Dropping IIPA on Pilsner Yeast Cake?

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efreem01

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Hey All,

I was thinking of brewing an imperial IPA and found that it's best to pitch the beer on the yeast cake of a prior brew. Right now in my primary carboy, i have a brewers best continental pilsner. Would it be a bad combination to throw on the IIPA? Here are the ingredients in the pilsner.

CONTINENTAL PILSNER*
Yield: 5 gallons
Starting Gravity: 1.044 - 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.008 - 1.012
Alcohol by Volume: 4.0% - 5.0%
Hop IBUs: 30 - 40

INGREDIENTS (INCLUDED):
3.3 lbs. Plain Light Malt Extract
2 lbs. Plain Light Dry Malt Extract
12 oz. Crushed Carapils Malt
1 oz. Perle Hops (Bittering)
1 oz. Saaz Hops (Finishing)
 
It's a pilsner, meaning those are lager yeasts...right? Never heard of a lager-fermented IPA, honestly, and I don't know if it would give you the right yeast characteristics. Are you thinking of fermenting it true lager style, or steam-beer style?
 
You missed the most important thing....

What kind of yeast is the "pilsner" using?

I use quotation marks with the "pilsner" because I suspect it's using an ale yeast of some kind (since you did not indicate that you are fermenting at lager temps), and pils are lagers. If it IS a lager yeast, you do not want to use it for an IPA. If it's something clean and with high attenuation, like a Nottingham or a Safale US-05, it should be fine. But, we need to know what yeast strain the pils is using before being able to make any judgment.

EDIT: Reading the directions on the kit, it indicates that you want to ferment around 70°, which means its using an ale yeast of some kind (and therefore is not a true Pils). Honestly, I would probably just buy a packet of US-05, it's a great yeast for an IPA, maybe even pitch two packets if you want to be extra-safe (they're only like a $1.50 each). Did you use the yeast that came with the kit? Was it labeled as anything other than just "beer yeast"?
 
the_bird said:
EDIT: Reading the directions on the kit, it indicates that you want to ferment around 70°, which means its using an ale yeast of some kind (and therefore is not a true Pils). Honestly, I would probably just buy a packet of US-05, it's a great yeast for an IPA, maybe even pitch two packets if you want to be extra-safe (they're only like a $1.50 each). Did you use the yeast that came with the kit? Was it labeled as anything other than just "beer yeast"?

Man, that's just weird. Why call a kit a "pilsner" when it's not using lager yeast? I sure am glad I never got into those kits. Sounds like there are alot of shady ones out there.
 
Yeah, i laughed a little. I forgot what kind of yeast the brewers best kit had in it. Then the recipe just says "beer yeast". Yes, it's definitely a top-fermenting ale yeast which actually instructed me to pitch it at 100 degrees! That threw me for a minute on brew day.

So for an imperial IPA, i should just buy two packets of dry yeast (to be sure) and throw it in? Seems a lot more solid than putting an IIPA batch on top of all the trub from this pilsner. I think the hops from the pilsner may mess with my flavor.
 
You could get by with one packet, I'm sure. How big of an IIPA? What kind of OG? I was just suggesting two if you want a bit of cheap insurance, but I've never had a problem pitching a single packet of hydrated US-05 on lots of beers. If I was getting around 1080 or higher for an OG, I'd personally probably pitch two packets, just 'cause I can be a bit of a chicken****.
 
I believe all the Brewers Best kits use Nottingham dry yeast. Thats a pretty good ale yeast but will not make a true lager.
I would think that yeast cake would be a good yeast for an IIPA. It will probably make a better IIPA than a Pilsner.

To those of you who have done this experiment, how much difference is there between a lager recipe brewed with ale yeast and a true lager. I'm guessing that the result with ale yeast is still pretty good beer but different.

Craig
 
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