another yeast cake question!

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big supper

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About to re-use my yeast cake for the first time.....

I know that some don't clean the Krausen ring or anything, but should we do any cleaning of the fermentor at all? I am thinking of replacing the stopper and cleaning the blow-off tube from the previous batch.

When time to rack, we can pout the aerated wort right on top of the cake. Do we then need to stir up the yeast?

Thanks
 
I clean my fermenter up best I can. I use a paper towel soaked in starsan to wipe off the krausen ring and then I spray the edges all down with starsan. Also, I rinse off the bottom of the lid and spray it down with starsan. Really the only thing that doesn't get cleaned and sanitized is the very bottom of the fermenter where the cake is lying.
 
Carboy or bucket?

I just replace my stopper and airlock. No real way to clean a carboy with yeast still inside. I also agitate the yeast before I put my new beer in.
 
Oh yeah, good question. If it is a carboy, then there is no real need to clean the inside. You would be causing more problems than you would be fixiing.
 
If we are talking bucket, I would follow my steps above.

In reality you are taking a bucket that was sanitary for one beer, so it should be sanitary for the other...however, it is not worth the risk to me. Get a paper towel damp with sanitizer and wipe off the krausen ring and wipe down the sides. Then with a spray bottle spray down the sides of the bucket. Run the bucket lid under hot water to remove any deposits and then spray it liberally with sanitizer. Clean and sanitize your airlock.

Probably overkill, but how much time are we talking here? 10 minutes? Worth every bit of it in my brewery.
 
would it be better to scoop out a jar-full(sanitized) of trub and pitch it into cooled wort in a clean fermenting bucket?
 
would it be better to scoop out a jar-full(sanitized) of trub and pitch it into cooled wort in a clean fermenting bucket?


in the case of a bucket, i'd just do what was said above. if it was a carboy i could see racking the beer then dumping the trub into something sanitized, cleaning the carboy as you normally would before filling it, and dumping the trub back in.
 
Better? I dunno, maybe. But I guarantee you will be fine if you follow my instructions above. That is of course assuming you follow all the other sanitary procedures.
 
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