31 replies to this topic

[ncbeerbrewer]

not quite brave enough to pitch onto the yeast cake but maybe next time. Cheers!

If by pitching onto the yeast cake you mean transferring off the cake and dumping your newly brewed beer into the same vessel, I would at least suggest cleaning your fermentation bucket before you dump in your new fresh beer. I reuse yeast all the time. If you cold crash the beer then tranfer off the yeast, dump the yeast cake from the bottom of the fermenter into a sanitized mason jar, clean your fermentation bucket, dump in your new fresh wort, pitch your yeast when you are at pitching temps. Sorry I am just saying this since why not take the 5 10 mins to clean your vessel and that way not lose your new beer to contamination just on the off chance. Otherwise sounds good hope it all goes well for you, sounds like your beers are going good for you. Cheers,Mike

[Deerslyr]

I have pitched directly onto a yeast cake before with no ill effects. I've also put the cake in a sanitized jar and let it settle, pour off liquid, add sterile water, repeat. However, when I have pitched directly onto a yeast cake from a beer that was only in the fermenter for say 2 weeks, the fermentation takes off within hours.

[DgNt]

Checked the gravity this afternoon, hit FG so I went ahead and moved it to the keezer to chill and will rack on Saturday... That will give it a few days to crash. Sample had a bit of haze -maybe a bit less so than a hefeweizen. Will be interesting to see if the cold makes much difference. Unfortunately, there isn't quite enough room to fit the bucket with the kegs in there so this may be the only experiment I do unless I crash in my fermentation chamber -unlikely since it would affect other fermenting batches. Sample tasted pretty good, I'm looking forward to being able to keg and force carb it... no bottling and I can start drinking sooner... I think I'll like this new toy!

[CaptRon]

FWIW, I never cold crash. I go straight from Primary to keg.Is there really a benefit to cold crashing in the fermenter first? I mean isn't it essentially going to cold crash after you keg and put the keg in the fridge?

[MolBasser]

If you have the temp control to do it, cold condition at 31 or 30.Your beer won't freeze and you will get the max benifit of haze/yeast clearing.I would condition for a week or so.MolBasser

[MolBasser]

FWIW, I never cold crash. I go straight from Primary to keg.Is there really a benefit to cold crashing in the fermenter first? I mean isn't it essentially going to cold crash after you keg and put the keg in the fridge?

Yes. Less crap in the keg.MolBasser

[DgNt]

If you have the temp control to do it, cold condition at 31 or 30.Your beer won't freeze and you will get the max benifit of haze/yeast clearing.I would condition for a week or so.MolBasser

It's about 42º in there now, pushed it down a little more and will see how low I get without being chicken. I don't completely trust the controller/feezer not to freeze me (certainly read the analog dial as "relative" and not absolute with respect to the setting). I have noticed that freezers with the controller tend to get stratification of the temps.... 5-10º difference from the bottom to the top. As I get full kegs in there there will be more mass to even things out a bit. I can't go any longer than these two full days as I plan to brew Saturday morning. So, will sanitize the keg as the mash rests and rack and clean and sanitize the bucket prior to end of boil. Should be a busy day.... certainly the busiest hop schedule yet for me.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Yes. Less crap in the keg.MolBasser

if you are making a dirty diaper beer don't you want that in the keg?

[Malzig]

Yes. Less crap in the keg.

Which still leaves the question: Is there any benefit to the beer, or just to a brewer's OCD?If you will be moving the kegs just before you try to serve them, then there can be a big benefit. In that case, though, you would be better off kegging the beer, then transferring the beer to a fresh keg before you move it, leaving the precipitate behind.

[MolBasser]

Cold conditioning benefits the beer in haze clearing, yeast flocculation and flavor maturity.It is win win.MolBasser

[Malzig]

Cold conditioning benefits the beer in haze clearing, yeast flocculation and flavor maturity.

Sure, but you'll get those same benefits in the keg as well as primary, without the risk of stirring it back up again when you go to transfer it out of primary.

[DgNt]

I just racked this after 2 days dropping down to about 35º. The beer was pretty clear after racking-not crystal clear. The important thing is that it tasted pretty darn good, I suspect it won't last long. SWMBO may even like this one since it's mild and not too "beery."Cheers.