First time using dry yeast for beer

HB2112

OK so my friend has been bragging about using dry yeast for his brew and how easy they are to use. So I decided to try some. I used a Lallemand Premium series English style ale yeast. It started chugging away within an hour or 2 with a pretty good cap on it. The next morning it was really going good, but the temp went from 72 to 79. I got kind of nervous and placed some small blue ice packs up against the sides. Went to check on it a few hours later and it had reduced down to around 75 so I removed the ice packs. At this time the cap had gotten smaller and it wasn't bubbling as much. I went out to check this morning and not bubbling at all and there's a separation of sorts going on. My question is would this be normal behavior for this yeast? It almost seems like it's done and it hasn't even been 24 hours. I have nothing against a quick fermentation but this seems a little too quick.

hotbeer

Sound's normal for any fermentation regardless of whether it's liquid or dry yeast.
Most of your fermentation can be over and done in 2 or 3 days and it takes a week or more to get that last 0.001 or .002 of SG lower out of your beer.

HB2112

Thank you. I've been using liquid yeast and had an issue on my last batch. The liquid yeast I bought had expired already. It took a while to get going and after 7 days I cracked open the fermenter and just about puked from the smell. I had my first bad batch and learned an important lesson, check the date on the yeast before you buy it. I went by that store last week and they still have this yeast in stock and now it's really outdated. But most of the liquid yeast I've used in the past took a good 24 hours to get going and then slowly increased in fermentation, and then slowly decreased in fermentation, typically over a 3 day period. I've made fruit wines before with dry champagne yeast and it was really fast acting. I just didn't expect a dry beer yeast to be so aggressive, and I was concerned that the temp went from 72-79 so fast.

lablover

I've been using nothing but dry Nottingham and 34/70 for my two house beers for a few years. I make a Pale with the Notty and a simple lager with the 34/70. Both are extremely clean and I've received many compliments on them. Notty will go very fast if I let it get as hot as you let yours. You may have some off flavors letting it get that hot. I do my Ale fermentation at 65 to 68 F and my lager at 60 to 62 F. Don't blame the yeast if you don't like the flavors in your beer, blame the temperature control.

HB2112

How are you controlling your temperature? I could only get the wort chiller to get it to 70 before pitching yeast. Within a few hours it was at 72. I'm having a shop built soon, and one of the things I'm having done is a beer cellar type of area under the stairs that should stay cool since it will be against the wall that is underground.

Velnerj

Most homebrewers have a mini fridge (that fits their fermenter) that they have converted to a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. They bypass the fridges thermostat by using a temperature controller (usually inkbird for around $30 on Amazon - it's plug and play, very simple). You need to put the temperature probe in or on the beer not the ambient area around the beer. As you know, fermentation creates heat as the temp rises the fridge kicks on to cool it down. You can set the temp to anywhere you'd like and set a differential so that both your beer doesn't get too hot and so you don't overrun your fridge.
With a used fridge found somewhere you can have this set up for $100-$200 (or less).

ncbrewer

A swamp cooler can help with temperature control if you want to keep the cost down. A large plastic tub, filled with water up to just below the level of the fermometer, with ice jugs added as needed to keep it cool. Some also put a towel or T-shirt over the fermenter, hanging down into the water to wick water up - this gives some evaporative cooling (a true swamp cooler). If using a towel, cut a hole in the middle fir the airlock. I don't use the towel because it seemed messy, and got smelly. By the way, the water can get smelly from algae - a splash of bleach every few days prevents this.

wsmith1625

There is nothing wrong with using liquid yeast and a lot of brewers prefer it to dry yeast. If you're not making starters with liquid yeast, you're missing out on their full potential to make great beer. Typical cell count on a liquid yeast pack is too low for 5 gallon batches and will cause lag time as the yeast multiply. A starter will boost the cell count so you pitch the proper amount of yeast cells for your batch of beer. Use a pitch rate calculator to determine the size of the starter you'll need. At a minimum, a starter will confirm viability before brew day so you're not pitching dead yeast and likely ruining your beer.

IslandLizard

What @wsmith1625 said! ^
Liquid yeast starts to slowly die from the date it's packaged. But the way it's handled from the yeast lab to the distributor to the store to you determines her health even more.
Aside from her age, determined by the manufacturing date, which is typically 6 months before the "Best By Date" stamp on the package, it could have been stored warm or traveled in hot weather, or other circumstances, all making things worse.
Therefore, you should always make starters from liquid yeast, well ahead of brewing day, to:
Prove viabilityIncrease cell countOverbuild by 50-100 billion cells to store away in the fridge; then make a new (large) starter from that for a next batch, etc.Making yeast starters is really not that difficult or even takes that long, but it does need some planning ahead, and does take some effort. Although the selection in dry yeast and the quality has increased much the past 10-15 years, especially the past 5 years, there is so much more variety in liquid yeast out there than ever before too.
BTW, you should complain to your brew shop about the old yeast and your failed batch. If you're willing to make starters, maybe he'll give you the outdated yeast for free or a buck a pack (@maximum).  

mashpaddled

With a hot fermentation and an appropriate pitch rate, it is not out of the question that the yeast are winding down after one day. Checking gravity would be the only way to know for sure.
I don't want to pile on but your fermentation temperatures are too high. The internal temperature of the beer is usually 3-5 degrees above those stick on strips. If it read 79F, the beer inside was almost certainly in the 80s.