First time with Catalyst fermenter

[Dr. T.]

For the home brewers out there. I've been an all-gran brewer for a few years. Mash/Lauter tun 10 gallon igloo with false bottom. Primary plastic bucket, secondary glass carboy. Just purchased the Catalyst, which I'm very exited about, because my only dislike about brewing is all the transfers... Though I've gotten some feedback from Craft-A-Brew, I'd like some feedback from the community, as well - those with some hands-on experience. I'm brewing Northern Brewers Dead Ringer IPA. The pic with very little trub is after 24 hours in the Catalyst, and the pic with the white jar is now 6 days later. Bubbling about 1 bubble per minute or every other minute. When to swap out jar. Size? I'd like to try and harvest the yeast. Couple more weeks? Anyone have experience with Dead Ringer?

 

[Dr. T.]

No one out there with a Catalyst that's willing to share some strategies?

 

[bornandraisedlv]

Not sure about harvesting the yeast but here is how I use my catalyst.

Chill my wort to just over pitch temp and transfer to catalyst with a larger mason jar, bigger than what it comes with. I then let it sit for at least 3 hours in my ferm chamber. This lets any boil that may be in there settle out.

Depending on how full that jar is I either swap to the jar that came with the catalyst, if the bigger jar was full, or just pitch my yeast, if the big jar isn’t full.

Once fermentation’s done I swap to little jars and let the yeast settle out. Typically for the next week to two weeks.

What I have noticed is that if I get a bunch of boil trub out of that first big jar and swap to the one that it came is that that jar tends to be full of mostly yeast cake. Once fermentation is done and I swap to one of the small jars that they typically don’t even get half full.

Looking at your jar I would say this is most likely your scenario. I would wait until fermentation is done and then swap to a small jar.

Edit:

A couple of tips that I’ve found helpful using the catalyst:

The jars don’t need to be on very tight, just enough to no leak. A rubber glove helps with removal as well.

The conical part on mine likes to collect yeast, I tap that part with a rubber mallet pretty much every day during active fermentation to help reduce this.

Let boil trub settle out and remove before pitching your yeast.

Use the jar to pitch yeast if you use the above method of removing trub. Pour yeast into sanitized jar, screw the jar on and open the valve, slightly oxygenates the wort as well. At least that’s what I tell myself...

 

[Dr. T.]

Thanks for the tips. Since I posted that original topic, I'm now 2 weeks into the fermentation. My observations were aligned with yours. I was expecting a significant trub drop with in the first couple of hours (or overnight), and was ready to swap out the jar, but I only saw about an inch or two - so I left it. After about a week, after most of my fermentation ceased, the jar filled with yeast in about a 48 hour time frame. I was unprepared for this, and really wasn't sure what it was, so I tossed it - but it seemed like all yeast. I dumped, cleaned and sanitized, then put the same jar on. In retrospect, I should have put a 4 oz jar on, because now all I have in the jar (the 16 oz one that came with the system), is a good inch or inch-and-a-half of compacted yeast with lots of beer on top. Oh well... My plan is to harvest the yeast (probably pour the beer from the jar into the top of the fermenter) and put on a small jar. I have six more days in the fermenter. I'm brewing an IPA and plan to dry hop in a couple of days. I will probably use a hop bag so I don't create a mess inside the Catalyst. I'd love to bottle straight out of the Catalyst, but I'm skeptical that I might need to rack it into a bottling bucket. The jar is out. I'm surprised that the beer has not really clarified very well (see picture). It could be that the plastic walls have a thin coating of residue, hence the beer looks cloudy.

 

[bornandraisedlv]

Thanks for the tips. Since I posted that original topic, I'm now 2 weeks into the fermentation. My observations were aligned with yours. I was expecting a significant trub drop with in the first couple of hours (or overnight), and was ready to swap out the jar, but I only saw about an inch or two - so I left it. After about a week, after most of my fermentation ceased, the jar filled with yeast in about a 48 hour time frame. I was unprepared for this, and really wasn't sure what it was, so I tossed it - but it seemed like all yeast. I dumped, cleaned and sanitized, then put the same jar on. In retrospect, I should have put a 4 oz jar on, because now all I have in the jar (the 16 oz one that came with the system), is a good inch or inch-and-a-half of compacted yeast with lots of beer on top. Oh well... My plan is to harvest the yeast (probably pour the beer from the jar into the top of the fermenter) and put on a small jar. I have six more days in the fermenter. I'm brewing an IPA and plan to dry hop in a couple of days. I will probably use a hop bag so I don't create a mess inside the Catalyst. I'd love to bottle straight out of the Catalyst, but I'm skeptical that I might need to rack it into a bottling bucket. The jar is out. I'm surprised that the beer has not really clarified very well (see picture). It could be that the plastic walls have a thin coating of residue, hence the beer looks cloudy.

Yeah those little jars really help not lose beer.

As for bottle right from the catalyst, that’s what I used to do, bottling wand on the end of the hose that connects to the funnel.

And test often times I fined fermentation residue on the sides of the catalyst, some yeasts more than others. But I still cold crash for a good 15-20 days in most cases before I start drinking.

 

[Danimal703]

Can we cold crash in the catalyst fermenter?