Carboy

[NMSU4ever]

This another question I have. After you bottle beer, you have the "leftover" in the carboy. Would it be okay to brew another batch immediately and pour it back in the same carboy again? In baking bread it is not uncommon to put back in dough from a previous batch. It helps conditions it and improves quality. As long as it is not over proofed or to dry. So this my question today. Thanks.

 

[progmac]

yes, people would call this pitching on top of a yeast cake. it is generally considered to be 2-4x more yeast than optimal.

 

[chawagi]

Just to clarify, however, it's my understanding that it should be a similar or more flavorful beer that will use the re-pitched yeast. You can step the beer up on a used yeast cake, but can't go the other direction.

For example you could reuse an APA yeast cake to brew an Imperial IPA or an Irish Stout (just examples, not recommendations), but couldn't go the other way with it without affecting flavor.

Also keep in mind there is a limit to how many generations of yeast you can produce before genetic mutations begin to produce off flavors in the beer. You would probably get tired of re-using the same yeast long before this happened, but it is a possibility. Many yeasts can be re-pitched up to 10x, but I've heard of some losing viability and genetic stability as low as 5x.

 

[progmac]

Just to clarify, however, it's my understanding that it should be a similar or more flavorful beer that will use the re-pitched yeast. You can step the beer up on a used yeast cake, but can't go the other direction.

For example you could reuse an APA yeast cake to brew an Imperial IPA or an Irish Stout (just examples, not recommendations), but couldn't go the other way with it without affecting flavor.

Also keep in mind there is a limit to how many generations of yeast you can produce before genetic mutations begin to produce off flavors in the beer. You would probably get tired of re-using the same yeast long before this happened, but it is a possibility. Many yeasts can be re-pitched up to 10x, but I've heard of some losing viability and genetic stability as low as 5x.

all fine points. i cold crash which makes it easier to sort of separate the yeastiest part of the yeast and put it in a mason jar. i never literally just pour the new beer on top of the old cake.

alcohol kills yeast with time, so if you have a strong beer that's been sitting on a cake for a while, the yeast is going to be less viable than it might be otherwise. that is in my mind the most important factor to consider when reusing cakes.

 

[NMSU4ever]

That helps me a lot thanks to all that posted. Is this krausening? I am trying to figure what that is all about. Thanks.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Being someone who lived in La Crosse, WI through college and several years after (see Old Style, G. Hieleman Brewery), I can tell you that Krausening is when fermenting wort is added to a batch of beer for carbonation purposes.

Finally, I used something I learned in college!

 

[NMSU4ever]

Wis CON son people know their beer. I worked for someone who was from Eau Claire, also the Packers do no wrong. THANKS!

 

[AlCophile]

Holy Aftertaste! Heileman's Old Style. Takes me back to Wih-scon-sin. And, the fishing!!!