Too much yeast???

[tcMonk]

I made a Christmas ale, with a gravity of about 1.050 (AHS special holiday ale) I have brewed this many times before so I know what I get. This beer is the first time I used a starter tho....I kegged it last week it has a haze to it. I noticed it looked a little off while I was racking.

I used a two liter starter, may have been too much? I double checked with the yeast pitch calc, I hadn't checked "using a stir plate" which would change the amount of starter from "simple starter". I use a stir plate...

Could the haze be from too much yeast? infection?

comments?

Thanks
TONY

 

[mkling]

I can't imagine that this is because you used a starter & a stirplate. It could be a lot of different things. Many of these are things that won't affect flavor and that will go away with time, so my best advice would be wait, give it a couple weeks in the keg before worrying about this issue. See what it looks & tastes like then.

 

[Clonefarmer]

What was the recipe and yeast used? How long has it been chilled and at what temp?

 

[JoMarky]

Did you forget the whirlfloc/irish moss? Anything different happen when you cooled it down after the boil and you didn't get as good a cold break as usual?

 

[tcMonk]

I do not have the recipe on hand, AHS special holiday ale, the yeast is an east coast ale (wlp008). I fermented for two weeks in the primary. (I don't use a secondary anymore.) Crash chilled for two days after that then kegged. Its been chilling in the keg for about 7 days at about 40 F. Hoping that the colder temps would help drop the haze out? wrong?


I did use whirlflic. Everything went as normal, the only thing that changed was that I used a starter, and I now keg. I bottle conditioned this beer when I brewed before. Could this be chill haze its never happened to me before. I had good cold break...

It could be the combo of a very young spiced beer that hasn't had time for all the "spices" to drop out yet and not using a secondary for this particular beer. After thinking on it I don't think its the yeast at all. Could be chill haze or the spices....

 

[JoMarky]

It does say for that yeast flocculation is medium to low, does it taste yeasty at all? Is that the yeast you've used for past batches?

 

[triangulum33]

Within reason, can you add TOO MUCH yeast?

 

[tcMonk]

yes same yeast all batches. If its a low flocculation, you think its not attenuated enough? The final gravity was ok.
I cant really tell if it is yeasty, the spices cover up of any off flavors.

 

[ezerhoden]

I guess at some point too much yeast may be a problem but you are better off in my opinion to over pitch by some degree than under pitch by any degree. I would think over pitching would just mean that the yeast have less work to do multiplying in the wort and can just get to work quicker.

A few days at 40 degrees should drop almost all of the yeast out. The cloudiness is likely something else at this point, proteins or something.

 

[JoMarky]

yes same yeast all batches. If its a low flocculation, you think its not attenuated enough? The final gravity was ok.
I cant really tell if it is yeasty, the spices cover up of any off flavors.

If the final gravity was fine, then its fully attenuated, its just a breed of yeast that doesn't like to drop out, like a hefe yeast. Flocculation is the degree to which the yeast settle out once they've finished. Not sure if this is your problem but its possible. Some more time at serving temps could help.

 

[kunstler]

Though I'm no expert on thise beer or your techniques, I would venture a guess to say if your brewing process was the same and the only differences are the following:

1. starter was used this time.
2. no secondary this time
3. kegged the beer rather than bottle

it could just be that everything didn't have time to settle out. If it tastes the same as previous batches and the brewing technique is the same...it could just be that you didn't put it in a secondary to help clear. I have noticed that batches I physically change into another carboy clear quicker compaired to letting it sit equally long on the yeast cake. Also think of it this way.

you had to wait 2-3 weeks after you bottled, that was two weeks for the beer to settle vs the couple days its been in the keg I think you just are sampling it sooner than you did before even though it may only be a week or two, it does help.

If not try releasing pressure, opening up and dumping in some gelatin, it might help gather yeast or other things that are charged the same (I think its the neg. charged gelatin that pulls down positive charged particles...something like that)

do a search for Knox Gelatin and you'll find all the info

 

[JoMarky]

Though I'm no expert on thise beer or your techniques, I would venture a guess to say if your brewing process was the same and the only differences are the following:

1. starter was used this time.
2. no secondary this time
3. kegged the beer rather than bottle

it could just be that everything didn't have time to settle out. If it tastes the same as previous batches and the brewing technique is the same...it could just be that you didn't put it in a secondary to help clear. I have noticed that batches I physically change into another carboy clear quicker compaired to letting it sit equally long on the yeast cake. Also think of it this way.

you had to wait 2-3 weeks after you bottled, that was two weeks for the beer to settle vs the couple days its been in the keg I think you just are sampling it sooner than you did before even though it may only be a week or two, it does help.

If not try releasing pressure, opening up and dumping in some gelatin, it might help gather yeast or other things that are charged the same (I think its the neg. charged gelatin that pulls down positive charged particles...something like that)

do a search for Knox Gelatin and you'll find all the info

Gelatin might speed up the process, just remember that since you're doing it in the keg, you'll pull up a bunch of sludge before you get to the clear beer.