Harvesting yeast from 2ndary used to dry hop

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
klnosaj

klnosaj

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
432
Reaction score
10
Location
Berkeley
Are there any extra steps I should take when harvesting the yeast from a secondary fermenter in the presence of dry hopping? I never harvest from primary because of all the trub. Isn't harvesting from a secondary that's been used to dry hop sort of the same thing?
 
You should harvest from the primary if you can. Follow the yeast washing sticky and you will get rid of the trub. The yeast from the primary are less stressed and are the ones that did their job and dropped out. And as BrewerBear said you have much more yeast.
 
I would not ever use yeast from the second vessel(No fermentation going here) That is yeast that did not floc out. You would end up with cloudy beer from the yeast staying in suspension. You want to grab the yeast from the primary.
 
To throw in a twist, what if you do primary and secondary in same vessel as some do here?

Figure the dry hop will just add more trub that needs to be removed through "washing". Instead of using a 1/2 gallon jar possibly better to go up to a gallon jar-half gallon jar-quart so that you lose more "impurities" and get more pure viable yeast.
 
When you rinse the yeast you are getting a "Range" of all the yeast, some dead some early flockers some late flockers etc....
 
BrewerBear said:
I have never harvested yeast, but you will have alot less in secondary to harvest.
Click to expand...
I always harvest from the secondary. Quantity and quality are not the problem I'm seeking to address.

pabloj13 said:
You should harvest from the primary if you can. Follow the yeast washing sticky and you will get rid of the trub. The yeast from the primary are less stressed and are the ones that did their job and dropped out. And as BrewerBear said you have much more yeast.
Click to expand...

The yeast washing sticky suggests harvesting from the secondary.

Brew-boy said:
I would not ever use yeast from the second vessel(No fermentation going here) That is yeast that did not floc out. You would end up with cloudy beer from the yeast staying in suspension. You want to grab the yeast from the primary.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, because I would never harvest yeast from a primary. John Palmer does it from the secondary and that's good enough for me.
 
The yeast washing sticky says you can do it either way. If people wash from primaries and you are washing from a secondary, then from a hop debris perspective you are right. There is no difference. That trub isn't going to hurt anything, nor is harvesting from a secondary likely to make a drastic difference (since obviously people do it with success all the time). If quality and quantity aren't what you are trying to address, then I'm not sure what it is you are looking for.
 
pabloj13 said:
The yeast washing sticky says you can do it either way. If people wash from primaries and you are washing from a secondary, then from a hop debris perspective you are right. There is no difference. That trub isn't going to hurt anything, nor is harvesting from a secondary likely to make a drastic difference (since obviously people do it with success all the time). If quality and quantity aren't what you are trying to address, then I'm not sure what it is you are looking for.
Click to expand...

My question was about harvesting after a dry hop addition. Insofar as those hops haven't been boiled or isomerized I'm wondering if their presence during yeast harvest has any effect, ill or otherwise. Similarly, what about harvesting after an addition of, say, bitter orange peel? There are other ingredients similar to this one that I don't like to add to the boil and that I add as an addition to the secondary. Do these inclusions preclude successful harvest? Or does none of it matter since it *should* all end up in the trub that's being left behind?
 
klnosaj said:
My question was about harvesting after a dry hop addition. Insofar as those hops haven't been boiled or isomerized I'm wondering if their presence during yeast harvest has any effect, ill or otherwise. Similarly, what about harvesting after an addition of, say, bitter orange peel? There are other ingredients similar to this one that I don't like to add to the boil and that I add as an addition to the secondary. Do these inclusions preclude successful harvest? Or does none of it matter since it *should* all end up in the trub that's being left behind?
Click to expand...

The hops for sure won't matter much. The orange peel might leave a hint of a flavor behind to carry over to the next batch, but even that would be pretty minimal. If you wash it well, not much of that trub should carry over.
 
Question, if I did not wash good and there were hop flowers in my yeast storage jar..........3rd harvest I was drunk but that is a different thread. So if I used that yeast, could it impart a vegetative off favors on a beer?
 

Similar threads

Saunassa
First time using harvested yeast
Replies
1
Views
712
hottpeper13
H
Gadjobrinus
1469, 11 plato - on lees for a couple weeks?
Replies
3
Views
429
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
B
Harvested Yeast Starter For Bottling Smells Like Vinegar
Replies
7
Views
1K
fluketamer
F
corncob
Is Imperial A09 Pub a top-cropper?
Replies
3
Views
561
DBhomebrew
DBhomebrew
S
Kveik Yeast Repitching
Replies
3
Views
653
CascadesBrewer
CascadesBrewer
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top