Shake, shake shake it?

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jamesrm

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How many of you shake your primaries to get the cake suspended during fermentation, and when/how often do you shake it? Is more than 3 times playing with it? :ban:
 
You mean to knock down the krausen???

Why do you want to do that? It won't make your beer done faster or anything....and you may be introducing too much O2 if you do so...

The point is that during the end of fermentation it falls and helps clear the beer by pulling all manner of nasties that are in suspension down with it...and it's a natural process and should happen at it's own time...

Don't impose YOUR timeframe on beer brewing...It's not your timeframe it's the yeasties...they're in charge..Believe it or not your only job is putting together a clean factory well stocked with materials, which you did...

When you deal with living microorganisms, you surrender to their timeframe, regardless of what any instructions, or any impatience/excitement might dictate..

A lot of us pitch yeast and come back a month later to bottle or keg, letting the little buggers have plenty of time to not only work but to clean up after they're done.

This isn't making coolaid, it is a game of patience.


If you still have krauzen then LEAVE IT ALONE!!! It's still fermenting

At the minimum we recommend that if you do plan on secondary, that you wait til 10-14 days after you pitched your yeast (and when the hydrometer reading for three consequetive days is constant.)

But like I said many of us leave the beer alone for 3-4 (use the search for long primary yeast clean up themselves or no secondary for explanations why.)

But until then...

Stepaway_copy.jpg


:mug:
 
meh. you're all crazy. it's another boogie-man. revvy, i'm dissapointed in you...you're supposed to dispel these rumors :p

vigourously swirling the carboy will not negatively affect your beer. it will finish faster, it will ensure it attenuates fully, it will allow you to ferment at cooler temperatures, etc.

i have a friend that's been shaking his carboy for years. i never touched mine and they always did fine, with enough time, but i tried it a few times and now it's a regular habit...i always shake them throughout the first few days of fermentation.

unless you are actually opening the top or there is a leak, no oxygen is going to get in your beer from shaking. there is a blanket of co2 over it and all the oxygen was pushed out during the first day of fermentation. besides, any o2 that gets in there, the yeast will eat up. as long as fermentation is still active you don't have to worry about oxidation.

always take care to prevent oxidation of your beer after fermentation has completed or even begins to slow...but don't worry about it during fermentation.

shake it if you want to. it's not necessary, but it's not going to oxidate your beer. it may even be helpful with large beers or to keep yeast active in lower temperatures.

take that, boogeyman!
 
meh. you're all crazy. it's another boogie-man. revvy, i'm dissapointed in you...you're supposed to dispel these rumors :p


Uh...i think you misread his original post...it appears he's talking about knocking down the krausen, you know...like while it's still fermenting?

If that's his intent, then I stand by what I said originally...So bite me :D

But are you saying you advocate that? :confused:

EDIT Wait...Rereading it...now I'm even more confused...is the OPsaying he thinks shaking it MAKES the krauzen happen faster???

If by shaking he means aerating pre pitching then I take my original post back...

I'm thoroughly confused now...
 
on my Witbier i shook it daily after Krausen dropped a bit. A few times it started up again. Most of the time after krausen drops , usually on 8 day, i will shake it to get yeasties that are stuck on top sides into suspension. If they flocculate out great, if not they keep fermenting. If I am doing something wrong, I'd like to know???
 
on my Witbier i shook it daily after Krausen dropped a bit. A few times it started up again. Most of the time after krausen drops , usually on 8 day, i will shake it to get yeasties that are stuck on top sides into suspension. If they flocculate out great, if not they keep fermenting. If I am doing something wrong, I'd like to know???

nope. some people worry about oxidation, but as long as you're not opening the top, there is no oxygen in your fermenter so there is no need to worry.

and even if a little bit of oxygen in there...they yeast will take care of it.

honestly, it is next to impossible to oxidate your beer in a closed fermenter during fermentation.
 
You're not talking about krausen...knocking it down or otherwise....

btw, the krausen is mostly yeast gathering at the top. making them fall back into the beer will keep them more active and WILL result in a faster fermentation, a faster flocculation, and inevitably a quicker beer.

of course, i don't do it to rush things...i have plenty of beer going. i usually do it to ensure they are active as most of my ales are currently fermenting in the mid 50s.
 
