10 replies to this topic

[jammer]

I have a 5 gallon batch of Liquid Stupid fermenting like crazy as I type this. It is in a 6.5 gal glass carboy with a blow off tube affixed. I used the glass carboy instead of the large primary plastic fermenter because I figured I may have to take a few gravity readings along the way and didnt want to have to remove a big lid to gain access, thus allowing the wort to be exposed to a large amount of oxygen. I thought it would be easier to just sanitize the wine thief and drop it in the carboy opening instead. Some of the krausen is coming out of the blow off tube and going into my overflow bottle (gallon plastic jug with a few inches of sanitizer in it). Ive been switching out the overflow bottle with a clean one with fresh sanitizer every now and then, just to keep things clean and fresh. This got me to thinking: How much krausen can you afford to lose? I mean it is a top fermenting yeast so there has to be a certain amount of it lost to the overflow. I know im in no danger of losing all my yeast, it seems i still have plenty in the carboy, I was just wondering. Also, it seems a waste after building up my starter for a week. Has anyone has such a violent fermentation, or used such a small container, that they lost too much krausen?

[denny]

There is a school of thought that advocates krausen removal as a way to make better beer. While I don't know if that's ever been proven, there's also no problem to blowoff. You'll still have plenty of yeast.

[DaBearSox]

I have herd you may lose some foam stability compounds in the finished product.

[EWW]

Capture the yeast in a sterile closed top container with an airlock and brew another batch. Top crop yeast is amazingly healthy

[lowendfrequency]

Capture the yeast in a sterile closed top container with an airlock and brew another batch. Top crop yeast is amazingly healthy

This. Clean healthy yeast, no trub. Score.

[jammer]

I thought you didnt want to reuse yeast after a high gravity beer... ? And if I can go ahead and use it, what would be a good beer to throw on this yeast cake when its done?

[EWW]

I thought you didnt want to reuse yeast after a high gravity beer... ? And if I can go ahead and use it, what would be a good beer to throw on this yeast cake when its done?

IMO top crop yeast is a different situation all together. I could be wrong, but from my experience the yeast hasn't been stressed to the same degree. Maybe someone else will chime in on this, but I think the yeast is still in the reproductive state and thus still healthy. Brew a BDSA to age along side the liquid stupid. I posted my n=1 recipe in the recipe side of the board, but it is by no means proven...however I tasted the gravity sample at transfer and it has promise.

[BlKtRe]

2.5g carboy collecting 1007 from a 10g batch. I was able to brew another Altbier and pitch the collection.

[jammer]

IMO top crop yeast is a different situation all together. I could be wrong, but from my experience the yeast hasn't been stressed to the same degree. Maybe someone else will chime in on this, but I think the yeast is still in the reproductive state and thus still healthy. Brew a BDSA to age along side the liquid stupid. I posted my n=1 recipe in the recipe side of the board, but it is by no means proven...however I tasted the gravity sample at transfer and it has promise.

Excellent info. Ill check out that recipe. Thanks.

2.5g carboy collecting 1007 from a 10g batch. I was able to brew another Altbier and pitch the collection.

I gotta get me one of those lil carboys. They are badass!

[lowendfrequency]

I thought you didnt want to reuse yeast after a high gravity beer... ? And if I can go ahead and use it, what would be a good beer to throw on this yeast cake when its done?

I believe the concern is more about re-using a yeast cake that has sat under a high-alcohol beer for an extended period of time. You're actually getting the best of both worlds by using top cropped yeast. Because you're brewing a strong beer, you'll have strong, sugar hungry yeast that can handle the big beers and since this is young fresh yeast you are getting a clean and viable culture, no masses of dead or over-stressed cells.

[Recklessdeck]

There is a school of thought that advocates krausen removal as a way to make better beer. While I don't know if that's ever been proven, there's also no problem to blowoff. You'll still have plenty of yeast.

According to Lee Janson, Ph.D., krausen "is filled with tannins from hops and husks". Separating the krausen prevents wort from reabsorbing the tannin off flavors that are collected in the krausen. Ideally, proper mash and sparging techniques should prevent tannins from husk material, but removal of the nasty hop oils and resins through krausen separation seems like it could really cut down on that astringent-y hop flavor that one occasionally encounters in hop heavy beers