The skinny:
I'm going to wash and re-use my yeast for the first time. I brewed an all-grain batch of a Belgian Witbier and I'm going to wash/re-use the yeast (Wyeast 3944 - belgian witbier) in a wheat IPA. I followed the 'yeast washing illustrated' sticky and have my boiled (and cooled) jars of water ready to go in the fridge.
Two questions:
1) How long do I need to wait to let it settle in the jar? I would like to rack today and brew/pitch on Sunday (less than 48 hours settling). Is that enough time to settle? If not, what's a rule of thumb/average settling time?
2) There is still a ton of krausen (after 12 days in the primary) in my glass carboy. I checked the gravity yesterday and it's down to 1.009 (estimated FG in beersmith is 1.013), so it seems to be ready to rack...but the krausen remains. Does anyone have any suggestions on methods of how to get the krausen out of there before I add the water for washing (since I cant skim it off with a spoon due to the bottle nose style of the glass carboy)? Or is it okay to keep all the krausen in there and include it in the wash? Do I just need to hold my horses and let it continue to ferment beyond 14 days? As Marc Summers says, "What would you do?"
Thanks in advance, homebrewers!!!
I'm going to wash and re-use my yeast for the first time. I brewed an all-grain batch of a Belgian Witbier and I'm going to wash/re-use the yeast (Wyeast 3944 - belgian witbier) in a wheat IPA. I followed the 'yeast washing illustrated' sticky and have my boiled (and cooled) jars of water ready to go in the fridge.
Two questions:
1) How long do I need to wait to let it settle in the jar? I would like to rack today and brew/pitch on Sunday (less than 48 hours settling). Is that enough time to settle? If not, what's a rule of thumb/average settling time?
2) There is still a ton of krausen (after 12 days in the primary) in my glass carboy. I checked the gravity yesterday and it's down to 1.009 (estimated FG in beersmith is 1.013), so it seems to be ready to rack...but the krausen remains. Does anyone have any suggestions on methods of how to get the krausen out of there before I add the water for washing (since I cant skim it off with a spoon due to the bottle nose style of the glass carboy)? Or is it okay to keep all the krausen in there and include it in the wash? Do I just need to hold my horses and let it continue to ferment beyond 14 days? As Marc Summers says, "What would you do?"
Thanks in advance, homebrewers!!!