Ok, we love them, but what are they really dof oing?

Without yeast pooping off alcohol we would all be drinking Clausthaler or whatever it is.

I find it facinating everytime I have a brew in my 6.5gal carboy to watch fermentation.

Is there some sort of method to the dance?

This one is a Stella Clone and took nearly three days to take off. Now I have a nice head of Krauzen and see bits falling and missiles taking off to the top.

I know they are working their magic but from falling to shooting but what are they doing?

White labs 802.

Thx,
~Diz

It's all magic...:rockin:

Science is magic explained...

Yeast are not motile - they cannot move under their power like some bacteria that have flagella for example. I think they get surrounded by bubbles of CO2, which lift them up, then they fall as the CO2 escapes. It can be mesmerizing!

Convection currents

BioBeing said:

Yeast are not motile - they cannot move under their power like some bacteria that have flagella for example. I think they get surrounded by bubbles of CO2, which lift them up, then they fall as the CO2 escapes. It can be mesmerizing!

Click to expand...

So, basically...fart rockets.

joelmole said:

So, basically...fart rockets.

Click to expand...

No, it's what kryolla said.

Yeast generate a lot of heat during fermentation. Hence the convection currents. The CO2 being produced and coming out of solution keeps the yeast at the top of the vessel. Besides that, there area lot of sources that explain yeast biology.