S04 pitching rates

[Chappie]

Hello,

I'm just wondering what pitching rates other people are using for first gen s04 ?

Currently I'm using 1000gm into 16hl of aerated wort, 1041 SG. It's fermenting real well on first gen but twice I've tried 2nd gen with low attenuation problems. Now I'm thinking I am pitching too high to start and making the yeast "lazy"...? Any advice on this would be great. For cropping, I'm using conical vessels and reusing middle crop.

Cheers
Craig

[liammckenna]

I find that zinc supplementation helps with SO4 and attenuation. Our water here is virtually devoid of zinc. We generally pitch 500g SO4 into 10 hL wort. We also generally add 300 mg zinc to the kettle as Zinc chloride during boil.

Your mileage may vary.

Pax.

Liam

[Chappie]

Cheers Liam,

I'll try taking first pitch down a bit...750g. I'll get some zinc on the order aswell. Has this helped with your second + gen yeast attenuations etc?
Cheers

[liammckenna]

Most definitely.

Helps with yeast growth in Gen 1.

Helps with flocculation, attenuation and head retention properties of your beer in successive generations.

We generally only push SO4 to 3-4 generations.

You may want to try some 50 mg Zinc supplement pills (available from your local pharmacy) just to see how it works out before you make it routine. 300 mg is a very small amount to measure with your average brewhouse scale/balance.

Pax.

Liam

[william.heinric]

Are you prehydrating you yeast before pitching? I think that there are some yeast shock issues to consider when pitching dry yeast directly into wort. Check out Yeast by White and Zainicheff; they cover the topic pretty well.

Bill

[Chappie]

Bill,

Yes I'm pre hydrating with ~27c water as on packet - 1000g into ~10l water, allowing to stand for 15-30mins, then gently stirring prior to pitching.

Liam,

Did a small batch brew today but couldnt get zinc in time for boil end, but did pitch a smaller amount of yeast. I will not be re-pitching from this crop anyway, but will get some zinc in from pharmacy to try next time.

Cheers