Two Newbie Qs Racking and Repitching

[adam2]

Is racking your beer necessary? Im doing a ale thats got another 4-5 days to go and normally i would prime each 750ml bottle and use the tap on the bottom of the fermenter to fill each bottle!! Is this the incorrect way to do it?

Ive been putting a new brew on immediatly after bottling the old one sterilising everything ofcourse, i want to know if i could just put some of the old brew straight into the new one as a yeast starter? or should i wash the yeast cake at the bottom?

 

[FlyingHorse]

You can prime individual bottles, but bulk priming (by racking to a bottling bucket) will give you more consistent results. it's pretty easy to over- or under-carbonate if you do it bottle-by-bottle.

And yes, you can pitch directly onto the yeast cake from your previous batch (use a blowoff tube, because it will take off like you can't imagine!). This works better if the new batch is a stronger flavored recipe than the old batch; I wouldn't pitch a pale ale onto the cake from a stout for example, because a lot of flavor components (particularly any dark roasted grains) can get left behind in the yeast cake.

 

[malkore]

the only way I'd prime individual bottles is with those pre-made sugar drops/pills. no way I'd measure 1/8-1/4 tsp into 48 bottles.

when you fill from teh bottling spigot, you're using hose and a bottle filler right?

if you're just letting the beer splash down into the bottle, you're oxidizing the beer which affects its flavor.

 

[brewt00l]

I wouldn't pitch a pale ale onto the cake from a stout for example, because a lot of flavor components (particularly any dark roasted grains) can get left behind in the yeast cake.

fwiw, I did a rye pale ale on the cake from a smoked scotch style beer with no carryover or negative impact.

 

[brewt00l]

Is racking your beer necessary? Im doing a ale thats got another 4-5 days to go and normally i would prime each 750ml bottle and use the tap on the bottom of the fermenter to fill each bottle!! Is this the incorrect way to do it?

Ive been putting a new brew on immediatly after bottling the old one sterilising everything ofcourse, i want to know if i could just put some of the old brew straight into the new one as a yeast starter? or should i wash the yeast cake at the bottom?

You can pitch right on to your yeast cake if you have your wort chilled...you don't want to pitch hot and kill the yeast.