I sometimes give the carboy a gentle swirl (not a vigorous shake though!) once per day during fermentation, especially when using highly flocculative ale yeast at lower temps. Hard to say for sure whether this makes any difference, but my subjective judgment is it seems to keep more yeast in suspension and helps things move along a little quicker.
 
i swirl as well...i don't really "shake". i've become a master swirler, tho :cross:

i can give it a good swirl for 20 seconds or so that will kick up everything from the bottom and drop all the krausen with very little splashing.

all my ales are clean. i've drank beers that fell clear after a mere 4 days and they were excellent. i've never had a problem with oxidation in my aged beers.
 
i've drank beers that fell clear after a mere 4 days and they were excellent. i've never had a problem with oxidation in my aged beers.

The problem is that you don't know what oxidized beer tastes like. I can guarantee you that your beer is oxidized and that you need to send it my way for disposal. :D

(Sorry Evan!, but it's been awhile since someone has said this).
 
guarantee me, eh? i can guarantee you are full of it and so are all these other guys who think they are going to oxidize their beer in A CLOSED CONTAINER DURING ACTIVE FERMENTATION.

If air is going INTO your fermenter at this time, you have bigger problems than oxidation. that's the point of the airlock is to let AIR OUT.

So there :p
 
guarantee me, eh? i can guarantee you are full of it and so are all these other guys who think they are going to oxidize their beer in A CLOSED CONTAINER DURING ACTIVE FERMENTATION.

If air is going INTO your fermenter at this time, you have bigger problems than oxidation. that's the point of the airlock is to let AIR OUT.

So there :p

Dude, I just want free beer.
 
nothing in this world is free except maybe masturbation...

(besides, the only "oxidized" (meaning aged :p) beer i have at the moment is my russian imperial stout...and that's not going anywhere!)
 
wah...not really. it's more of who is right. :D

not that any one method is ever the only correct one, but i would just like to state once and for all that shaking your fermenter will not oxidate or in any way screw up your beer.
 
How many of you shake your primaries to get the cake suspended during fermentation, and when/how often do you shake it? Is more than 3 times playing with it? :ban:

I only mess with it if it's stalling on me, or if there is a prolonged, creeping fermentation that is close to FG but prevents bottling nonetheless because of continued CO2 release. Otherwise, I am happy to have a nice layer of yeast isolating the trub from the rest of the beer.
 
wah...not really. it's more of who is right. :D

not that any one method is ever the only correct one, but i would just like to state once and for all that shaking your fermenter will not oxidate or in any way screw up your beer.

OK, I agree. But what are the chances it will oxidize it?
naughty.gif
 
I don't shake or swirl. I spin. Only on bigger beers though to help the yeast stay in suspension and attenuate more, or when fermenting cooler like with a hefeweizen that I don't want banana flavors in.

If you keep the carboy on the floor and give it a good 1/4 turn quick spin a few times, the beer barely moves but the yeast at the bottom that's adhering to the fermenter gets very agitated and re-suspended.
 
just raise one corner slightly and move slowly side to side, letting the liquid flow in a circular motion. definitely easier when you can see it in a carboy.

again, this is NOT necessary. it can be done and can help in certain instances, but is not a general practice and is not necessary to make any beer.
 
Well, my first brew was the victim of the 1.020 curse w/out me even knowing it. I bottled at 1.020. My second which I brewed on Saturday is an all extract Pilsener and I am going to try to get it *fully* fermented, so I'm interested in techniques for rousing yeast. It remains to be seen if it will stall out at 1.020, but I suspect since I used the exact same strain of yeast, that it might...
 
I was really asking about getting the yeast that have fallen out of suspension back into the mix again, but my question was well addressed :)

And, mine is indeed bigger.
 
seems like the deceased horse has been thoroughly beaten, but I will add this...

Shea Comfort (The Yeast Whisperer) advocates daily agitation during primary fermentation to decrease sulphur and IIRC increase long-term stability, and that guy is a freakin' genius.

AND

Side by side comparison of 2 recent saisons...both with same yeast, similar enough grainbills & OG, similar enough mash schedules, and similar enough fermentation temp profiles.

The one that was agitated went to 1.004 in 4 days.
The one where I did not agitate quit at 1.009 after 7.
 
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