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mhenry41h · 02-24-2011, 12:19 PM

My hoppy session APA had a furious 3 day fermentation. I checked it this morning and it has about 3 inches of beautiful bright white krausen and is clear to the point that I can see halfway through my carboy already. It was my first time using whirlfloc and I can tell you this... I am hooked on it. The fermenter had huge clumps of stuff when I pitched. The clumps settled out within 2 hours. When active fermentation kicked off, it all came back off the bottom and swirled wildly. Two days later...clear with a lovely yeast cake sleeping happily on the bottom. Can't wait for a taste!

One brew at a time...

BobBailey · 02-24-2011, 12:33 PM

I'd attribute the rapid clearing more to the yeast than the Whirlfloc. Whirlfloc is great for settling the wort once it's chilled, helping with overall clarity, but the floculation is a yeast thing.

What kind of yeast did you use?

Bob

mhenry41h · 02-24-2011, 12:41 PM

Wyeast American Ale II. I made an 1800 ml starter meant for a 1.055 wort. I botched the mash and ended up with 1.044 which I'm sure helped the yeast.

One brew at a time...

kanzimonson · 02-24-2011, 01:17 PM

Yeah that yeast has kick-ass flocculation and settling. I wish more people would try that strain.

Down with Cal Ale!

mhenry41h · 02-24-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanzimonson

Yeah that yeast has kick-ass flocculation and settling. I wish more people would try that strain.

Down with Cal Ale!

I'm going to be using it more often. My March brew is going to be an Amber Hop Bomb. Guess what yeast is going in that wort?

One brew at a time...

kanzimonson · 02-24-2011, 01:48 PM

Well as long as you've opened your mind to that yeast, lemme just tempt you with my favorite ale strain - 1968.

It ferments and clarifies even quicker than 1272. The "downside" that turns a lot of people off is that it has lower attenuation and the beers end up with a tiny touch of extra sweetness. Personally I like this.

And the maltiness, oh man... this beer takes your grain bill and amplifies every little nuance.

My strategy for dealing with the extra sweetness and maltiness is to sub out some of my two row for maybe 5% granulated sugar. And you sometimes have to increase the IBUs by 5-10. But talk about some delicious, rich beers... love it.

mhenry41h · 02-24-2011, 01:58 PM

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like a strain worth trying. A tad of residual sweetness could be nice in a hoppy amber ale. I'm not crazy about much caramel malt sweetness in my hoppy beers so I made a recipe using 10 percent carared and no other caramel malta. Sounds like 1968 would bring a nice feel to such a brew...

One brew at a time...