Two Hearted WLP4040 stopping bubbling after only one day

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Beau

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Two Hearted Clone (kit from Malt Miller)

Two Stage Mash and Boil went well no problems

Target OG 1.063 FG 1.012

I achieved OG 1.074

White labs Midwestern Ale Yeast (Wet)

Make starter with DME on stir one day before OG 1.050 (possibly a little high).

Pitched at 20c both starter and Wort as recommended

Fermentation started within 3 hours.

Twenty for hours later no bubbles evident OG 1.050.

Good 20mm Krausen still on the wort surface..

I have never used a wet yeast before and following its except start I’m confused why all activity has subsided so quickly, I would be grateful to hear any comment or suggestion why this should be and have I done anything wrong?
 
It's a funny yeast I have noticed. What's your gravity at now? Did you open your fermenter and if so check your seal?
 
Did you calculate exactly how big a starter to make based on the viability of your yeast?

1.050 is high. 1.038 to 1.040 is recommended so that you don’t stress the yeast. That said you’ll probably be alright, the yeasties will survive!
 
Thanks for the reply’s, the gravity now 1.049 and lid has a good seal. The starter was 1 Lt as recommended on the White Labs Web Site.

If I get no further activity, how long should I leave before racking to the keg? Or should I pitch further Yeast?

Had a taste when I took the reading and it fantastic!!
 
Why are you concerned? The gravity is falling. If you are relying on an airlock to give you an indication of how the fermentation is progressing they are notoriously unreliable due to leaking lids allowing CO2 to bypass the airlock, Your lid might look sealed but it isn't. So why not just leave it alone for a few days and then take a reading to find out what's happening. By then it might even have finished!
 
I agree, i will monitor the gravity over the next two to three days, but what should i do if it remains at 1,049 when the target is 1.012. I could accept a slightly higher gravity of around 1.015 but 1.049 is a long way off?
 
Not meaning to sound condescending but what was your mash temp? Assuming you followed the recipe but was your measurement of it accurate?

Also, in terms of you starter, did you let it full ferment out of did you pitch at high krausen? If you let it finish out, did you check the final gravity of the starter wort to check that it had attenuated fully?

Assuming there was no issue with the health of your yeast or mash temp I'd say give it at least another 5 days and try and keep the temperature towards the higher end of the recommended range.

If the gravity hasn't reduced further after 5 days then you could consider rousing the yeast by gently rocking/swirling the FV or pitching fresh, ideally actively fermenting, yeast.
 
Stop worrying about it and leave it alone for another week or so. The fact that there's still krausen suggests that there's still plenty of activity going on, plus I've never heard of a beer stalling at 30% attenuation.
 
Ok, I will leave it to ferment further, if I get no further activity I will agitate or add additional yeast.

The started was on the stir plate for around 30 hrs, I did not measure the gravity, however, the starter was pitched at 5pm and strong activity was seen the following morning.

Mash temperature was 66c for 45mins plus Mash out at 77 for 10 mins and I’m using a refractometer to measure the gravity.
 
You'll need to use a calculator with a correction factor then. Refractometers give inaccurate readings in the presence of alcohol.
 
I was not aware of that I will take a reading with my hydrometer and compare it to the refractometer.

I was also thinking of making the Ispindel has anyone built one, are they any good?
 
Thanks for all the reply’s, my brew did ferment it’s now been dry hopped for two days at 1.020 hope to keg early next week.

Fermentation was only visible by watching the krausen gently bubbling, I’m sure the lid and airlock seal well but will test with my airline when empty..
 
I was not aware of that I will take a reading with my hydrometer and compare it to the refractometer.

I was also thinking of making the Ispindel has anyone built one, are they any good?
https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

This will help with using a refractometer, I used both for a year to get a good trend of my correction factor and to see how close the calculated FG was to the hydrometer. I now never use a hydrometer as the two methods were generally within +/- 2 points and that's about the accuracy I could read my hydrometer to anyway.
 
Hi

Thanks that will be a great help as none of my fermenters have a sample tap. I also have hydrometers but prefer the refractometer for ease of use!

I also had a quick taste when I took the last gravity reading and it tasted fantastic.
 
Thanks for all the reply’s, my brew did ferment it’s now been dry hopped for two days at 1.020 hope to keg early next week.

Fermentation was only visible by watching the krausen gently bubbling, I’m sure the lid and airlock seal well but will test with my airline when empty..
Why bother? It really doesn't matter
 
I agree the refractometer can only be used to check gravity before fermentation starts as the alcohol screws the reading.
I have tried and found that a beer with FG of 1015 on my hydrometer reads 1040 on my refractometer. So taking enough readings comparing both the hydrometer and the refractometer you can calibrate your refractometer. Cheers..
 
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