EvilGnome6
Well-Known Member
OK. I've seen plenty of arguments for longer primaries and/or skipping secondaries altogether. I get the concept that the yeast will do cleanup.
What I'm wondering is if the yeast that has already settled at the bottom is really doing that much work of it it's already dormant or dead. I've been transferring to a secondary (or bright if you will) after 1 week and always have plenty of yeast settling at the bottom after 2-3 weeks.
Is the argument that the yeast cake at the bottom of the primary is necessary to do the cleanup work and whatever is still in suspension after one week isn't sufficient? That just seems a little counter-intuitive to me. I'd think the yeast still in suspension would be more suited to do the cleanup work and finish any remaining fermentation since it's actually in contact with the rest of the beer.
The other thing this factors into is yeast washing. Do you get a healthier population if you take the cake right after 1 week versus waiting 2 or 3 weeks before washing it. Here again my intuition would lead me to believe it's better to take it sooner rather than later.
What I'm wondering is if the yeast that has already settled at the bottom is really doing that much work of it it's already dormant or dead. I've been transferring to a secondary (or bright if you will) after 1 week and always have plenty of yeast settling at the bottom after 2-3 weeks.
Is the argument that the yeast cake at the bottom of the primary is necessary to do the cleanup work and whatever is still in suspension after one week isn't sufficient? That just seems a little counter-intuitive to me. I'd think the yeast still in suspension would be more suited to do the cleanup work and finish any remaining fermentation since it's actually in contact with the rest of the beer.
The other thing this factors into is yeast washing. Do you get a healthier population if you take the cake right after 1 week versus waiting 2 or 3 weeks before washing it. Here again my intuition would lead me to believe it's better to take it sooner rather than later.