another yeast cake question..... hops

im about to brew today and im planning on re-using the yeast for a high gravity brew after this batch.

my question on this (i havent seen it mentioned in searches ive done) is this

do the hops left behind in the cake affect the next brew at all?


thx

BrianP123 said:

do the hops left behind in the cake affect the next brew at all?

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YES!!! well, to a degree. Good example from my earlier brewing days. I brewed a double black IPA, dry hopping with 2 oz. Those hops along with any other hops from my kettle (back when I just dumped the whole thing into the fermenter) were trapped in the yeast cake. Trapped, that was, until I pitched my milk stout on top of it.

The common theme on that beer when submitted to competitions was that it was too hoppy for style.

So, yes. They can influence the next beer. The trick is to go in increasing order of hoppiness/bitterness in your beers. That or simply rinse the yeast with sterilized water. Dump in 1.5 L of sanitized, cool, room temp water and swirl until everything is in suspension. Let it sit at cool, room temp for 15 min and decant the liquid into another fermenter or another vessel if you wish to repeat the process and further rinse the yeast.

generally, if you're going to pitch onto a yeast cake you want to go from a lower gravity brew to a higher gravity brew and from a lower hopped brew to a higher hopped brew.

If you are going to a lower gravity beer, or a completly different style, try using the yeast washing method: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/ that way you can get as much of the hop trub away from your yeasties! I actually used this method this weekend on two different beers!

Deuce said:

If you are going to a lower gravity beer, or a completly different style, try using the yeast washing method: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/ that way you can get as much of the hop trub away from your yeasties! I actually used this method this weekend on two different beers!

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+1 to the above thread. It's an awesome resource.

thanks guys.....

this is gonna be my first attempt at it so i decided to start with a cream ale which only used an ounce of hops, the next up is going to be NB's 115th hopburst dream IPA which has a pound of hops...

i should be OK

I usually start with a lighter/lower hopped beer and after primary fermentation rack that beer into the secondary and then re-harvest what is left by scooping out the sediment from the primary. This includes alot of extras that probably are not "pure" yeast cells. Everything is sanitized -scooper, bottles, hands, etc. Also I try not to breathe much and if I do I exhale away from the area. I scoop into brown plastic (Mr. Beer Bottles-I knew I would find a use for these things!) about 2 cups of the slurry, then squeeze out excess air and cap. Then I throw these in the fridge and release built up pressure regularly(every few days) being careful only to squeeze air out NOT in. Then on brew day I treat these as I would any vial of yeast and pitch into the next batch.

Now this is not the cleanest and most sanitary way, but I have been able to save $ on yeast while experimenting with different grains and hops on new brews. This allows me to get a more pronounced pallete for grains and hops without the extra cost of new yeast. I have not made a funky beer yet. (knock, knock, knock)
After practicing this for the past year I think I will now start to practice "washing" my yeast before pitching. The learning never stops!