Recultured Coopers yeast keeps dropping out?

[SlimeO]

Hi - just wondering if it is common for the recultured commercial yeast to drop out? I have had some trouble with my first recultured yeast.

 

Fermentables in the wort were: 2 x Lager kits plus 750gm of dark candi sugar syrup and also about 200gm light crystal malt steeped. I made up a 2L starter, pitched into an OG of 1062. Well aerated wort. Started at 24c then dropped to 18c after 12 hours. It fermented well for a few days then seized at 1034 after about a week. I warmed it up to 22c and it started up again for a few days then seized at 1022. Stirred the yeast and got it to 1017. By now it has been brewing for 13 days. Pitched a new 2L starter and it seems to be moving along a bit. Not sure what my expected FG should be, but somewhere around 1014 based on my other toucans made with Coopers packet yeast.

 

This seems a bit strange, and I haven't had this kind of problem with the dried yeast, so just wondering what gives? Anyone else had troubles? Because mostly people seem to speak very highly of the commercial yeast and it's attenuating qualities. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the dark candi sugar had a lot of unfermentables from the burnt sugar molecules, and that the yeast has actually neared attenuation? But the fact that the yeast has repeatedly stalled but then increases attenuation when coerced makes me think the yeast is unhappy for some reason, which is surprising because it was going really good for the first 4 days or so.

 

Any ideas/comments appreciated, cheers

[Canadian Eh!L]

Hi Slime,

 

I've made a coupe of brews using the recultured cooper's. Both were shite![annoyed] [alien] The first was a Mild ale Made with the OS Lager Kit, 566g amber LME etc. I made up a 1L starter and pitched it at 20C. It tasted like soap![sick] My second try was a brown ale using the OS Dark Ale along with a bunch of other shite and a 1L CSA starter. This one fermented down to 1.012 after 16 days. Thinking it was done I bottled it up(I didn't take a FG before bottling[pinched] ). BOOM! Bottle bombs! One of my Grolsh bottles even exploded! The rest were all geysers as I poured them down the sink[crying] .

 

So you can see from my experience that it's not as cut&dry as just sprinkling the yeast packet on top of the wort.

 

I would like to try a reculture again sometime. I would love my next atempt to taste just like a Sparkling Ale but I doubt it will.[pouty]

[SlimeO]

Canadian - soapy beer = clean taste?[annoyed]

 

Anyway after pitching the second starter it bubbled a little bit for a day but seems to not have attenuated any more. I'm gonna pitch a couple of packets - I figure that if there's nothing left to ferment it won't affect the character, and if there are fermentables left, then it's time to call in the reinforcements anyway.

 

Attenuation issues aside - the beer is tasting pretty nice.