Yeast flocculation and reuse

[FCGrabo]

My son and I are making a fruit wheat beer. We're going with the 1,2,3 system (1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle.) Right now, the beer is in the secondary with the fruit added.

What we saw in the past few days was no more fermentation bubbling. In our ignorance, when we transferred the contents from the carboy to the bucket, we discarded the yeast sediment (flocculation) and added the fruit to the bucket. It's now thought that we should have sucked up the floc in the siphon and transferred it to the bucket as well.

I'm thinking that the yeast flocculation was still good and would have further fermented the beer in the secondary. Is that the case? Will the yeast reactivate and continue fermenting the beer?

We are going to add more yeast as soon as it gets delivered (High Gravity) and will continue on for the remaining time.

This is our third batch of beer and we have a ball each brewing session.

Thanks for any information.

 

[bull8042]

This reply is to provide you with a little clarification and to bump your post back up in case someone with a better answer overlooked it.
"Flocculate" is a verb describing what the yeast do when they fall out of suspension. The yeast on the bottom of the fermenter "have flocculated". The sediment on the bottom is normally referred to "trub".
Now, all that being said, I think you would have been better off leaving the beer in primary for 2 to 3 weeks before racking to allow the yeast not only to ferment but also clean up a little after themselves. However, we can't go back now. Also, leaving the trub behind in primary was the correct thing to do, so no worries there.
There is plenty of yeast left in suspension to finish fermenting the sugars in the fruit you have added. So pitching more yeast is just wasting a packet of yeast. Give it a couple of weeks to finish up on the fruit before bottling and stop worrying.
All will be fine.

 

[SmugMug]

Waiting is so hard to do when you don't have a pipeline.

 

[bull8042]

Having a pipeline is not a problem. Keeping it filled, now that is another story.

 

[SmugMug]

Having a pipeline is not a problem. Keeping it filled, now that is another story.

Easy for you to say. Then again, I'm weird. I prefer to make it than drink it. But that's not to say I don't like beer. Cause anyone who knows me can tell you I'm a beer snob and professional imbiber. But I just REALLY enjoy the process of making it.

 

[jkarp]

A one week primary on a wheat beer should be plenty, assuming temp control was reasonable. There should've been plenty of yeast still in suspension for fermentation to kick in again after the fruit addition. You sure you didn't see any krausen since adding it? Got a hydrometer? Some gravity readings would be the best indicator of what's going on...

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

I would go a minimum of 10 days primary, 14 would be better for a wheat or witbier. Then straight to the bottle for a minimum of 3 weeks. After that, you can drink them as quickly as you'd like. For all of my other bears w/the exception of wheat I try to primary for at least 21 - 30 days, and I rarely use a secondary unless it is a fruit/spice/specialty beer.

 

[jkarp]

Hell, my Wits are in my belly by the 10 day mark, but I keg. By 4 weeks, I can taste the flavors fading.

 

[FCGrabo]

I thought "trub" were/was the dregs that remained after boiling which are strained out prior to pouring the wort into the carboy with additional water added.

We've strained out all the mung that remained at the bottom of the brewpot. I'm talking about the sediment that accumulated at the bottom of the carboy after a week's worth of fermentation. It's a sort of milky looking substance which I assume is the remnants of the yeast doing its thing.

Flocculation. The yeast is finished, clumps together and settles to the bottom. I really don't think this is "trub." The question remains, would this yeast still be enough to further ferment the beer if more sugars (fruit) were added?

 

[Spludge]

It's a sort of milky looking substance which I assume is the remnants of the yeast doing its thing.

This is trub, the collection at the bottom of your carboy.
I have heard people call the left over hops and whatnot in the boiling kettle trub but the actual definition is the cake in the carboy

 

[khiddy]

Bull8042 gave you the correct answer. "Trub" is the term that we use to describe all of the stuff that collects at the bottom of the fermenter. (The proper term for what collects at the bottom of the boiling kettle is "hot break" and "cold break").

There is enough yeast in what you racked to secondary to ferment out. There will always be enough, short of filtering or pasteurizing or adding campden tablets - that's how your beer gets carbonated in the bottle, by the yeast which remain in the beer (even if you don't see them).