Honey Ale Recipe on Kolsch Yeast Cake

[jrsdws]

Ok so I've never reused yeast before. I'm on about my 5th or 6th all grain batch and I want to continue trying new things.

This weekend we'll be bottling a couple of different 5 gallon brews. One being a Kolsch. The other is a brown ale.

I'd like to try pitching the wort of the following honey ale recipe onto the kolsch yeast cake.

Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 75.0 %
2 lbs Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2 20.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.0 %
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 9.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 7.4 IBUs

Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color
Est Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.5 %
Bitterness: 17.0 IBUs
Est Color: 9.2 SRM Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Sparge Water: 5.31 gal
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE
Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Mash PH: 5.20 Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 14.50 qt of water at 162.0 F 152.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.31gal) of 168.0 F water

How does it look and do you think it'll turn out? Do I just leave a little beer on the yeast cake, stir it up, and pour the new wort onto it which should both mix and aerate pretty well?

The brown ale used Wyeast 1968 and I'm going to attempt to wash and save it in mason jars.

 

[sptaylor70]

I think that it's a mistake to put a beer that light onto a whole yeast cake. You only need ~150 mL slurry for an OG of 1046. Without going through the requisite reproduction phase, you can get off flavors in your beer. If you're going to use a yeast cake, you should do it with something big, like a DIPA, RIP, Scotch ale, or barleywine.

Your recipe looks good - sort of a honey APA. Are you planning to lager it at all?

 

[jrsdws]

Ah that makes sense. I would lager it if I could but I'm not set up for that yet. I would just try to keep it low to mid 60's for the WLP029 yeast.

Maybe I should just wash this yeast and save it for brewing another day or try something else that doesn't need lagering?

 

[sptaylor70]

I only asked because, with Koelsch yeast, lagering is an option. Keep the temperature low, and you'll come out with a clean and neutral flavor, but not quite as snappy as a pseudo lager. Koelsch is a fine choice for APA and ABA. Just not the whole yeast cake.

If you want to go for a heavy, you could brew a sticke alt or a weizenbock for winter (Koelsch is a good wheat beer yeast).

 

[shadows69]

Really you only need a quarter of that yeast cake. Dump or wash the rest. Just this weekend I made BM's cream of three crops without thinking I dumped it right on a full yeast cake of wlp001 on Saturday. By Sunday morning I almost blew the lid right off the bucket. I never got an off flavor using a yeast cake from a previous barch of beer. As long as its not older yeast it works just fine with a quarter of the yeast cake.

 

[Indian_villager]

You'll be fine. Ideally use a clean fermenter and scoop out a cup or so of slurry using a sanitized implement and you will be great.

 

[jrsdws]

Thanks for the advice everybody. What about a hoppy American wheat beer with amped up gravity and hops on this yeast cake?

Any recipe ideas certainly welcome.

 

[LexusChris]

From what I've read about honey malt, a little goes a long way. 2# or 20% of the grist sounds like too much to me. But, I have not used it myself... as I prefer to use real honey after the boil at the end of the cool-down.

I did just make a Honey Blonde re-using some Kolsch yeast from my last batch, and it came out really well! I like the idea of Cascade hops with this one too!

If it were me, I would replace the 2# honey malt with 1# raw honey into the fermenter or during cooldown below 130-F.

I would also recommend checking your pH or treating your water with some lactic acid and calcium chloride to ensure you keep your mash pH and sparge pH in line.

Good luck!
-0-LexusChris