Brewed a 1.109 gravity stout. 5.25 gallons into fermenter. Used Imperial Darkness yeast. Was happy with the attenuation and it ate through 95% of the gravity in < 3 days. Left in primary 9-10 days. Then cold crashed 5 days. FG 1.024.
Problem was kegging time. Hooked up the hose to the spigot to rack. Turned the racking arm from 4 oclock facing slight down during fermentation to straight up 12 oclock. Expected some yeast, after watching a yeast plug move slowly for 10 minutes, I siphoned it.
The yeast was a slurry from above the thermowell and fairly compact not to far under it. I've never seen a post-fermentation yeast bed that deep. I only racked 3 gallons of beer because the rest of it was slurry or yeast and basically unrackable.
Two questions:
1) Is it common to have that much beer lost post fermentation on a big beer like this?
2) I liked the Imperial Darkness, but it looked like a medium to low floccuation. Should I be targeting a high floccuating yeast like wlp-007 so I can rack more end product?
Problem was kegging time. Hooked up the hose to the spigot to rack. Turned the racking arm from 4 oclock facing slight down during fermentation to straight up 12 oclock. Expected some yeast, after watching a yeast plug move slowly for 10 minutes, I siphoned it.
The yeast was a slurry from above the thermowell and fairly compact not to far under it. I've never seen a post-fermentation yeast bed that deep. I only racked 3 gallons of beer because the rest of it was slurry or yeast and basically unrackable.
Two questions:
1) Is it common to have that much beer lost post fermentation on a big beer like this?
2) I liked the Imperial Darkness, but it looked like a medium to low floccuation. Should I be targeting a high floccuating yeast like wlp-007 so I can rack more end product?
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