Too Cool for Cal Ale V?

[Buffman]

I pitched a 2L starter of WL Cal Ale V into an amber ale today and set it in a water bath to keep the temps in range. It is at 63F right now; the "optimum range" is 66-70F. There's no action yet, 6+ hours in; I hear it is a slow starter, so no surprise there. I'm hoping to hear from anyone with experience with this strain (it's a new one for me). Will the yeast doze off at 63F?

 

[LexusChris]

Heya,

I've been using this straing quite a bit lately, but not at the low temps. At 67-F it has a mellow fermentation cycle, just like the WLP001 California Ale.

However, on the White Labs website, a FAQ quesiton does mention this:

I was wondering if 051 is a slow fermenter or not. I brewed an IPA on the 5th and today is the 13th and it is very slowly fermenting and is currently at 7.5 Plato. I'd like to get it down to 3.5 Plato. The temp is at 69 and has been between 66 and 70 the whole time. I roused the yeast on the 11th and it seemed to work. Any ideas on what I should do?

Thank you for your inquiry. The WLP051 is a bit slower than other strains, which is one reason for its clean profile. It is also more temperature sensitive, so it might have slowed down more due to the temperature. I would rouse again, and raise the temperature to 72, there's no need to keep it low now because it is not fermenting quickly. If you can transfer the beer, do so, as this is the best way to rouse, but that is not always possible.

Good luck!
--LexusChris

 

[MattHollingsworth]

I'm fermenting a beer with it now. It *started* showing activity about 4 hours or so in, but that was just some slight visible swirling, very slow. Pitched around 63, then set it to warm to 66. Pitched around 8PM, saw some tiny activity around midnight. Went to sleep, checked it around 9AM and it was fully active and at 66. That was pitched Sunday night. Now it's at 68 and still chugging along.

The fermentation wasn't super active for me. The krauesen has been smaller than with WLP001 or Wyeast 1056.

For the record, this was about a 1900 ml starter pitched into around 21.5 liters. Well, the starter was made ahead of time and the liquid was tossed, pitching only slurry.

With the time difference, I guess you're asleep now and when you wake up it'll be fully fermenting.

 

[Buffman]

Thanks for the responses. Mine finally got moving after about 8 hours. Like the last response, the krausen is smaller than I've seen in the past. I moved it out of the water bath today, so it ought to keep going.