WLP002 the consistency of putty

[MaxStout]

I bought a vial of WLP002 last week and made a starter last night. The yeast had a use-by date of late August, so it was about 2 months old, based on White Labs' 4-month use-by standard. BTW, this is my first time using WL; I have used Wyeast or dry in the past.

I took it out of the fridge when I got home from work and let it warm up a few hours. I did a shake and crack to let off any excess CO2 (there wasn't much). When it was time to pitch in my starter, I shook it vigorously to loosen the blob of yeast. It didn't really break up much, and I ended up having to use a sanitized plastic chopstick to dig it all out of the vial.

I was expecting the yeast to form a slurry with the liquid inside after shaking, but definitely not the case here. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[kh54s10]

My observation is that White Labs vials contain a lot less liquid than contained in a Wyeast Smack pack. This makes it difficult to get the yeast slurry loosened. I had one that I shook, shook, shook and shook some more.

So yes, I have experienced this and think that it is pretty normal for WL.

 

[TyTanium]

And normal for this yeast too. It's gloopy. I usually have to add starter wort to the storage container and shake it to get it all out. But it's worth it...tasty strain.

 

[PseudoChef]

WLP002 is likely going to be the most flocculent yeast you've ever used. It'll also look like cottage cheese in the starter. Don't fear any of these things.

Also be prepared to have your ferment done in about 48 hours.

 

[moski]

I used that yeast a few brews ago for a brown. I was amazed at how thick and clumpy it was and stayed that way through the starter and fermentation, though the clumps were smaller. The brew hit all the numbers and came out well attenuated. My only gripe was that it reminded me of the "beer cup" scene from American Pie, I can't bring myself to use it again until I get rid of that image .

 

[m3n00b]

I've used this yeast for a brown ale and a barleywine. It is sticky stuff but works really well!

 

[peterj]

I just used it for the first time on my last brew (a dark mild) and I noticed the same thing. It took A LOT of shaking and coaxing to get it all loosened up from the bottom of the vial and then it still had the consistency of cottage cheese. I guess that just shows you how incredibly flocculant it is. I didn't make a starter because my OG was 1.038, but it still worked really quick and attenuated right where I wanted it to (~71% I think). That beer is bottle conditioning now; can't wait to try it.

Other White Labs yeasts I've used like Cal Ale and some Belgians are not as tight packed and hard to mix up though.

 

[MaxStout]

That's reassuring...thanks for all the responses. It was my first WL and I didn't want to judge them by one odd lot of yeast. I suppose I could have just bought 1968, but I wanted to give WL a try on this one.

I pitched the yeast about 9 last night and put it on the stir plate. When I got up this morning it had small patch of kreusen in the dimple and appeared to be doing fine. I had put a drop of Fermcap when I pitched so it's hard to tell how active it is. I had also added a bit of Wyeast nutrient to the wort boil. I'll see how it looks when I get home tonight. I'll be brewing a batch of Moose Drool clone this Sat.

 

[m3n00b]

That's reassuring...thanks for all the responses. It was my first WL and I didn't want to judge them by one odd lot of yeast. I suppose I could have just bought 1968, but I wanted to give WL a try on this one.

I pitched the yeast about 9 last night and put it on the stir plate. When I got up this morning it had small patch of kreusen in the dimple and appeared to be doing fine. I had put a drop of Fermcap when I pitched so it's hard to tell how active it is. I had also added a bit of Wyeast nutrient to the wort boil. I'll see how it looks when I get home tonight. I'll be brewing a batch of Moose Drool clone this Sat.

I use pretty much nothing but WL. Never had an issue. Starters always take off within 3-4 hours.

 

[BigFloyd]

This stuff's a whole lot like Wyeast 1968 London ESB. After a while on a stirplate, the starter looks like a cottage cheese shake.

Nice thing is that, when you cold crash it at the end of fermentation, it drops out like a rock and forms the firmest bottom cake I've ever seen. But, when you go to harvest it, you have to swirl it around a lot to get it to mix with the rinse water.

 

[smokinghole]

I like to say that this yeast floccs out like a hockey puck. 007 is very similar with its flocc characteristics. If your water has good calcium content this stuff will leave you with a very clear brew, all you end up with is chill haze really.