Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Straining direct onto trub  (Read 1750 times)

Offline cfleisher

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 98
    • Brews Reporter
Straining direct onto trub
« on: July 23, 2011, 11:38:43 pm »
Has anyone tried straining wort directly onto the trub from a prior batch? (Same fermenter, which contains the yeast from a just-bottled batch.) I'm about to bottle a Saison and am very happy with how the yeast has performed, so I plan on using it again. I was wondering if I would be OK to pour a second Saison (slightly different recipe) directly into the fermenter of the previous one -- no additional sanitation of the bucket, which would have been emptied for bottling just a few hours prior.

It'd make for a busy day, to be sure, but I thought that it might avoid risk of contamination if I cut back on the steps for saving the yeast.
Primary: Grapefruit IPA
Secondary: Berliner Weisse

Offline Malticulous

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 368
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2011, 11:54:26 pm »
Dumping onto a cake is seriously over pitching. It might not be so good for a saison. You may not get the yeast character you want. Scooping half of it out might work better. I generally just repitch 1/2 cup to one cup of slurry. It's not hard to dump the cake into a jar, clean and sanitize the fermanter and pitch the correct amount of slurry.

But yes, it's been done before.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2011, 11:59:30 pm by Malticulous »

Offline nateo

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2336
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2011, 05:36:47 am »
I'd probably use 1/4 of the yeast cake if you're brewing another batch of similar gravity. The only time I'll use a whole cake is if I jump from a small beer (1.040-ish) to a big beer (1.100+).
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline jeffy

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4222
  • Tampa, Fl
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2011, 06:34:22 am »
If you do go ahead with your plan and put the fresh wort directly onto the yeast, be prepared for a very fast and raucous fermentation.  If you don't have much head space you may lose some beer.
Yes, I have done this lots of times, but the advice above about transferring into a sanitized jar, letting it settle and using a portion of the clean layer of yeast is a better idea.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline tom

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1109
  • Denver, CO
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2011, 08:34:34 am »
Check out Jamil's www.mrmalty.com Yeast Pitching Calculator for the proper amount of yeast to repitch.

For Big Beers I try to pitch on an entire yeast cake.  But you have to control the fermentation temperature.
Brew on

Offline cfleisher

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 98
    • Brews Reporter
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2011, 11:26:33 am »
Thanks guys. These are great suggestions. I think I'll just scoop out the trub and repitch it.
Primary: Grapefruit IPA
Secondary: Berliner Weisse

Offline 1vertical

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2702
  • Ozone Layer. Actual location
Re: Straining direct onto trub
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2011, 07:45:22 am »
I just did this with a Saison, It went very fast and intense...and got warm and I thought
I may have made a headache beer.  It finished and was VERY cloudy. It will spend
considerable time in secondary before It even gets sampled....just FWIW....

I wish I would have washed some of the yeast from the cake now....in hindsight.
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.