Random small questions

[BackOffMyBrew Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BackOffMyBrew]

Forever

I've got 2 cubes I sort of rotate between brews. I got rid of the previous cube that I've been using for years when I got these 2 about 2 yrs ago .... I only got rid of the other because the Iodophor I used back then gave a "kak" colour stain on the inside.

............

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I washed my first batch of yeast last week.

Boiled and cooled down 1 litre of water and added to the fermenter,, then I swirled around to loosen the yeast cake and added it to a 1 litre bottle. Put it in the fridge for a week and there was definite separation. I brewed a batch on Saturday and pitched yeast on Sunday morning (I only used the separated yeast on top, no the entire jar), but alas, there's no airlock activity in my batch (50 liter).

Self doubt is creeping in, did I pitch enough yeast, did I wash the yeast correctly? Any thoughts?

[BushWanderer Member Find all posts View Profile Close BushWanderer]

See my post in the ‘What you brewing’ thread. My repitched yeast also didn’t have any visible activity but my ferment is basically done after 4 days. Maybe just check SG quick to give you peace of mind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

See my post in the ‘What you brewing’ thread. My repitched yeast also didn’t have any visible activity but my ferment is basically done after 4 days. Maybe just check SG quick to give you peace of mind.

Thanks, I did read your post, but there's nothing going on that fermenter of mine...it's dead

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

Do you have anything left in that jar of washed yeast you saved?

Just add some "bottled" water to it to loosen everything and chuck it ALL into the fermenter.

I never wash yeast anymore ... I just scoop some into a jar (trub and all) and save it for the next brew. Since beer is sanitary, I leave a little beer on top of this "yeast cake" to "save" it from infections.
Sometimes fill more than one jar and save it for weeks up to months ... If it smells good when I open it, I use it ... touch wood never had it smelling bad and effecting my beer in a bad way

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

Do you have anything left in that jar of washed yeast you saved?

Just add some "bottled" water to it to loosen everything and chuck it ALL into the fermenter.

I never wash yeast anymore ... I just scoop some into a jar (trub and all) and save it for the next brew. Since beer is sanitary, I leave a little beer on top of this "yeast cake" to "save" it from infections.
Sometimes fill more than one jar and save it for weeks up to months ... If it smells good when I open it, I use it ... touch wood never had it smelling bad and effecting my beer in a bad way

Nope I just used the washed yeast and dumped the yeast cake. *face palm*

[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

I bought a 2l lab spec separatory funnel for this purpose, it does work, but takes quite a while. The feint white layer on top of the trub is your yeast, if you decanted the majority of the liquid you may have dumped the good yeast too. Saving/pitching the yeast cake works, I'm a fan of top cropping. Pitching this with a bit of nutrient does the trick. I've successfully top cropped 34/70 (which is a bottom fermenting yeast) but I did propagate that on the stir plate before pitching it on wort. Most of my lab gear is now gathering dust though...

[Rikusj Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rikusj]

I’m currently fermenting an American Pale Ale loosely based on a Sierra Nevada clone using US-05. The recipe calls for a dry-hop of 4 days. This is my first time dry hopping and I just want to double check that I’m on the right track.

Today is the 5th day of fermentation (has been kept between 18 – 19 deg for the first 4) and fermentation is slowing down based on airlock activity… based on what I’ve read online most seem to suggest adding dry hops as primary fermentation is slowing done. So what I’m thinking of doing is adding the dry hops and upping the temp to 20deg today, then keep it there for 4 days and then If I can see fermentation is done from the gravity readings, cold crash for 2 days and bottle. Does that seem right?

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

I too have an APA in the fermenter, I usually dry hop after 7 days, leave it at the same temp (18) for 3 days (total 10 days) and cold crash for 2-3 days.

[Rikusj Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rikusj]

Great - Thanks for the info!

[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

I use to do a fortnightly ferment with US05, but that was a while ago, mostly because I didn't want to muck about in the week with kegging, cleaning etc. Kinda depends on the amount of dry hops you're chucking in there, you could stall fermentation if you go crazy.

SG check would be the way to go, I use a large ass syringe in lieu of a thief to get the hydrometer flask filled, if I'm doing SG checks, which I dont do often anymore. Optimal dryhop temp is around 25C, but I cant recall what temp range US05 plays.

In short: Could work, depends on your SG and DH amount, the last bit of fermentation/clean up will create that co2 layer to keep the wort happy

[Rikusj Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rikusj]

recipe calls for 50g of Cascade - doesn't seem like a crazy amount based on what I've read.

I've got a tap on the bucket, so will check the gravity and take it from there. It would be nice to have it all come to 14 days so that i bottle on a Saturday, so will see if I can hold off until this Saturday.

[Dewald Posthumus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dewald Posthumus]

Yup, I'm on the same schedule, brew Saturday, bottle/ keg the Friday after next. Roughly 13 days in total.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

recipe calls for 50g of Cascade - doesn't seem like a crazy amount based on what I've read.

I've got a tap on the bucket, so will check the gravity and take it from there. It would be nice to have it all come to 14 days so that i bottle on a Saturday, so will see if I can hold off until this Saturday.

You will have to take a mix of what we all say and a mix of what you see on YT and then just do your own thing.

You will struggle to find 50 brewers that does exactly the same thing ... and no-one can tell you what YOU"RE doing is wrong as homebrewing is not a thing that's set in stone

[Rikusj Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rikusj]

You will have to take a mix of what we all say and a mix of what you see on YT and then just do your own thing.

You will struggle to find 50 brewers that does exactly the same thing ... and no-one can tell you what YOU"RE doing is wrong as homebrewing is not a thing that's set in stone