Ringwood --> Diacetyl Rest --> Yeast Cake Pitch

I brewed a porter last weekend with Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale. Kind of a spur of the moment grab a recipe and brew session. Been reading up on Ringwood since then and sounds like an interesting yeast. Due to brewer error, my bucket lid was not properly sealed, which apparently is preferable for this yeast. The beer gods are smiling on this brew.

Anyway, my plan is to ferment at approx 70F. This might be a touch warm for this beer, but that's where we are already and I don't want to shock the yeast mid-fermentation. Then, I will raise the temp to 73-74 for 24 hours for a diacetyl rest.

The plan is to then pitch another porter (similar recipe and OG) on the yeast cake. I was thinking of fermenting the second batch at a cooler temperature (66F) and doing the diacetyl rest at 70F.

Now my questions:

• Is it wise to yeast cake pitch a similar beer, or should the second beer always be "bigger" with a higher OG.
• Is my plan for different temperatures on Batch 2 a problem? Are the yeast now adapted to the warmer temps?
• Is Ringwood even suitable for a yeast cake pitch with its potential diacetyl issues? It sound like a yeast that can get away from you. If the first batch is bad, am I guaranteeing a bad second batch?

I can always just do a new starter if needed as a few bucks won't kill me, but my previous yeast cake beers have been fine and it's an appealing technique for lazy brewers like me. It's just the unique characteristics of Ringwood that have me a bit concerned if this approach is OK.

Cheers!

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I'd think 70F is sufficient for the diacetyl rest even though that isn't higher than the fermentation temp. Diacetyl rests are usually higher if fermentation is, say, 64F. How far are you along in the fermentation? You can control pitching rate better if you top crop. This strain is perfect for that. The problem with pitching on the yeast cake is that you will be over pitching and changing the favored characteristics of this yeast, or any yeast for that matter. If you are only a couple days in, I'd suggest top cropping. If your fermentation is complete and the healthy yeast is no longer on top, than I'd suggest washing the yeast after you rack. You can then save the top cropped or washed yeast for a starter and future batch.