pitching on yeast cake

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normeller

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Question--If you are pitching on yeast cake what about sanitizing issues. How do you clean the krausen from the fermenter before pitching. Are there other sanitizing issues that I should be aware of?
 
I wouldn't recommend pitching directly onto a yeast cake without washing it first, but some people have reported good results that way.

Sanitation shouldn't be an issue as long as you pour the wort in immediately after transferring the original beer out. Maybe spray the neck of the carboy with some StarSan, but that's about all you can do.
Anything that's stuck on the side of the carboy will stay there and meld its flavor with the new beer.
 
This is something that the guys at mt LHBS had to talk, and talk me into doing. Surprisingly so as it knocks off $6.50 that I would pay them for packs each brew.

Long and short, they say, "If the batch you rack out of it isn't infected, why would you assume that the stuff left behind would be?"

After racking out of Primary, leaving that 1/4-1/2" of liquid and the cake put the lid or stopper back on with the airlock. This keeps anything from getting in. Be ready with your next batch and dump it right on top. You can do this upto 6-7 times.

It makes since to do a similar style of beer or plan on darker brews each time.

It saves you money and cleaning time.

And the yeast you 'train' during this process gets more aggressive each time.

I pitched a 1.060 Brown Ale onto a yeast cake on Saturday and it started rocking my air lock within 20 minutes and needed a blow tube within 3 hours. Checked it this morning and am at 1.019 already. This will be a 4-5 day fermentation period. Just like the local Brew Pubs.
 
I should elaborate that reusing a yeast cake can alter the ester/phenol production of some strains. Also, I maintained a continuous culture of Koelsch/American Ale yeast when I used to make apple wines, and I started picking up serious autolysis after four months. Since that experience, I always wash my yeast before re-pitching.
 
If you wanted to intentionally influence a lighter beer, would picthing directly on top of something like a sout or amber be wise? I have a beer concept rolling around in my brain that involved trying to do something like this.
 
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