blow-off = yeast lost?

I noticed a light brown sludge at the bottom of the blow-off bucket after pouring out the settled foam, is this yeast, and if so will having this yeast lost affect the vigor of the fermentation?

Could someone point me in the direction of creating a more alcoholic beer? I think you need to add either more yeast or more sugar or both.

glas9396 said:

I noticed a light brown sludge at the bottom of the blow-off bucket after pouring out the settled foam, is this yeast, and if so will having this yeast lost affect the vigor of the fermentation?

Could someone point me in the direction of creating a more alcoholic beer? I think you need to add either more yeast or more sugar or both.

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I'm no expert, but more fermentables will make more alcohol. Whether that's cane sugar or malt extract doesn't make a difference in alcohol content (so long as they have the same fermentability and you're adding the same number of moles of... nvm). The type of sugar you add (extract, cane, corn, candi, etc.) will have an effect on flavor. There is also a time factor. More yeast will ferment a given amount of sugars more quickly, but too much will change the flavor.

Losing yeast to a blow off vessel won't have any effect, unless something has gone seriously bad. The yeast are reproducing like crazy, so losing a few billion cells here and there won't make a difference.

Sure, it's probably got some yeast in it, but at the point of high fermentation (the point where there's enough to blow off), you've got plenty of yeast left to do the job.

To raise the alcohol of the beer, you need to add more fuel (IE: sugar) for the yeast to eat. Alcohol being a waste byproduct of yeast, is calculated by how much yeast was in the original brew, and how much is left at consumption. So, if you want more alcohol, you give the yeast more food.

Also, make sure your yeast attenuates to an appropriate level. Measure your OG and FG and make sure the yeast is doing an acceptable job. If your yeast has stalled, there are things you can do to help. You can also add yeast nutrient at pitching time to 'assist' the healthy consumption of sugars.

However, just because I said 'Add more sugar' does not mean ADD MORE SUGAR. Add it in the form of malts and/or other sugars and attempt to avoid just pumping up ABV with a buttload of corn sugar.

jezter6 said:

However, just because I said 'Add more sugar' does not mean ADD MORE SUGAR. Add it in the form of malts and/or other sugars and attempt to avoid just pumping up ABV with a buttload of corn sugar.

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Yeah, see, jezter knows what's up.

Sugar is the food that yeast eat.... Alcohol is one of the waste products of yeast. How much waste (alcohol) will the yeast continue to live in?

In other words at what level of alcohol content will the yeast be unable to produce more alcohol?

1. don't use actual sugar...its the poor man's way to boozy beer. use more malt extract for more alcohol, body and flavor!
2. yeast's ability to resist alcohol is 'attenuation'. when yeast hits its attenuation point, it stops converting sugars to alcohols and goes dormant (this is why you can harvest yeast strains from unfiltered microbrew bottles)

every strain is different. on average many hit 7% alcohol just fine. some like safbrew s-33 can reach 12%.

If your main consideration is stronger beer then go ahead and use sugar.

malkore said:

1. don't use actual sugar...its the poor man's way to boozy beer. use more malt extract for more alcohol, body and flavor!
2. yeast's ability to resist alcohol is 'attenuation'. when yeast hits its attenuation point, it stops converting sugars to alcohols and goes dormant (this is why you can harvest yeast strains from unfiltered microbrew bottles)

every strain is different. on average many hit 7% alcohol just fine. some like safbrew s-33 can reach 12%.

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Many yeasts can go much higher, it just depends on how you feed it. My LHBS guy said he can take ale yeasts up to 18% by a slow steady feeding pace by giving it more sugar when it's about to run out.

In a single run, it will wear itself out quite early. I've been rejuvenating my apfelwine to hopefully ungodly levels by fueling it with concentrate every 4 days until it gets close to 15-18%.