Yeast/Fermentation Troubleshooting?

[BigNastyBrew]

How about a little about intermediary products on the way to clean fermentation. Esterification (is that a word) of fusels. What does yeast create at each stage of their cycle?

[jamilz]

It should be available before the GABF this fall.

[jwatkins56550]

Sweet!

[Charlie]

I'm eager to see what I've been screwing up and what I've been doing right.

Whaaatttt!

I got most of my yeast tech from you. If you been screwing something up I don't want to know about it!

Heh,
Charlie

[Hop]

I also emailed these over...

Some questions that are probably answered in your book, but would be good to include if not (and also one or two off-the-wall questions that I have because I love experimenting):

• How do you test yeast in small-scale batches when using liquid yeast cultures? Is a full liquid yeast vial or pack too much for a 1 gallon batch?
• What happens if you use more than one kind of yeast? Are there predictable results? What about using one ale yeast and one lager yeast?
• Is it feasible to make a starter for a 5 gallon batch from a small Propagator pack without stepping it up?
• Can I use a lager yeast at ale temperatures and get desirable results (similar to New Belgium with 1554)?
• What type of flasks can I use directly on the stove? Do they work on any type of stove?
• Do I really need a stir plate? Can't I just shake the starter once or twice a day?
• Should I shake yeast into the fermentor or rock it? Is there anything wrong with shaking my fermentor after adding yeast?
• What would happen if I started with my fermentor upside-down, then flip it over after vigorous fermentation stopped?
• How much is too much? What is yeast bite, and how can I avoid it?
• Some Belgian styles have you adding yeast at bottling... how do I do it? Will it make my bottles 'splode?
• When's the best time to pitch yeast from a starter? Should I cool it off and pour out the wort, then just put in the yeast from the bottom?

[hopshead]

What would happen if I started with my fermentor upside-down, then flip it over after vigorous fermentation stopped?

Lmao, Hop >> what kind of ninja fermentation techniques are you using anyway. Funny post, lol.

[LocalBrewer]

[*]What happens if you use more than one kind of yeast? Are there predictable results? What about using one ale yeast and one lager yeast?
]

Hey Hop, if you back in the Session archives and listen to the show with Shea Comfort on yeast blending and oak (11-22-08), all your questions on yeast blending will be answered. Great episode, I did my first yeast blending batch this past week with a Pale Ale. Used WLP001 and WLP002 and am fermenting at 63 as we speak.

Cheers

[Charlie]

This is something I'm working on right how:

Let's say that I rinse a batch of yeast for re-pitch. How do I figure out how much of the rinsed yeast to throw in the next batch without doing an actual count with a microscope and hemocytometer?

The idea is to let the rinse settle for a time in the fridge (say 24 hr), then apply some density constant to determine how much yeast is there.

My feeling is that the yeast will settle out in some small range of cell densities allowing you to figure out a rough cells per ml (ounce, whatever) count, and therefore determine how much of the muck to throw in the next batch.

This sort of crude cell count works reasonably well for hematocrit (but using a centrifuge).

Charlie