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Author Topic: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make  (Read 13186 times)

Offline Kaiser

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #30 on: February 24, 2010, 12:55:21 pm »
Have you checked the pH of the final product to see the effects of removal on the final pH of the beer.

Kai, You never answered my question.  ^^^^^

Check the last row of the table in the write-up. w/o kraeusen removal the beer pH was 4.31 and w/ kraeusen removal it was 4.18. But I don’t know if that was affected only by the removal of the bitter Kraeusen. It is possible that the removal of yeast from the beer didn’t cause the pH to rise as much after fermentation slowed down. I wouldn’t put too much into this difference since I had beers with a similar difference and they tasted virtually the same.

Quote
Do you have a proof positive way of measuring the effects other than tasting which can be subjective?

No. I can’t test for IBUs and don’t plan to pay for it and I can’t analyze the beer components either. Our palate is all that we home brewers have.

Kai

Offline ndcube

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #31 on: February 24, 2010, 01:02:29 pm »
thanks jeff for the very detailed explanation.

Am I the only one who feels that a majority of the braunhefe remains stuck to the sides of my fermentor?  I certainly don't have a way to measure that, but eyeballing it, it seems that way:  I ferment about 11gal after kettle losses in a 14.5gal SS conical - with a hoppy beer there is a 2-3in ring of dark brown krausen stuck to the wall of the fermentor when I go to clean it.  Obviously, as Jeff pointed out, there is much less with say, my vienna.

Thoughts?

I would think the yeast and braun hefe near the sides would stick and the stuff in the middle (which is most of it) would not.  Do you think that the yeast moves the braun hefe to the sides from the center during fermentation?

Offline Kaiser

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #32 on: March 22, 2010, 08:51:19 am »
Just a quick update on this:

When I tasted the two beers again one month after the initial tasting I could still notice the difference but they were more similar than they were before. At this point I would not be surprised if tasters can’t tell a difference. Especially if they don’t know what to look for.

Kai

Offline denny

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #33 on: March 22, 2010, 09:16:40 am »
Thanks for the update, Kai.  I find this a very interesting topic!
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #34 on: March 22, 2010, 09:42:16 am »
Somehow I missed this conversation. Anyway, a few years back there was a homebrewing "how to" website that showed a bunch of young brewers introducing the world to their particular (and in some cases extremely peculiar) practice of brewing. It was passed around on a couple of forums, mostly for the laughs, particularly for one practice that they used to remove the "braun hefe" - they sucked it out with a shop vac!!

Now, I was probably the only one on the forums who actually thought this was a clever idea and I kind of contemplated doing it myself (with a new shop vac, not the one I use to suck the gunk out of my keggerator). Technically, if that was all you used it for and you kept it clean it should be fairly sanitary.

Offline babalu87

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Re: Kraeusen removal, what difference does it make
« Reply #35 on: March 22, 2010, 09:50:53 am »
I suppose one could suck up some water with the shop vac when they were done to eliminate a science experiment in the shop vac.

I've taken to encouraging blow-off (using 6 gallon carboys as primary) and have noticed much smoother bittering but it really needs a side by side test that I havent done yet.

Lots of the brau hefe (brown gook) stuck to the concave part of the carboy.

Made an all Columbus IPA recently and its about the smoothest one I remember making with so many hops in it.

Jeff

On draught:
IIPA, Stout, Hefeweizen, Hallertau Pale Ale, Bitter

Primary:
Hefeweizen,Berliner Weisse, Mead