Fermenting on a previous yeast cake..

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Mindflux

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First time I've done this. I racked my APA to my primary fermenter which I had just racked my second hand at a fat tire clone out of. Had a nice fatty layer of yeast at the bottom.

Racking the new wort in made for nice swirling action to roust the yeast back into suspension. I had activity in 2 hours! It's been goin strong and has about 1.5" of Kreusen attop the fermenting wort currently.

Super freakin sweet man. Super sweet.
 
6.5gal fermenter.

It's good stuff, no blowoff this time around (never had one, actually). Got plenty of headspace in that pup!
 
I've only racked to the cake 4 times. 1st time it blew the lid off my plastic primary like a shotgun (decided time for glass carboy to see!). Second time, came close but stayed in bounds. 3rd time I had to do the blowoff; 4th time again behaved. 50/50 shot I guess
 
Is this only possible when the 2nd batch is similar to the first batch (yeast will work for both)?

Can extract brewers do this as well?
 
Kevin,
Yep. It would be ideal to brew a batch that uses the same yeast, or a similar variety. Extract or all grain makes no difference. Just make sure the wort you are racking on top of the yeast is below 90*F.
 
Janx was the first to get me into this and it rocks! I plan to rack my Imperial Hellfire in the next couple of nights and will brew an IPA this weekend. That brew will end up atop the Imperial Hellfire's yeast. Should be interesting - an IPA using Edinburgh yeast!
 
Not only that, you can save your primary yeast for later use. Do a search here to find out, or you can google it. I split my primary yeast into different batches for freezing, making slants or just storing in the fridge for later use in a starter. I don't buy very much yeast. Usually get about 16 brews out of a smack pack before I buy another.
 
What about the leftover krausen ring and trub?

I have 5 gallons of Extra Special Bitter in primary that I'm planning to rack to secondary today. I also plan to reuse the yeast for a batch of English IPA that I'd like to brew today, as it'll take the same kind of English ale yeast--WLP002. I'm considering just pouring the cooled wort on top of the yeast cake. I'm a little concerned about the crusty krausen ring and the trub from the old batch contaminating or changing the taste of the new batch.

I only have one available bucket right now, otherwise I'd transfer the yeast to a new sanitized bucket and leave the crust behind (trub be damned). This is a new technique for me, so I'm not sure if it even matters. I've never had a bad batch and I don't want this to be the first.
 
Prost! said:
What about the leftover krausen ring and trub?

I have 5 gallons of Extra Special Bitter in primary that I'm planning to rack to secondary today. I also plan to reuse the yeast for a batch of English IPA that I'd like to brew today, as it'll take the same kind of English ale yeast--WLP002. I'm considering just pouring the cooled wort on top of the yeast cake. I'm a little concerned about the crusty krausen ring and the trub from the old batch contaminating or changing the taste of the new batch.

I only have one available bucket right now, otherwise I'd transfer the yeast to a new sanitized bucket and leave the crust behind (trub be damned). This is a new technique for me, so I'm not sure if it even matters. I've never had a bad batch and I don't want this to be the first.

Don't worry about the trub leftovers. I do this often. I do get as much of the liquid from the previous batch out as I can (tilt) but no worries other than the potential for a blow-off.
 
desertBrew said:
Don't worry about the trub leftovers. I do this often. I do get as much of the liquid from the previous batch out as I can (tilt) but no worries other than the potential for a blow-off.

Great, I'm going to give it a try. Why is there such a high potential for blow off, isn't it just like pitching a large starter?

Thanks
 
Prost! said:
Great, I'm going to give it a try. Why is there such a high potential for blow off, isn't it just like pitching a large starter?

Thanks

The yeast is still very active/fresh and the only way you could get this much yeast from a starter is to do a 5g starter, which you just did :).
 
desertBrew said:
The yeast is still very active/fresh and the only way you could get this much yeast from a starter is to do a 5g starter, which you just did :).

Okay, thanks again. I'll try to avoid the golden showers. :cross:
 
Prost! said:
What about the leftover krausen ring and trub?...
I don't worry about it! I've never had it affect subsequent beers. I do try to go from lighter colored beers to darker.
 
Prost! said:
What about the leftover krausen ring and trub?

I'm considering just pouring the cooled wort on top of the yeast cake. .

'sactly what I did

Prost! said:
I'm a little concerned about the crusty krausen ring and the trub from the old batch contaminating or changing the taste of the new batch. .

Like the others said. Don't be. :)

[/QUOTE]
 
I recently did this with a Belgian Wit (WL) yeast I am using. The first batch fermented very well - vigorous and complete. When I racked it off and pitched my new wort on the yeast cake, I got about 24 hours of very vigorous fermentation - it started within an hour or so . . . literally.

After a few days, fermentation stopped - and I assumed fermentation was complete. My gravity, however, was still very high. I racked it to a secondary, pitched a packet of dry yeast, moved the carboy to a warm place - nothing.

My first stuck fermentation came when I pitched onto a yeast cake, and I have yet to determine how or why. I'm pretty sure that the cause of my stuck fermentation was not pitching on the yeast cake, but I can't help but wonder if there is something I failed to do to keep the yeasties healthy during such a long fermentation period :confused:

The only other thing that I can think of is that my mash did not completely convert . . . but I mashed at 154 for about two hours (mashed in before going to church and couldn't start a sparge until I got home) :off:
 
I finished brewing, added the wort to the yeast cake and put the primary away in my basement at 4:45. I cleaned up all of my equipment and then went down to the basement to check on the new batch 5:40. OMG! Mega swirling eddy, getting 3 bubbles per second! It started faster than Jerry Seinfeld racing Duncan Meyers.

One question though; with what is basically a huge yeast starter, it should finish fermenting much quicker, Right?
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Why don't you just swirl it up, pour half of it into a gallon jug and wash it?

There will still be enough remaining in the bucket for the next batch.:D

I'll still wash it when I rack to secondary. Third generation by then.
 
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