SafAle K-97

[Bryan K]

Hey all, cheers from the southern u.s.!
First time using SafAle K-97, and I am really on the edge of my seat here...

I brewed a partial as I’m an apartment dweller, 5lbs Czech pils @ 66c for 70 min.
9g saaz at 70min, and 44g saaz at 15.
Added 3lbs bries pilsen light dme at flameout.
At about 15 liters I had a gravity of 1.064
I rehydrated one pack of fermentis safale k-97 and pitched it in after 15 minutes. The first 24 hours was active but not overly lively. Then the biggest krausen ive ever seen formed and... well this thing is out of bloody control! I thought I gave it plenty of headspace!
Excuse the cling film. It works well BTW.

 

[Bryan K]

Ferment temp has been 17-18c
Its winter here... no problems at ambient

 

[Hangover68]

Took off like a volcano, i did a black IPA a few months back that was like that. Used a yeast cake from a previous IPA and it was shooting out of the air lock all over the place.
I think you meant to put this in the yeast section not hops ?

 

[Bryan K]

Yeah Hangover... meant to put this in the yeast section. Maybe a mod can move the post or something?
By the way, the krausen is still ridiculously high on this K-97 brew, but no longer gushing. Crazy yeast man.

 

[RobB]

My favourite dry yeast. Don’t be surprised if it looks like the krausen is still there even after you have hit FG. This yeast is in no hurry to move out of the way. It may also take longer to clear than you are used to.

 

[philrob]

Yeah Hangover... meant to put this in the yeast section. Maybe a mod can move the post or something?

Fixed.

 

[Markbeer]

I have bottle beer with this yeast before and the Krausen was still present.

Id cold crashed to make it drop. When it warmed it reappeared. My hydrometer said it had finished fermenting.

 

[Bryan K]

Thank you philrob for the fix.
Very interesting RobB and Markbeer! This has definitely been an exciting ferment to watch so far. I plan on harvesting this yeast and using it on other brews in the future as well.

 

[DJR]

You can top crop k-97 too, there's no shortage of it being a true top cropper. Just get a sanitised spoon and scrape some off the top & store in a sanitised jar for later. Top cropping helps a bit with getting rid of the massive krausen too, just don't take too much of it or else there won't be enough to clear up diacetyl afterwards if there is any.

 

[Bryan K]

Yeah I would and still might top crop this crazy yeast. I typically try to save the yeast cake and wash the yeast from there on a given brew. I am always concerned about how long cultured yeast will last in the fridge though. What If I don't use this K-97 for a month? Can I just pitch the stagnant slurry then or do I need to work up a starter? How much of the old slurry should go in the starter if I do need one? Etc.