andrewmaixner
Well-Known Member
various possible reasons:I decided to do some yeast testing with my third round of making apfelwein
I did 5g with mangrove Jack's cider yeast, 5g with champagne yeast and I then I said what the heck and did 1g with old Belle saison yeast I got for free.
After 40 days the saison has dropped impeccably clear and my question is why?
A few thoughts
1) even though the saison yeast was old, perhaps it was a higher pitch rate still for the 1g batch
2) the 5g carboys have a larger diameter and may not "look" as clear
3) is there something about a smaller volume that just clears much quicker than larger volumes?
Also for reference is a fresh glass from the most recent keg, mmmmm
- different yeast have different floculation levels, which aids in dropping clear faster
- lower height clears faster, because everything has less distance to drop. are your larger vessels stratified at all, and clearer at the top?
- as you said, higher pitch can mean faster fermentation, and therefore it begins to clear sooner
- Belle Saison (rumored to be Saccharomyces cerevisiae var Diastaticus) can metabolize some polysaccharide compounds which standard Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ale) and Saccharomyces bayanus (wine) species can't. That's why it makes beers finish lower. It could have some effect on this, though that's just a guess, and I don't know if those compounds are present in apples.