heyvail
Well-Known Member
I am new to the idea of killing yeasties and such(kegging and force carbing). What are the best things for me to start searching/researching?? I've been out of the game for awhile and I have forgot some things. Help!!
I need to Kill
- Thread starter heyvail
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azscoob
Brewpub coming soon!
Just give the beer a month or so, it should drop clear, then rack into the keg, chill and set to the desired pressure, no need to kill off anything, they will drop out over time, and finish clearing in the keg if it wasnt already clear.
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heyvail
Well-Known Member
Oops, forgot to mention that I would like to back sweeten certain things, like ciders and lambic for example.
bja
Well-Known Member
Thats not campden tablets, it's either sodium or potasium metabisulphite, I can't remember which. But like you said , it still doesn't kill them
bja
Well-Known Member
Campden has no effect on yeast.
bja
Well-Known Member
No, it's the other one that does that.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
If you're looking to go a non-chemical route, you could get one of the filter setups that goes between a pair of corny kegs. Run the brew/fermentation through once (push with CO2), change the filter to the smaller micron level one, and push it through again. You will use the filters only once (I believe) per batch/session, but it will remove the yeast from your brew without needing to use any chemicals to treat it.
Personally, I'd rather go that route than use chemicals to treat it and kill off the yeasties. You can do this for beer too, you'll just need to carbonate with CO2 after. I'll probably get the setup once I'm kegging, so that I can use it as I wish... It's good to have additional items on hand, giving you more flexibility, IMO... Even if you only use it occasionally... Better to have it and be able to use it as needed/wanted, than to want to have that effect and need to figure out a way to get there (or go out and get the items in a hurry)...
Either way, you do have options for stopping/killing the yeast. You probably would want to cold crash what you treat (to kill the yeast) so that you get everything to drop out of suspension and have a cleaner racking before back sweetening... At least, I think that's how it's often done, if I recall correctly...
Personally, I'd rather go that route than use chemicals to treat it and kill off the yeasties. You can do this for beer too, you'll just need to carbonate with CO2 after. I'll probably get the setup once I'm kegging, so that I can use it as I wish... It's good to have additional items on hand, giving you more flexibility, IMO... Even if you only use it occasionally... Better to have it and be able to use it as needed/wanted, than to want to have that effect and need to figure out a way to get there (or go out and get the items in a hurry)...
Either way, you do have options for stopping/killing the yeast. You probably would want to cold crash what you treat (to kill the yeast) so that you get everything to drop out of suspension and have a cleaner racking before back sweetening... At least, I think that's how it's often done, if I recall correctly...
erikpete18
Well-Known Member
Not trying to play devil's advocate, but if you are kegging, how important is getting rid of all the yeast if you are planning on backsweetening?
Bottles and anything naturally carbed would definitely be a problem, but let's say I wanted to try backsweetening a batch. Rather than try to get rid of all the yeast, I first cold crashed the beer to get rid of as many yeast as I could. Then I added my backsweetener to a chilled keg and racked the cold beer to the keg. The cold keg then went immediately into the fridge to get carbed/served. After a few days of settling I could even remove a decent chunk of the yeast that had settled to the bottom.
How much activity would the yeast have at those temps (40-50)? At worst I would think all you'd do is slightly overcarbonate your batch and reduce your sweetening effect. But I might also be way off here, I've never tried to backsweeten anything so I'm not entirely sure what amount of sugar you're talking about adding. Just thinking out loud.
Bottles and anything naturally carbed would definitely be a problem, but let's say I wanted to try backsweetening a batch. Rather than try to get rid of all the yeast, I first cold crashed the beer to get rid of as many yeast as I could. Then I added my backsweetener to a chilled keg and racked the cold beer to the keg. The cold keg then went immediately into the fridge to get carbed/served. After a few days of settling I could even remove a decent chunk of the yeast that had settled to the bottom.
How much activity would the yeast have at those temps (40-50)? At worst I would think all you'd do is slightly overcarbonate your batch and reduce your sweetening effect. But I might also be way off here, I've never tried to backsweeten anything so I'm not entirely sure what amount of sugar you're talking about adding. Just thinking out loud
.erikpete18,
Yes, putting it in the fridge would halt carbonation and leave it sweet. You could do that with bottles too, just open 1/day until they are carbed right, then put them all in the fridge. That's what I used to do with naturally carbed rootbeer before I kegged. It just gets tricky with glass bottles and not having bottle bombs.
Yes, putting it in the fridge would halt carbonation and leave it sweet. You could do that with bottles too, just open 1/day until they are carbed right, then put them all in the fridge. That's what I used to do with naturally carbed rootbeer before I kegged. It just gets tricky with glass bottles and not having bottle bombs.
erikpete18
Well-Known Member
Good to know! I definitely wouldn't try it with battles just because I know I'd screw it up, but with the leeway that kegs would give me its something to think about should I ever decide I want to give it a shot. Thanks!
None of those statements are 100% correct. Campden doesn't kill yeast- but I wouldn't say it has "no effect". It doesn't really inhibit growth, either.
If you want to "kill yeast", the only thing I can think of is heat pasteurizing.
If you want to inhibit refermentation because you've sweetened a cider, you will want to do quite a few rackings until the cider is completely clear (not much yeast still in suspension), then stabilize with potassium sorbate. Sorbate doesn't kill yeast, but inhibits yeast reproduction. That's why you wait until there isn't much yeast still in suspension, and add the sorbate. It prevents refermentation because the yeast can't reproduce. Campden (potassium metabisulfite) is commonly used with sorbate at this time. It doesn't kill yeast either, but sorbate works better in the presence of sulfites.
Wine yeast particularly is very tolerant of sulfites (campden)- that's why winemakers use them. Sulfites are an ideal preservative/antioxidant because they bind to wine/cider/mead so that oxygen can't.
chilling below the temperature the yeast can ferment at will also work!
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heyvail
Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the responses. You all have given me a great place to start!!
That's exactly what a campden tablet is, and it does very much affect yeast(in the right quantities).
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablets :
Campden tablets (potassium or sodium metabisulfite)[1] are a sulfur-based product that is used primarily in wine, cider and beer making to kill certain bacteria and to inhibit the growth of most wild yeast,
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Campden tablets are also used towards the end of the fermentation process to halt the ferment before all the available sugars are converted by the yeast,
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Campden tablets are also used towards the end of the fermentation process to halt the ferment before all the available sugars are converted by the yeast,
