Pooping Yeast

So I'm a newbie and I was sitting looking at the beer the other night. Its been in the fermenter for about 12 days. SA-05. The krausen rose and fell and now the surface has a little pond scum on it but nothing else. There is also no airlock activity. I took at sample at 7 days and it had gone from 1.060 to 1.013. I had to move the fermenter around and after I did I started getting a good amount of airlock activity. So I watched and white globs (assuming yeast) would float like rockets up from the bottom. Then something would squirt out and the glob would drop back to the bottom. Kind of amusing to watch.

What are they doing?

Where in the life cycle does this happen (if its normal From everything I've read I know to just shut up and take gravity readings a couple days apart to determine if its done, but this is just for my personal edification.

That is very normal. It is trapped CO2 that is causing the yeast to rise when you disturb it. Then as the CO2 is released it pops and falls.

Damn...The title of this thread promised sooooo much.

TampaTim said:

Damn...The title of this thread promised sooooo much.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I was hoping for so much more.

I have a theory on this topic.

Through some home brewing experimentation, I have come to the conclusion, that the activity that you are seeing in your carboy is actual a precise replica of the primordial ooze that all of the life on earth evolved from billions of years ago. Basically We all evolved from a sort of primordial beer, most likely a stout or porter style.

Figured the title would get some attention.

So if its just trapped co2 working its way out of the cake I shouldn't expect the yeast to be doing much of anything anymore?

Negative. Sitting at .013 is about where you want to be. Let the yeasties sit for a few more days, take a second gravity reading, and if it's still the same, rack that bad boy.

I am with the rest of you. I was hoping for some interesting talk about too much yeast in the colon. Disappointing.