White Labs "Tennessee Whiskey"

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:20 pm

Hello all I got a vial of some White Labs Tennessee whiskey which is the first time Ive used an active yeast. I usually use EC-1118 and had good success. Anyways, I made a wash of 20 cups of sugar, 8 cups of crushed cornflakes, 2tbsp of lemon juice, 1tbsp of ph stabalizer and 5 gallons of water, oh and 1tbsp of epsom salt. I pitched the yeast at 90 degrees like I did with the EC-118 and took a sg reading of 1.082. Now, 4 days later its at 1.088 with the air lock bubbling slowly at a rate of say 5 bubbles per minute. What is the cause of the higher reading and why is it slow compared to the previous batches minus the different yeast? Has anyone used this yeast? Thanks grizz

MadMasher · Post by **MadMasher** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:35 pm

What is the temp? Says it likes 74-79F EC1118 can go as low as 60F. Your raised SG is probably due to solids in the wash. My guesses anyway

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:41 pm

I checked the temp today and its at 83 degrees. I took a sample without solids either, Im stumped. I put a 10lb weight on top of the lid to give it a better seal as I thought maybe it was leaking around the seal but nope same thing. Guess I just have to let it do its thing

woodshed · Post by **woodshed** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:58 pm

Your temps are pretty high to optimize this yeast. Only thing I can think of.

MadMasher · Post by **MadMasher** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 9:26 pm

Did you adjust the SG for temps?

woodshed · Post by **woodshed** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:06 pm

Even with temp adjustment still kinda high for this yeast.

Post by **Windy City** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:28 pm

How fresh was the yeast?
You might have been better off making a starter. You can get another vial, make a small starter and repitch.
Also +1 on what Woodshed said you need to lower the temp.

Good Luck
Windy City

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:01 am

MadMasher wrote:Did you adjust the SG for temps?

No but according to the chart it would be 1.090 which is high.

Windy City wrote:How fresh was the yeast?
You might have been better off making a starter. You can get another vial, make a small starter and repitch.
Also +1 on what Woodshed said you need to lower the temp.

Good Luck
Windy City

Not sure how fresh it was. When I opened it, it smelled like beer

I let it sit to room temp and shook it and then pitched it but like I said I never used an active yeast like this so I have nothing to compare it to. I did however move it away from the heater vent and put it in the corner of the dining room so hopefully that will bring it down to room temp around 70ish degrees. Thanks fellas

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 2:49 pm

AAah this yeast is driving me insane. I let it cool to 76 degrees and I think it slowed it down even more. After 24hrs later there is still some activity going on with some bubbling but it still tastes like cornflakes and the gravity hasn't dropped. I don't have another vial of this yeast so I can't pitch another one. Is there a way I could possibly take some out of the fermenter and try to jump start it in a smaller container or am I up the creek on this one? I might just pitch some EC-1118 if it keeps this up

MadMasher · Post by **MadMasher** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:23 pm

Its only been 6 days? Was there an expiration date on the vial?

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:48 pm

Yeah April 2014

PhatFil · Post by **PhatFil** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:33 pm

So the yeast could be both underpitched and cooked

and if the wash was just sat to cool after cooking probably oxygen starved too?

before pitching u can get a paint or plaster stirrer on a powerdrill to mix in some O2. it will also help chill off the last few degrees of temp. u could paddle in the air by hand but its more work and less fun.

for a 23l (5 real gallons) batch of beer 100billion yeast cells is considered an optimum pitching population. which can be stepped up from a vial in 2-3 days.
there is comprehensive starter stepping up instructions on the whitelabs site, think they recommend 300ml, personally i step up to 1l using dme as a medium at 100g per litre for a 1040 gravity.

if a beer destined for the keg i would bin the batch, the airlock activity without any drop in gravity is a concern, but as its destined for a still u could just pasturise it prior to chilling aeration and repitching with a viable population..

MadMasher · Post by **MadMasher** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:50 am

So the yeast could be both underpitched and cooked and if the wash was just sat to cool after cooking probably oxygen starved too?

before pitching u can get a paint or plaster stirrer on a powerdrill to mix in some O2. it will also help chill off the last few degrees of temp. u could paddle in the air by hand but its more work and less fun.

Could very well be. Lots of people just pour the wash back and forth between buckets too.

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:11 am

Thanks for reply guys. I dumped the wash back And forth between 2 buckets for a few minutes prior to pitching the yeast. Im thinking i under pitched the yeast also. I was just following the directions on the label as I never used this type of yeast before and couldnt find any info on the web from people who used it. Today when I get home from work I'm just going to throw it out and try something else if its still at the same gravity. Thanks again guys!

MadMasher · Post by **MadMasher** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:21 am

I used a liquid yeast and just half was enough to do 3 gallons, it was an AG if that matters, and probably not the ideal amount though. go ahead and try to pitch a EC1118 starter if your giving up on the ten whiskey yeast, what've you got to lose.

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:44 pm

True! Got the yeast starter going, gonna pitch it later tonight and see what happens. I'll keep ya posted!

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:03 pm

So I double checked the wash to make sure I should pitch some new yeast AFTER I started the yeast bomb and sure enough it looks to have started to gain some more activity and has more of an alcohol smell then it did the other day so I'm thinking I'll just let it ferment out. The gravity is at 1.08 so if it doesn't drop in the next day or two I'll throw the new yeast in.

On a side note, when I am checking the gravity, the gravity reading on the hydrometer ALWAYS faces away from me no matter how many times I spin it

am I the only one with this problem?

woodshed · Post by **woodshed** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:31 pm

Learn to embrace the hydrometer dance. Everyone who uses one deals with it.
She is shy but will ultimately tell you what you need to know.

PhatFil · Post by **PhatFil** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:57 pm

grizz wrote: On a side note, when I am checking the gravity, the gravity reading on the hydrometer ALWAYS faces away from me no matter how many times I spin it am I the only one with this problem?

turn your back while u spin it, or walk round to the blind side to spin

Brendan · Post by **Brendan** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:13 am

woodshed wrote:Learn to embrace the hydrometer dance. Everyone who uses one deals with it.
She is shy but will ultimately tell you what you need to know.

Haha, I love it woodshed

Words to live by!

Home Distiller

White Labs "Tennessee Whiskey"

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