mfdes
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- 6/7/07
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I've been having a problem some of my last few fermentations, especially with two yeasts in particular: WLP001 and WLP300. I've been using a 23L glas carboy for a few years, without major incident. Of late I've been using a blowoff tube a bit more, and consequently filling the carboy further than I used to.
I've noticed with some of these top cropping yeasts that the blowoff produces an insane amount of yeast. Last fermentation of an APA it threw nearly 500ml of pure, thick yeast slurry. Some of these fermentations have been sluggish even though I pitched the correct amount of yeast (according to Jamil's pitching rate calculator). I must be pitching correctly because I pitch cold but am still seeing good activity within 5-8 hours.
Anyway, the sluggish fermentations, of 10 days and sometimes more have made perfectly good beer, but it has me thinking: am I blowing off a good proportion of the yeast made during the division phase, which would otherwise fall back in and be re-suspended by the convection currents in the fermenting vessel?
Any thoughts? I keep thinking this method results in longer fermentations than with a good enough headspace to have no blowoff.
M.
I've noticed with some of these top cropping yeasts that the blowoff produces an insane amount of yeast. Last fermentation of an APA it threw nearly 500ml of pure, thick yeast slurry. Some of these fermentations have been sluggish even though I pitched the correct amount of yeast (according to Jamil's pitching rate calculator). I must be pitching correctly because I pitch cold but am still seeing good activity within 5-8 hours.
Anyway, the sluggish fermentations, of 10 days and sometimes more have made perfectly good beer, but it has me thinking: am I blowing off a good proportion of the yeast made during the division phase, which would otherwise fall back in and be re-suspended by the convection currents in the fermenting vessel?
Any thoughts? I keep thinking this method results in longer fermentations than with a good enough headspace to have no blowoff.
M.