How to get a firm, tight, compact.....yeast cake.

[cjteteak]

Question: I seem to run into the problem of soft and runny yeast cakes which can make racking a bit more tedious. I've seen some people with cakes so tight you could bounce a quarter off them. They just rest their racking cane or siphon right on top of the trub and if I did that it would sink right in. Is there a major contributor to yeast cake compactness?

for reference: I usually primary ferment 2-3 weeks at ~68* and have had it happen with many types of yeast.

Thanks!

 

[coryforsenate]

Either use a high flocculating yeast or leave the fermenter in the 30's for a week or two after primary is completely finished.

Keep in mind that high flocculating yeast are more susceptible to underattenuation because they drop out of solution so quickly. You may need to swirl the fermenter towards the end of primary fermentation to get them to fully attenuate.

 

[Revvy]

Leave you beer at least another week in primary or more.

I get little if any sediment in my bottles, simply by opting for a long primary. This is my yeastcake for my Sri Lankin Stout that sat in primary for 5 weeks. Notice how tight the yeast cake is? None of that got racked over to my bottling bucket. And the beer is extremely clear.

That little bit of beer to the right is all of the 5 gallons that DIDN'T get vaccumed off the surface of the tight trub. Note how clear it is, there's little if any floaties in there.

When I put 5 gallons in my fermenter, I tend to get 5 gallons into bottles. The cake itself is like cement, it's about an inch thick and very, very dense, you can't just tilt your bucket and have it fall out. I had to use water pressure to get it to come out.

This is the last little bit of the same beer in the bottling bucket, this is the only sediment that made it though and that was done on purpose, when I rack I always make sure to rub the autosiphon across the bottom of the primary to make sure there's plenty of yeast in suspension to carb the beer, but my bottles are all crystal clear and have little sediment in them.

Half the time I forget to use moss, and you can't tell the difference in clarity.

I get the barest hint of sediment in my bottles....just enough for the yeast to have done the job of carbonating the beer.

 

[ArcLight]

Doesn't such a tight yeast cake make it difficult to wash the yeast?
Or can you pour in some water and swich it about and some slurry comes off?

 

[Revvy]

Doesn't such a tight yeast cake make it difficult to wash the yeast?
Or can you pour in some water and swich it about and some slurry comes off?

Never had an issue.

 

[Yooper]

Question: I seem to run into the problem of soft and runny yeast cakes which can make racking a bit more tedious. I've seen some people with cakes so tight you could bounce a quarter off them. They just rest their racking cane or siphon right on top of the trub and if I did that it would sink right in. Is there a major contributor to yeast cake compactness?

for reference: I usually primary ferment 2-3 weeks at ~68* and have had it happen with many types of yeast.

Thanks!

In my experience, both S04 and nottingham form very compact tight yeast cakes, within 10 days. I ferment nottingham a bit cooler than 68 though, for the best flavor. Have you've tried either of those strains?

Some strains, like S05, seem to not want to clear the beer until it's been cold crashed for a while. But s04 makes a crystal clear beer right away for me, without cold crashing.

 

[TotemWolf]

Obey the Revvvy!!!!



Even if my fermentation is done in 3 to 4 days I leave it for 6 days before I harvest. I also use hops bags so there isn't much washing needed to get clean yeasties.
When I don't harvest the yeast I leave it for 3 weeks or more and it's stuck to the bottom. I have to add water to clean it out.

 

[jsweet]

YMMV, but I generally primary for 3 weeks, almost always use US-05, and I generally tend to get fairly soupy yeast cakes. I don't cold crash, though (don't have the setup for it) so that may make the difference.

As I said, though, YMMV.

 

[BrewThruYou]

This may seem simple, but I just started making sure my fermenter (bucket) was stationary for a while before racking from it.

Previously, I would move my fermenter from my basement to my kitchen island and do the normal priming solution and racking crap ASAP. Now, I'll take the fermenter up from the basement and let it sit for a while before racking. If you stirred up any sediment during the transport, it should settle back down in that time. YMMV on how long to leave it...I'm trying to leave it for at least an hour...longer if I can.

 

[HighCountryBrewer]

I have the same issue of soupy yeast cake using US-05. I primary for 3 to 4 weeks then go straight to bottling. I, however do move the primary to the kitchen counter the night before I bottle. I sure would appreciate any info on how to get tighter yeast cakes.

Thx in advance Ray

 

[Yooper]

I have the same issue of soupy yeast cake using US-05. I primary for 3 to 4 weeks then go straight to bottling. I, however do move the primary to the kitchen counter the night before I bottle. I sure would appreciate any info on how to get tighter yeast cakes.

Thx in advance Ray

S05 just doesn't really compact as well, and it doesn't clear the beer as well. I will have cloudy beer with S05 long after another strain would have been clear. If you want to have a tightly compacted yeast cake with S05, it may never really happen. You could try putting it in the fridge for a few days before racking, that will help.

 

[jma99]

Come on, is this a Lion Stout clone?

My very best favorite stout in the whole world?

How about sharing your recipe? Please......

Don't make me whine!

 

[Revvy]

Come on, is this a Lion Stout clone?

My very best favorite stout in the whole world?

How about sharing your recipe? Please......

Don't make me whine!

Are you talking to me? Have you searched for it???? There's an entire thread about it... here.

 

[jma99]

Head's a little fuzzy for the search button this morning:cross:
Had to get up hours ago to put the bird in the oven, after a long night with much homebrew

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[bwomp313]

s04 makes a really nice tight yeast cake and very quickly I might add!!!

 

[Terpene]

Mispost.

Deleted.

Sorry.