secretlevel
Well-Known Member
I overbuild my liquid starters and harvest on the front of brewing instead of from the fermenter. I am fine with using a little extra DME to accomplish this as I just like the simplicity and ease better than harvesting after the fact from a fermenter that has trub, yeast, and hops in it. Ive never done it though. I am pretty confident that with 3 generations of A24 harvested from overbuilt starters you would never notice the difference in the final product. I would also say that performance during fermentation is roughly equivalent too. The key is when harvesting from overbuilt starters is to make sure when you take the flask off the stir plate, to keep it moving constantly until you harvest to mason jars for storing. At least in my mind its important because it keeps the starter as homogenous as possible. I have never tried to push the envelope in how many generations I can go before you see/detect a noticeable difference in the yeast since it is a blend after all. But again, I think that if you harvest on the front end of this, A24is solid for 3 generations.
When you harvest it on the back end, do you notice a difference in fermentation performance and/or the overall beer even if just comparing a fresh pack vs 2nd generation?
This is a pretty good strategy, thanks, friend. I usually overbuild, but then cold crash the starter and decant. I think the decanting is what's been making the difference for me as the "beer" in the starter is still somewhat hazy when I decant it after 48 hours, I imagine that's A20 struggling to flocculate while the Conan has already dropped out.
After the first generation I always notice a less punchy ester profile, although it could just be all in my head... I'll definitely use your method next time for A24.