Has anyone used Wyeast 1187 - Ringwood Ale

[PackerDan]

I put together an IPA recipe inspired by an article I read. In the article one of the yeasts they suggested was Ringwood for it's fruity esters. But they mentioned it's harder to work with. It started off well but not as active as other yeasts I've used. Over the last two weeks it's been slow but steady and still keeping the same pace. I'm wondering approximately how long the fermentation process is. And there are recommendation for a diacetyl rest but since I'm fermenting at room temp (about 70 F) do I need to figure out a way to bring it up to 75 F or so or just let it sit for an extra few days after fermentation ends?

 

[Nosybear]

Use your hydrometer or refractometer to know if fermentation is really finished. When you can take a consistent measurement over 3 days, it's done. And you can use a refractometer - you're looking for change, not an absolute value.

 

[PackerDan]

Update - for anyone thinking about using Ringwood Ale yeast, after my first time using it I found that a good 3 weeks for fermentation worked well and I'm thinking I'll go 4 weeks next time. I cold crashed it for 2 days and then let it sit out for a day to reach room temp. I'm not the most patient guy so of course I originally planned on only 2 weeks to ferment but after tasting it I wasn't getting the fruity esters I was expecting. After 3 weeks I definitely got a nice grapefruit flavor.