Top Cropping

I just got through reading Brew Like a Monk and top cropping is mentioned as a yeast culturing method. I am intrigued but unsure how to approach this. Has anyone done this before and if so what was your process?

I used a bucket style fermenter, boiled a big metal ladle, cooled and took two big scoops of the creamy krausen. Put it in a 2l starter and that was it. Worked great, if not a little imprecise!

philrose said:

I used a bucket style fermenter, boiled a big metal ladle, cooled and took two big scoops of the creamy krausen. Put it in a 2l starter and that was it. Worked great, if not a little imprecise!

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And then when the starter was done you stored the yeast or did you have something else already to pitch it into?

I would guess that once the starter ferments out, you could just toss it in the fridge.

I pitched it, I figured that catching the most active cells in their most active state was a good idea.

I'm trying to do the same thing ...how did it work for you?

Considering it's been a bit over 4 years since this thread was last updated, I don't know if you'll any replies from the previous posters. I have successfully top cropped two different yeast strains. As long as you are working with a true top fermenting strain then the process is easy with a bucket. Pop off the lid, using a sanitized spoon, scoop out a bunch of krausen into a sanitized jar. Use directly, no starter needed.

Old thread, but I've done it successfully on many occasions. I open the fermentor, scoop out yeast and a bit if fermenting wort with a sanitized spoon, store it in a sanitized jar, and put in the fridge until I need it for the next batch.

However, it seems easier and less of a hassle for me to make a larger starter than necessary and store a portion of it for future batches.

Depending on how long it has been stored with either method, I will pitch directly or make another starter.


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I think there is a bit about top cropping on this brewing tv ep [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xT8DHOZFE[/ame] At its most basic, just sanitize a ladle and some mason jars and scoop it in at high krausen. Some yeasts work better than others. I use wy1318 london 3 almost exclusively for ales because it top crops so well - huge relentless krausen and doesn't change much with multiple repitches.

Best thing about top cropping is it's so easy when you're about to ferment another similar batch of beer. Sanitise, scoop fresh yeast, add to another fermentor and pitch new beer. Takes off very quickly and makes great beer. Too easy!

I'm looking to top crop, but I use Better Bottles, not buckets. The latter are obviously the easiest to top crop from, but has anyone done it with bottle-type fermentors?

I do have an idea on how to do it, but I'd like some feedback. I always use a blow off hose and jar, both of which go through the same PBW cleaning and StarSan sanitation regimens as all other equipment I use. I keep both clean between batches, too.

The idea is simply to use blow off as top crop. I usually end up with 5.5 gallons or so of wort in the Better Bottle fermentors I use, always have blow off, and always end up with a decent amount of yeast at the bottom of the blow off jar. If I'm using a clean and sanitized rubber stopper, blow off hose, and jar, doesn't this seem like a very easy and reliable way to collect a good amount of top yeast?

Thoughts please!!

Bump!

I'm reading about Burton Union, Firestone Union, and other methods of getting yeast out of the beer *during* the fermentation, including harvesting that yeast. It seems the method I described above has elements of those other methods.

Your method sounds reasonable to me. The only other way you might get more (or cleaner) yeast might be to actually have a tube that sticks down into the krausen which should force more krausen through your blow off setup. As long as your process is sanitary then I suspect it should work. Let us know if you end up trying it and how it pans out. Good luck!