Any Idea?

[homekegger1]

I was about to transfer my current brew to secondry today and have found something I have never experienced before. A thick creamy top on top of my wort. I am making a Grumpy's Old Percular strong ale and it has been in Primary for 10 days now.

I used Wyeast "1318 London Ale #3". The whole packet. Not splitting it up for many starters. The temp here has averaged about 23 - 24 in my brew cupboard. The SG was 1.070 and it is now 1.028. Today is the first time I have checked this so I am not sure if it is steady.

I think that the creamy top is most likely the yeast and it hasn't finished fermenting, but am not really sure that is why I am here. I tasted the sample I took for the FG test and it tasted extremely nice. So I am leaning away from infection(Unless I seem to have a thing for off beer)

Any Ideas or am I on the money? Should I leave it a couple more days and check the FG daily or am I looking at something a little more grim

Cheers

HK :unsure:

 

[JasonY]

Sounds like a normal fermant homekegger1. The 'creamy top' is reffered to as the Krausen and is perfectly normal. Liquid yeasts can have some quite spectacular ones.

Sounds like the beer is tasting good, I would do a SG check each day, if you don't see it change in afew days then it should be ready.

 

[Weizguy]

HK,

It sounds to me that the beer is prob only suitable for the July Xmas case, and you shouldn't poison yourself by drinking any more. :lol:

Back to reality, I have this yeast too, and BYO mag sez that this strain (from Young's, IIRC) may hold a foamy head even after it's done it's business with your wort.

Furthermore, and this is something you should get onto soon, the yeast can be propagated easily from the krausen. Ever heard of top-cropping yeasts? Well, you have one, and can crop the yeast from the top of it, whenever you are ready.

Happy culturing.
Gotta be happy with that!

Seth

 

[warrenlw63]

HK.

That yeast is a bit of a genuine "top cropper". It's a pretty normal situation. Maybe gently swirl the fermenter around a few times over a period of a couple of days. It should slowly drop down.

Warren -

 

[sah]

With these top cropping yeasts is it better to break up the krausen and allow it to settle to the bottom of the fermenter or does it work just as well to draw the beer out from underneath (tapped fermenter)?

Scott

 

[Ross]

With these top cropping yeasts is it better to break up the krausen and allow it to settle to the bottom of the fermenter or does it work just as well to draw the beer out from underneath (tapped fermenter)?

Scott

[post="117649"][/post]​

Welcome to a true top cropping yeast - caught me out the first time I used it as well - there are pictures on here somewhere, with me asking "is this normal".

Just open your tap as normal & transfer to secondary. no different than pouring off a sunken krausen...

Cheers Ross

 

[homekegger1]

Ross you gave me an idea. Take a pic and post it for better clarification.




So if I am to guess it right, I just need to take about a cup of this stuff and pitch it straight into my next brew. Or I could bottle it and place in the fridge for a couple of weeks till I need it???

I have never re-used a yeast before so I am still learning


Thanks

HK

 

[Guest Lurker]

Krausen normally refers to the foamy top on any brew. What you have there is a barm, a thick pasty slurry of a true top cropping yeast. Supposedly the origin of the term "barmy". Yes you can scoop out some of that barm and use it to start another beer. Yes you can keep it in the fridge, but if you want to use it without building a starter, best to store it as short a period as possible, 2 weeks would probably be OK.

 

[Stuster]

It may be worth holding off a bit before you rack/bottle though. With your SG still at 1028 you are looking at only 60% attenuation, lower than the 71-75% there is supposed to be with this yeast. Maybe wait 3-4 days and check the gravity again. Hopefully it should drop a few points by then and you can rack.

Great picture of the top-cropping yeast. Yet to use one myself and I can see why you were a bit unsure. :blink:

 

[Ross]

I removed mine - Mmmmm... A tasty dip maybe...

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

MMMm...Krausen Pie...yumm

 

[homekegger1]

Stuster Posted Apr 2 2006, 12:03 PM
It may be worth holding off a bit before you rack/bottle though. With your SG still at 1028 you are looking at only 60% attenuation, lower than the 71-75% there is supposed to be with this yeast. Maybe wait 3-4 days and check the gravity again. Hopefully it should drop a few points by then and you can rack.

Great picture of the top-cropping yeast. Yet to use one myself and I can see why you were a bit unsure.

Took your advice and left for another 4 days. Bravo, it dropped to a steady 1022. I have now racked to 2ndry and am awaiting till I keg and CC.

I then decided to try my hand at a bit of a stout.

1 Coopers Stout can
1kg Brewbooster 2
500gm Licorice (boiled for 10 mins and thrown into ferm)
250gm Brown Sugar

Not sure if this will be a good recipe of not. I scooped the yeast from the previously mentioned brew and pitched into this one. Was bubbling away nicely the next day so I assume the it is working. Although I hate to assume.

I also collected the cake from the bottom and bottled and placed into the fridge. Can this also be re-used on another brew? If so do I just need to leave out to warm up a day or so before use or is there something else I need to do?

Cheers

HK

 

[razz]

Good photo Ross. Perhaps a Balfour's pie in the middle of that dish would make the Adelaide boys hungry !

 

[pint of lager]

Homekegger, look out, yeast farming is addictive.

For a good quality top cropper, the best time to harvest is a day or two after that nice head forms. Too soon and you are robbing your brew of a good start, too late and it may drop back in. Best place to harvest is from the krausen head, although of course the sediment after you rack/bottle will also work.

Looking at your nice picture of the krausen, on my monitor, it shows as two colours, a green colour and a fawn tan colour. The fawn tan colour is the bit that you want, a few desertspoons will kick start your next brew. Use sooner rather than later. If possible, pitch within six days of collecting, if longer, make a starter up. Yeast very rapidly dies off.

Be really really particular with your sanitation. Have a read of the airlocked threads on yeast farming, they are full of hints, techniques and information.

Before repitching your saved yeast, let it warm up on the kitchen bench for an hour or two. Watch out, some of the top croppers throw an even bigger head on stouts. Get ready with the blow off tube.

As to your stout recipe, not sure about the quantity of licourice, have never used it myself. What really makes a nice stout is a good kilo mix of stout booster from your HBS, which will include some dark DME and a few hundred grams of chocolate malt steeped, rinsed and the resulting solution boiled with some of the DME and some extra hops. PLus of course your favourite stout kit.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Wise words indeed POL... :beer:

 

[homekegger1]

POL,
Good words indeed. I have finally kegged and gassed my Stout. Very strong on the licorice flavour. Not that I mind too much, but rather over powering. Finished at about 5.4abv. Had a few this evening. Easy to drink, but not really what I was after. Oh well next time.

Just for interest, I took the top of the brew pictured above and pitched to my stout. The brew pic has been kegged for a little over a week and tastes awesome. Almost too nice. It is taking every strain to leave it till I return from my trip overseas. But I think 3 months in the keg will make this an even better beer.

Cheers and Beers

HK