2020 was my year dedicated to become more knowledgeable about using beer yeasts. Although I believe I learned a lot from this forum and elsewhere, there is still much room for improvement.
I was so intrigued with the information concerning Verdant, that I purchased a sachet. A NEIPA was not in my brewing queue. On deck was a Sweet Stout, then a Red American Ale. I decided to proceed with the Verdant with these two, knowing it might not be the best for the Red Ale, but found some curious observations.
First, I saw a picture that Saccharomyces posted of a top-cropped yeast, and this one is similar to that. The sachet of Verdant was pitched into 5.5 gallons of the Sweet Stout at 1.048 and 68F at 1830 on brew day. There was a healthy krausen that was removed the next afternoon. I made a note that the lag time of this yeast was quick. 2 days later I observed the krausen similar to the Saccharomyces picture. I captured a total of 1 pint, including about 50ml of liquid. The rest was a dense yeast krausen. It was somewhat dark which I attributed to the dark grains in that batch. This pint was immediately loosely covered and placed into a 38F fridge. The beer finished at about 66% attenuation.
3 days after the yeast was harvested, the Red American Ale was brewed. When the pint of yeast was removed from the fridge, there was no noticeable change, still a lot of dense yeast krausen. I am used to these things settling and separating, but little of that occurred with this yeast. Sorry, but I did not take photos.
I pitched the entire pint of "slurry" into the Red Ale, at 1.047 and 68F at 1630 hours. At 0800 the next morning, the activity through the blowoff tube was impressive. It finished fermentation within 48 hours, at 73% attenuation, which seems reasonable-ish. The start of fermentation seems way too short, and I suspect a serious overpitch for the second beer.
The Sweet Stout is made for my wife of 46 years. Its version 9.1, yes she is hard to please. But she is happy with 9.1, so something went right. Its not my favorite style, but this is very drinkable.
I haven't tried the Red Ale yet but am concerned with the short lag time. Am I paranoid? Is 16 hours a reasonable lag time for a re-pitch of Verdant? If not, what am I missing regarding harvesting a true top-cropping yeast?
Topic: Verdant Observations and Questions (Read 1746 times)
