen has been sighted, so I think this batch has been saved.  US-05 wasn't the intended direction with this beer, but better than having a dumper.



#9 Big Nake

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 07:12 AM

Do you know how long the blob of 34/70 you had in the fridge was sitting there? There's always a coin flip associated with using "saved slurry" and whether or not the timeframe is conducive to an easy "pitch" or making a starter. Any time I've been burned by yeast that didn't want to giddy up it was on a first run, not a subsequent pitch.

#10 Bklmt2000

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 07:16 AM

The 34/70 slurry I used was about 2 weeks old, harvested from a prior batch.  Settled out nice in the jar, and looked pretty clean.

 

The prior batch also had an unusually long lag period (~2 days) before it kicked in, even though that batch also got a healthy blob of <2-week old slurry.  Weird.

 

I just ordered 2 fresh packs of 34/70 from Amazon, and when they arrive in a couple of days, my existing 34/70 jars get dumped.

 

Not worth risking any more batches with questionable yeast.



#11 Big Nake

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 07:21 AM

The 34/70 slurry I used was about 2 weeks old, harvested from a prior batch.  Settled out nice in the jar, and looked pretty clean.
 
The prior batch also had an unusually long lag period (~2 days) before it kicked in, even though that batch also got a healthy blob of <2-week old slurry.  Weird.
 
I just ordered 2 fresh packs of 34/70 from Amazon, and when they arrive in a couple of days, my existing 34/70 jars get dumped.
 
Not worth risking any more batches with questionable yeast.

2 weeks seems reasonable for an easy pitch with no starter. Of course, I have had beers sit in primary for 3-4 weeks (so there could be a good 2 weeks of downtime there) and then it would be harvested and stored for another 2 weeks so now it's a month of downtime. This is one reason that I don't "save" yeast anymore, I just reuse it relatively quickly. With this 30-minute boil thing and brewday becoming an "all hell's breaking loose!" event, I like the idea of transferring the previous beer a day or two before brewday so I don't have to try to do all of that at the same time. But still... it's just a day or two. The idea of a 2 week-old yeast not starting within 24 hours or so is a little worrisome, for sure.

#12 MyaCullen

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 02:20 PM

at what stage of fermentation was the slurry harvested?



#13 Bklmt2000

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 03:38 PM

at what stage of fermentation was the slurry harvested?

 

I harvest my yeast slurry after primary, after a 1-2 week cold-crash of the primary, prior to kegging.

 

On kegging day, I clean and sanitize a few mason jars and harvest the yeast immediately after the beer is kegged.



#14 Steve Urquell

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Posted 09 July 2017 - 11:26 PM

My last MJ84 first pitch had a really long lag time and a later batch using the harvest took awhile to start as well. Mine was in a 1 gallon drauflassen starter though so it would have started quicker that a whole batch. 3rd gen took off well and I dumped the other 2nd gen harvest. Sounds like this may be what you encountered as well.



#15 shaggaroo

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Posted 12 July 2017 - 01:51 PM

Hell, I changed the PIN number on one of my debit cards to 2124. :lol:

2124 is my office phone extension!



#16 Big Nake

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Posted 12 July 2017 - 02:18 PM

2124 is my office phone extension!

Shaggy, you have a call on extention 2124. Shaggy, extension 2124 please... :lol:


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