Skimming Top Yeasts

[jescholler]

In David Miller's "Homebrewing Guide", page 188, he says that "Top yeasts should be skimmed from the surface of an open fermenter daily until fermentation subsides. If this is not done, the yeast crop with all of its associated 'garbage' - hop resins, trub, and so on - will fall back into the beer when primary fermentation ends".

I'm planning on using a 6 gallon plastic bucket as my primary fermenter, affixed with a lid. Has anyone heard of needing to skim the yeast off of a top fermenting beer? If so, would my fermenter (with the lid) be considered open? Does what David Miller suggests apply to me?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Brewsmith]

That's fairly old school technique in homebrewing. Your bucket would be considered a closed fermenter, and don't worry about skimming anything. Just leave it alone until it's done.