I forgot

Brewing processes and methods. How to brew using extract, partial or all-grain. Tips and tricks.

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dartedplus
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I forgot

Post by dartedplus »

I forgot about the thread we had going on yeast and whether to take it from the primary or the secondary. I had put back some yeast the I took from the secondaries of my last 2 batches. and not thinking about the source, I used some of it in the batch I made this past weekend. The fermentation was very slow (although the Burton ale yeast seemed slow the first time around). so then I remembered where I go the yeast from and realized that it was not the best yeast I could have had. So taday I had to make a starter from some SO4 dry yeast. Which took off right away and then my batch started again. So its in secondary, hopefully it wont be there too long since I'm almost out of homebrew. I would hate to have to buy some beer!!!! But I will know better for the next time I try to harvest some yeast
fitz
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like we all said

Post by fitz »

Like we all concluded, With a little discussion, It is OK to try to harvest, but not from the primary, better from the secondary, better yet from the bottled beer. However, it may not be an exact match from the first yeast strain. I myself am lazy, and harvesting yeast would be a lot more work, and a lot more record keeping. I'll stick to new yeast for each batch until some of my other projects are complete anyway.
dartedplus
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actually

Post by dartedplus »

Actually the yeast from the primary is what you want. The yeast from the secondary will be the less healthy, less flocculant yeast
fitz
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Sorry Ed, but

Post by fitz »

Sorry Ed, but that is a 180 from the discussion we had in Feb.
The Secondary yeast, and better yet the yeast from the bottles, are the most viable. The primary may settle out quicker, but it won't be as lively. Eric can give you all of Stats to back me up.
Gravity Thrills
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fitz on the money

Post by Gravity Thrills »

Fitz is right - between being too flocculent, the yeast slurry from primary is going to have too much trub and hop debris, even if you did an early, preemptive rack from the pitching vessel to a primary. If you are actively trying to select for high flocculence and quick ferment and settle, then you could use slurry from primary with a couple of washings.

Cheers,
Jim
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