How do I lower my SG

There are some mash factors that can affect attenuation. Are you brewing all grain?

If not, you could try a more attenuative yeast strain and/or replace some of your extract with table sugar. (Both of these things could be done with an all Grain recipe also.)

Pitching a lot of extra yeast might attenuate a little more, but is probably nibbling around the margins. Are you using a yeast calculator to determine how much yeast to pitch? Two vials/packs may well not be ideally enough yeast for your DIPA, depending on the viability of the yeast (which is affected by its age).

Edit: expiration dates are misleading. There's nothing magical about the 4-month mark. Yeast cells are dying off before then and more will continue to die off afterward.

 

I would lower the mash temp first and follow VikeMan's advice on maybe adding simple sugar

 

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating adding sugar, but rather replacing some malt or extract with some sugar.

 

I understand, perhaps I phrased that incorrectly - adding simple sugar in place of part of the base keeping the Original gravity the same

 

All Grain or Malt Extract Recipe?

If you are using LME there are some brands that are horrible at fermenting down to a low gravity. My homebrew shop carries Alexander brand and it does not ferment lower than 1.015.

 

“I didn't realize that they would be dying off that quickly.” The yeast calculator on the Mr. Malty website assumes that 21 billion yeast cells die off every 30 days. This is a very conservative assumption/estimate. A properly stored yeast package (liquid yeast should be kept at refrigerator temperatures; 40°F) will indeed suffer some yeast cell die off but not at a rate of 21 billion yeast cells per 30 day period.

Feel free to utilize the yeast calculator on the Mr. Malty website but be fully cognizant that the calculator utilizes a number of conservative estimates/assumptions amongst them being a very conservative die off rate estimate.

Cheers!

 

“So I guess the next question I have is that if I over yeast the wort are there any negative impacts to the beer …”

That is a very interesting question which will likely spark some debate.

Firstly, it is indeed possible to overpitch. The definition of what constitutes a condition of overpitching will vary from individual to individual. The consequence of overpitching is:

• Very low ester production
• Very fast fermentations
• Thin or lacking body/mouthfeel
• Autolysis (Yeasty flavors due to lysing of cells)

David Logsdon (who founded Wyeast Labs) prefers to slightly underpitch since this will result in a beer that is more flavorful and it benefits the yeast health. Below is a quote from an article of Yeast Starters authored by Jamil Zainasheff:

“There is also an upper limit to how much yeast you should add. Logsdon says, “I try to stay within 20 percent of my ideal pitch rate and I prefer to slightly under pitch rather than over pitch. This causes more cell growth, more esters and better yeast health. Over pitching causes other problems with beer flavor, such as a lack of esters.
Changes in the flavor profile are noticeable when the pitch rates are as little as 20 percent over the recommended amount.”

Cheers!

 

1.076 to 1.018 sounds perfect to me. I would not change anything.

 

I always bump up my ferm temp by 2-3 degrees after first 24-48 hours when cell growth stage is mostly completed. That growth stage is important to overall attenuation (see above regarding yeast health) so you don't want to overpitch if you can avoid.

I'm also surprised no one here has outright recommended a yeast starter, although alluding to it with the yeast calculator comments. That is one of the simplest ways to ensure a solid amount of viable cells are being pitched. By creating a yeast starter, you're giving the cells a quick growth period before you even pitch.

 

First, who has yeast that has been refrigerated the entire time between packaging and use? You can't control the entire supply chain.

Second, how do you know that 21 billion in 30 days is a "very conservative assumption/estimate?" You have stated more than once that Chris Whites told you this. And yet the FAQ on his own website says...

"What is the shelf life of White Labs Yeast?"
"After 30 days in the vial, the viability of our yeast is 75-85%, which is very high for liquid yeast."
http://www.whitelabs.com/faq/beer-amateur

21% in 30 days is in the middle of this range.

 

In the OP: “I double pitch with CA Ale Yeast and San Diego Super Yearst, both liquid yeasts.”

