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I've made three batches with the same colony of WY2112, and each one of them has exhibited the same odd behavior. I pitch a good quantity of yeast into oxygenated wort at 65 degrees F. Within 24 hours I see yeast activity. In a couple more days, the krausen has risen to three or four inches.

At this point I figure I've got a healthy fermentation. However, when I check the gravity after two weeks, I've only achieved around 50% apparent attenuation. Being sure to relax and not panic, I raise the temperature to the mid 70s. Airlock shows increased activity and in another week, the beer is finished at 78% apparent attenuation.

Is this sort of stalled or slowed fermentation typical of 2112?

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  • Just to point out, increasing the temperature lowers CO2 solubility in water, so the increased airlock activity might just be CO2 coming out of solution while the yeast continued chugging on at a slow rate.
    – fire.eagle
    Dec 28, 2012 at 20:02
  • @fire.eagle true, but equilibrium should be achieved with 48 hours, and the increase in airlock activity lasts longer than that.
    – FishesCycle
    Dec 29, 2012 at 17:47

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What is a "good" amount of yeast? Did you use a starter/re-pitch? Regardless I've scores of batches with White Labs WLP810 (which should be pretty much the same strain) and conclude it may take patience...

When I lost one of my lagering units, I decided to re-visit this yeast. I like the temperature flexibility/tolerance and often fermented at 59-60F. I always found it slow to finish but had enough in the pipeline to make it worth the wait.

I was not afraid to heat a week or so into the process and was always rewarded with fine beer. I often had extensive primaries (weeks/months) when not heating during ferment and found the results no worse for the wear.

FWIW, I did about 50 batches back-to-back with WLP862 (Cry Havoc) with typically identical results. I am convinced these two strains are intimately related.

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  • Good information. I'm glad someone else finds this yeast slow to finish. At least now I know I'm not doing something terribly wrong. To answer your questions, I've done three batches back-to-back. The first one got a 2 litre starter, the other two got between 1 and 2 cups of washed yeast slurry. The first two beers turned out fine. The third is still fermenting so I won't know for a while.
    – FishesCycle
    Jan 2, 2013 at 16:11

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