"Chunks" of yeast while fermenting Perry

[giuzep89]

Hello friends,
I'm fermenting some perry from pears I juiced myself given to me by a friend who's got some trees in the backyard. However, big chunks of what I assume is dead yeast have been forming in the carboy. I'm not that worried about them but I'm wondering if that's normal at all, given they're very large and float around instead of dropping at the bottom. Here's what they look like:

Let me know what you think!
Cheers

 

[Kees]

Can't see the picture. Are you sure it isn't a fungus? That might be the cause if the fermenting juice is exposed to oxygen.

 

[Miraculix]

Hello friends,
I'm fermenting some perry from pears I juiced myself given to me by a friend who's got some trees in the backyard. However, big chunks of what I assume is dead yeast have been forming in the carboy. I'm not that worried about them but I'm wondering if that's normal at all, given they're very large and float around instead of dropping at the bottom. Here's what they look like:
View attachment 792156
Let me know what you think!
Cheers

That's yeast and why do you think it's dead? It is most probably not.

 

[giuzep89]

Oh well, I mean, yeast that's "spent", or something? Nonetheless the perry finished at 1.000, it cleared completely after racking and it tastes great. I'm just wondering why the yeast clumped up so much. Never happened to me before!

 

[Miraculix]

Oh well, I mean, yeast that's "spent", or something? Nonetheless the perry finished at 1.000, it cleared completely after racking and it tastes great. I'm just wondering why the yeast clumped up so much. Never happened to me before!

Yeast is a living organism, it just doesn't have anything more to eat and goes dormant. Some flocculate more than other yeasts.

Great to hear that you like the result! That's the most important thing!

 

[Komodo]

I’ve never seen yeast flocc like that, but I’m sure Miraculix is right. What yeast is it?

 

[Upstate12866]

It's quite possibly pectin blobs, which are harmless but not visually appealing. They happened to me when I did a perry. Apparently there is a pectinase enzyme for problematic situations but I haven't tried it.