The yeast calculator on the Mr. Malty web site will ‘say’ that pitching two packages of liquid yeast is not enough for a 1.076 OG ale.

Information on the Wyeast website indicates that 2 packages of fresh smack-packs will be on the hairy edge for a 1.076 ale.

It certainly appears to me that the fermentation was healthy, achieving a final gravity of 1.018 is what I would expect for an ale that had an OG of 1.078 and no simple sugars were used.

Cheers!

 

“First, who has yeast that has been refrigerated the entire time between packaging and use? You can't control the entire supply chain.” My LHBS is Keystone Homebrew. They receive their yeast shipments in Styrofoam boxes that are filled with multiple ice packs. I take the yeast out of the refrigerator and immediately place it in a Playmate cooler with an ice pack in it. When I get home I immediately place it in my home refrigerator.

“Second, how do you know that 21 billion in 30 days is a "very conservative assumption/estimate?" You have stated more than once that Chris Whites told you this. And yet the FAQ on his own website says...
"What is the shelf life of White Labs Yeast?" "After 30 days in the vial, the viability of our yeast is 75-85%, which is very high for liquid yeast."
http://www.whitelabs.com/faq/beer-amateur
21% in 30 days is in the middle of this range.”

The Mr. Malty yeast calculator assumes that 21 billion yeast cells die per month (not 21%).

For example: for a package that is one month old (which might be what a person would find at a store) the Mr. Malty yeast calculator indicates that the package has 76.96 billion viable yeast cells (which is also way too low since a brand new smack pack has 120–130 billion cells). After another month of age, the Mr. Malty yeast calculator lists that the smack pack has 55.31 billion viable yeast cells), The percentage difference between 76.96 billion and 55.31 billion is 39% (not 21%).

As I have also posted many times there are many conservative assumptions within the yeast calculator on the Mr. Malty website. A die off rate of 21 billion yeast cells per 30 days (not 21%) is just one of the many conservative assumptions.

Cheers!

 

Agree that 1018 isn't out of style for this batch. Personally, I'd take that. Just trying to come up with some possible suggestions...that admittedly would likely result in a minimal reduction in gravity...perhaps a few points if that.

A single, double, even triple pitch of anything - dry yeast, liquid yeast, smack pack, whatever - doesn't even guarantee viable cells due to variables others have mentioned. Maybe that vial was exposed to 90 degree heat for 3 straight days...who knows.

With a starter, you can control the environment of the yeast and create healthy cell growth immediately before pitching. I trust that process rather than guessing as to what has happened to the vial/packet, whatever before it gets in my hands.

 

“Maybe that vial was exposed to 90 degree heat for 3 straight days...who knows.” I am 99.99% sure that doesn’t happen for me since the yeast packs are maintained at cold temperatures throughout the distribution chain for my LHBS (see above post). Needless to say but I can’t comment on the experiences which may happen to others.

I personally would have made a starter for a 1.076 OG ale since I do not purchase multiple liquid packages for a batch of beer; too expensive for my tastes.

The fact that the OP obtained a healthy fermentation via pitching 2 packages proves out that this method can work as well.

As homebrewers we all get to choose what homebrewing practice is comfortable for each of us.

Cheers!

 

You didn't mention that you've taken a couple gravity readings, so because you are higher than your expected gravity I suggest taking another reading to verify the 1.018 before you bottle this beer (if you plan on bottling) so you don't accidentally have a bunch of bottle bombs.

 

Yeah, I get that you think smackpacks have a lot more cells than advertised. You have repeated that often too. But every time I challenge one of your claims that any individual Mr. Malty assumption is conservative, you bring the other assumptions into it, instead of addressing the question asked. But let's say a smackpack (or a vial) does contain 125B cells, as you have claimed. Given that White Labs says...
"After 30 days in the vial, the viability of our yeast is 75-85%, which is very high for liquid yeast."
...that would leave 94B-106B cells. Or a die-off of 19B-31B cells. Do you believe this range is reasonable? If not, why not?