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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  RE:  RE: Reusing yeast ("David Houseman")
  RE: Reusing yeast (Gabe Toth) (David Huber)
  RE: Re-using yeast (jrdunne)
  Hop Bags (jrdunne)
  Keg or glass for Berliner (Mike Eyre)


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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:34:43 -0400
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman at verizon.net>
Subject: RE:  RE: Reusing yeast

Gabe,

As I said, one could write a book on yeast...in fact I think I have a couple 
of them.   So some refinements to my post.   First, when I reuse yeast as I 
describe I plan it so that I'm moving from a less hoppy to more hoppy beer, 
lighter color to darker color, lower gravity to higher gravity, etc., so 
that the residual affects of the trub are minimized on the subsequent beer. 
I wouldn't for example use the yeast from an American IPA to make an English 
Bitter. The second refinement is yeast washing.  This is described in a 
number of places but the short of it is that one can wash the yeast to cast 
off trub, dead yeast cells, etc. so that you can have viable yeast but with 
a fresh start.   Wash yeast from one batch and store under distilled water 
in the fridge for a couple weeks or more, then use as a starter for the next 
batch.   Of course sanitation is needed in all yeast handling.  Like most 
things in brewing things are pretty forgiving so don't be too worried about 
details.

Dave Houseman 



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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:40:53 -0400
From: David Huber <n3uks.dave at gmail.com>
Subject: RE: Reusing yeast (Gabe Toth)

On several forums I see people talk about pitching on top of yeast
cakes multiple times
and I've been curious how that works.  Do people generally pour fresh
wort on top of the whole
cake without rinsing and selecting only the active yeast?  If so, how
do you do this more than
several times without ending up with 6-plus inches of yeast and trub
at the bottom of the
carboy?  I'm also curious what the carboy looks like after doing this
a few times
without cleaning; for me, just after one batch, after the krausen
falls the sides of my
carboy are coated with yeast.

Dave Huber
Jessup, Md


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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:34:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: <jrdunne at rcn.com>
Subject: RE: Re-using yeast

Gabe asks about concerns over the build-up of trub when 
re-pitching yeast directly on the yeast cake.

I've never been particularly concerned about this but
I try to follow what Calvin laid out - start with a 
lighter "cleaner" beer and move up to the darker
stronger beers that may have more hops and trub.

If the yeast cake looks particularly "dirty" I
will siphon out some of the yeast and build a
starter.

One concern I've heard on other sites, which I've
discounted but will mention, is that by repitching
on the yeast cake you are theoretically "over
pitching" and not hitting the optimal cell count.

I've not been concerned about this in the past and
see no reason to change my process.  I've been
quite happy with the results.

Others here may have much more detail to shed on
over pitching, but I try to go by what works
for me and does not create any unnecessary
work or worry.

As to your concerns on posting, I too have had
great difficulties in posting.  At this point
I cannot send from my outlook account at home
although I can post from the same account 
using "web mail."

Posts from my outlook account simply disappear.
No "automagical" response at all.  Like they
were never sent.

Despite the difficulties, I think the HBD
has some of the most thoughtful responses
you will get.  Perhaps because of the
difficulty in posting.

All the best,

Joe Dunne
Chicago - North Side


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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:39:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: <jrdunne at rcn.com>
Subject: Hop Bags

I brewed a batch a while ago and used a nylon 
for the hop bag for the initial hops.  I used these once or 
twice before I wasn't real keen on the way they floated in 
the kettle.  But, there they were when I was cleaning the 
brew room so I used them.

For the later additions, I used the same ol' draw-string 
nylon bags I usually use.

Same hops (Hallertau and Tettnang) in the same ratio (1:1) in 
each of the bags.  When I dumped out the spent hops, though, 
the difference in appearance was striking. All hops were 
pellet hops.

The hops from the nylon were bright green and crumbly.  The 
hops from the usual bag were brownish and sort of mud-like.  
The bright green hops were in the kettle for 60 minutes, the 
other for 30 and 15 (I made additions to the same bag).

What's the deal?  Are nylons just a bad thing to use?  
The way it floats it seems to me like it's not allowing the 
wort to pass through enough.  

But some people like them...

So, basically I'm just looking for an opinion from the 
informed people on the digest.  Ditch the remaining nylons 
and never use them again?  

Or are they, in fact, very effective?

Cheers,

Joe Dunne
Chicago - North Side

PS - this is the posting I have attempted several times
to send from Outlook and it just disappears...
Who knows?  Gabe's post got me back off my hind end
to re-post, though.


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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:56:37 -0400
From: Mike Eyre <mikeeyre74 at gmail.com>
Subject: Keg or glass for Berliner

I'm wondering if I can age my berliner weisse in a keg instead
of a glass carboy, which would allow me to taste it along the 
way to determine at what sourness level I like. Will Lactic bacteria
get irritated at a closed system like a keg, or will it keep working?
Would it be better to keep the pressure out, if I kegged it, by using a 
party tap with the guts removed and setup like a blowoff tube?
I have lots of carboys, but I'd just as soon rack the beer one less 
time if I have the option.. 



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