Ideas for getting rid of non-flocculating yeast

[DoWBrewer]

I have a yeast strain that I cultivated by mixing WLP-001 CalAle Yeast (4th gen) and WLP 005 English Ale yeast. I got a couple of good batches, but now it is not flocculating. I think this is a pretty common problem with reusing yeast. The result is a pretty funky smell and flavor. Wife my thinks it smells like poop.

I had this on my last beer (a stout) and it dropped out after about 2 months. I am conditioning the Amber I brewed at around 30 degrees try to get it to drop out. Any other ideas for getting the yeast to floc? I don't have a filtration system.

 

[Toga]

Gelatin is your answer. http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

 

[TheZymurgist]

^That's exactly what I was going to post. That's definitely your best bet. Cheap and easy.

 

[DoWBrewer]

I will have to order some and give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion and the link.

Sent from my HTC One using Home Brew mobile app

 

[eastoak]

or just redo your yeast mix, start fresh.

 

[DoWBrewer]

or just redo your yeast mix, start fresh.

I am definitely buying a fresh pitch for the next batch.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Gelatin is your answer. http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

This works fantastic for me.
I have been doing it all along.
Beer is usually as clear as commercial beer.

 

[DoWBrewer]

I just added the gelatin to my keg. I am going to check it in 48 hours to see how it turned out.

Do you skip the kettle finings and just use gelatin? Is there any reason to use both?

 

[kombat]

Do you skip the kettle finings and just use gelatin? Is there any reason to use both?

I do both. Here are the steps I take to obtain crystal-clear beer every time:

• During mashing, I cover the grain bed with a sheet of aluminum foil with a dozen or so holes punched in it using the thermometer probe that came with my turkey fryer pot. When I vorlauf, I always vorlauf at least 4 quarts, and pour the wort over this aluminum foil. This allows the wort to gently sink back into the grain bed without disturbing it (which would be the case without the foil). By the time I collect my runnings, my wort is running very clear, and my grain bed is firmly set.
• I run my propane burner pretty much full blast to heat the wort to boiling as quickly as possible until the hot break subsides, then I dial it back to maintain a gentle boil.
• I use a "hop screen" to contain my hops during the boil. This is basically just a 300 micron stainless steel mesh, in the shape of a cylinder, that sits in the kettle during the boil and contains the hops.
• I use 1 tsp of Irish moss in the boil with 10 minutes remaining.
• I chill very quickly using a plate chiller. Using water from the faucet in my garage (tap water), I can get it down to 60° F in about 8-10 minutes, achieving a good cold break.
• I have a "HopStopper" connected to the outlet port of my boil kettle, which prevents break material from escaping the kettle and clogging my chiller. I recirculate wort back into the kettle during chilling until the wort has cooled to 60° F, by which time a great deal of the break material has clumped onto the outside of the HopStopper.
• I rack the wort into a carboy using an autosiphon, being careful not to pick up too much of the break material settled on the bottom of the boil kettle.
• After 3 weeks of fermenting, I move the carboy into the fridge to cold-crash.
• A day later, I add gelatin and wait 3-4 more days.
• If it's not an IPA, I rack it into a keg and begin carbing. The beer is very clear at this point.
• If it is an IPA, then I instead rack it to a smaller, 5 gallon carboy (leaving yeast and sediment behind), allow it to warm back up to room temperature, and add the dry hops. After 7 days, I cold-crash it again for 3-4 days, but without gelatin this time (because it would strip out hop aroma), but by this point, the beer is still very clear anyway from the first protocol of cold-crashing and gelatin. I rack it to a keg and carbonate as normal.

Following those techniques, I consistently get beer clear enough to watch TV through.

 

[DoWBrewer]

Following those techniques, I consistently get beer clear enough to watch TV through.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info. I am definitely going to start watching TV through my beer.

 

[DoWBrewer]

I used the gelatin and it is still cloudy with a lot of yeast in suspension. I am considering doing a second dose of gelatin. This beer is not really something I want to drink with this much yeast in suspension. It has been in the keg for nearly two weeks at about 33 degrees. I left the gelatin to work for three days before pulling a pint. Any other suggestions? Should I add more gelatin and swirl the keg a bit?