clarrification question

new brewer here. i was informed by a fairly well known microbrewer here local that one of the best ways to brew using the standard ale pale/carboy combo was to initially ferment for around 5 days @ 70 deg in the ale pale - then transfer to the carboy and allow fermentation and clarification for another two weeks, then xfer back to the ale pale for priming and bottling.

this seems logical. my question is this. in the first step (five days in the ale pale) when i xfer to the carboy for fermentation and clarrification i am sure there will be some amount of sludge at the bottom of the ale pale even after a five day brew. should i rack it to the carboy minus the sludge. i'm thinking yes but then i am unsure if there will be enough yeast in the mixture to continue clarrification and importantly fermentation for another two weeks.

Yes, transfer to the carboy and leave the "sludge" behind.

The "sludge" is actually yeast and any hops or other ingredients you brewed.

There are a number of ways you can reuse the sludge. You can bottle a couple of bottles of yeast to be used later when making a similar brew or you can use it to pitch into another brew you just finished brewing.

so i will still have enough yeast to continue fermentation in the carboy?

brewhead said:

so i will still have enough yeast to continue fermentation in the carboy?

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Absolutely! Yeast will still be suspended in the transfered solution in ample supply to continue fermentation in the 'secondary' carboy.

thanks for the "clarification"

If you do reuse any yeast be sure it is from the primary only.

what would be the advantage of reusing the yeast? most kits come with a new packet of yeast. would i be improving - or speeding up the process by reusing the yeast?

homebrewer_99 said:

There are a number of ways you can reuse the sludge. You can bottle a couple of bottles of yeast to be used later when making a similar brew or you can use it to pitch into another brew you just finished brewing.

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Or you can toss it. It makes a good plant fertilizer.

brewhead said:

what would be the advantage of reusing the yeast? most kits come with a new packet of yeast. would i be improving - or speeding up the process by reusing the yeast?

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That was my question about 1 month ago. I was told it is a cost thing. I guess I don't mind spending $4.5 for a new packet of yeast each time rather than dealing with the yeast cake. Of corse I don't do a new batch every week either.

so now the brew is in the carboy. i can see it stratifying the clearest liquid on the top layer.


clarification (you may have to refresh the new browser)

brewhead said:

what would be the advantage of reusing the yeast? most kits come with a new packet of yeast. would i be improving - or speeding up the process by reusing the yeast?

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What I reuse is liquid yeast. I rarely use dry yeast. I would not reuse dry yeast. As you said, it's free with a kit (but I don't do kits), but it is cheap enough.

Reusing liquid yeast from a primary definitely speeds up the activity when used right away. It is comparable to making a yeast starter, but with fewer steps.

I've been brewing all grain batches agressively (IMO) for the last 8 months and I've come to like the idea of putting a couple bottles of each kind of yeast in the fridge so I can brew more "spontaniously." If you're brewing with kits, there's really not point to saving the yeast in my opinion.

Enjoy!