Evan!
Well-Known Member
My standard practice when transferring my cooled wort from the kettle to primary is to pour it through a funnel/strainer, so that it catches the larger hops and break material. However, this past weekend, I brewed a stout that I added cherries and cranberries to. While my recipe was different, I still checked out Papazian's "Cherries In The Snow" recipe, and followed his directions regarding when to add fruit.
What this meant was that, right after flameout, I scooped out as much of the boiling hops as I could without being OCD...then, I added the finishing hop pellets and the fruit while it was still hot, so that they would sanitize. I then cooled, poured the whole thing into my big bucket, and pitched.
My question, though, is: I used some harvested Wyeast London ESB yeast; this is only the second time with this strain. I love this yeast, it flucculates really well and produces very clear beer. So I'd like to harvest it at least 2 more times. But, I worry with this batch, because it wasn't properly strained like I usually do. Not to mention all the gunk from the finishing hops that I put directly into the wort.
So, do you think there's any point in harvesting this batch? Or should I just give up on it? I know that I can usually separate out much of the trub through the standard yeast harvesting practices, but I'm not sure if that will work as well with all this gunk in my primary.
What this meant was that, right after flameout, I scooped out as much of the boiling hops as I could without being OCD...then, I added the finishing hop pellets and the fruit while it was still hot, so that they would sanitize. I then cooled, poured the whole thing into my big bucket, and pitched.
My question, though, is: I used some harvested Wyeast London ESB yeast; this is only the second time with this strain. I love this yeast, it flucculates really well and produces very clear beer. So I'd like to harvest it at least 2 more times. But, I worry with this batch, because it wasn't properly strained like I usually do. Not to mention all the gunk from the finishing hops that I put directly into the wort.
So, do you think there's any point in harvesting this batch? Or should I just give up on it? I know that I can usually separate out much of the trub through the standard yeast harvesting practices, but I'm not sure if that will work as well with all this gunk in my primary.