Top cropping.. was it wise in this case?

Hop fiend

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Hi there, I've currently got an 8 gallon British strong bitter on the go (OG: 1.060) and I've used wyeast 1318. Yesterday, 6 days after brewing, i skimmed all the yeast off the top and then refitted the lid, and squirted a load of CO2 in through the blow off tube. I got 2 jar fulls and put them in the fridge. However I now notice there is no activity in the blow off jar, where as before, it was popping gas every 5 seconds or so. I know i need to take a reading to see what gravity it's at, and I will, but I'm just wondering if I took too much yeast? And if the apparent fermentation was coming from the krausen, even though it's at or nearing terminal gravity? I would expect that after 6 days it's pretty much done now and it's in clean up phase. Did the beer need the krausen to clean up diactell, etc?
Thanks for any help. Cheers!
 
Hi there, I've currently got an 8 gallon British strong bitter on the go (OG: 1.060) and I've used wyeast 1318. Yesterday, 6 days after brewing, i skimmed all the yeast off the top and then refitted the lid, and squirted a load of CO2 in through the blow off tube. I got 2 jar fulls and put them in the fridge. However I now notice there is no activity in the blow off jar, where as before, it was popping gas every 5 seconds or so. I know i need to take a reading to see what gravity it's at, and I will, but I'm just wondering if I took too much yeast? And if the apparent fermentation was coming from the krausen, even though it's at or nearing terminal gravity? I would expect that after 6 days it's pretty much done now and it's in clean up phase. Did the beer need the krausen to clean up diactell, etc?
Thanks for any help. Cheers!
Hmmm interesting I'm not I don't top crop. Looking forward to what others think on this.
 
I don't think you have any issues. There are still lots of active yeast cells distributed throughout the beer. And it's likely that you are done with the most vigorous part of the fermentation.

Just wait for the yeast to finish cleaning up and you will be good.
 
The yeast that comes to the top is in its first phase of flocculation, it gets trapped on the top because of the yeast coagulation and escaping Co2. Its for the most part done, so skimming it off the top should not cause the fermentation to slow or stop.
 
Hi there, I've currently got an 8 gallon British strong bitter on the go (OG: 1.060) and I've used wyeast 1318. Yesterday, 6 days after brewing, i skimmed all the yeast off the top and then refitted the lid, and squirted a load of CO2 in through the blow off tube. I got 2 jar fulls and put them in the fridge. However I now notice there is no activity in the blow off jar, where as before, it was popping gas every 5 seconds or so. I know i need to take a reading to see what gravity it's at, and I will, but I'm just wondering if I took too much yeast? And if the apparent fermentation was coming from the krausen, even though it's at or nearing terminal gravity? I would expect that after 6 days it's pretty much done now and it's in clean up phase. Did the beer need the krausen to clean up diactell, etc?
Thanks for any help. Cheers!


Thanks for the replies guys, I've just taken a reading: a rather yeasty 1.018. According to the calc it should finish at 1.016, so hopefully it's still not quite done. My malt bill was:
16.2lb marris otter (90%)
7oz munich (2.4%)
14oz heritage crystal 120 (4.9%)
7oz cara red (2.4%)
I mashed at 149 as I wanted to make the mash a bit more fermentable with the combination of the 1318 yeast and the crystal malts.
I'm not sure whether to make a mini 1 gallon brew to keep my yeast viable until I brew again in 4-6 weeks or harvest the slurry from my chronical when I rack and then wash and store that to use? Any ideas? Cheers.
 
Here's the yeast I collected..
 

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All you need is enough yeast for a starter, several tablespoons stored under or in beer in the refrigerator. 4 to 6 weeks is too long to store without a starter no matter the volume. The cells are getting old. A starter will give you a batch of young, healthy yeast cells that do a better job of fermenting than old yeast.
 
All you need is enough yeast for a starter, several tablespoons stored under or in beer in the refrigerator. 4 to 6 weeks is too long to store without a starter no matter the volume. The cells are getting old. A starter will give you a batch of young, healthy yeast cells that do a better job of fermenting than old yeast.

Ok thanks, so should I make a starter now and then store that in the fridge, rather than just the skimmed yeast in cooled boiling water that it's in now?
 
Thanks- would you do that even if you're not brewing for 6 weeks?
It’s best to wait a couple of days before, that way your yeast are fresh. There’s no point in doing a starter right away, it’s the same as storing it.

If you can use the yeast right away, you could just pitch it without a starter.
 
It’s best to wait a couple of days before, that way your yeast are fresh. There’s no point in doing a starter right away, it’s the same as storing it.

If you can use the yeast right away, you could just pitch it without a starter.

Thanks High Voltage Dude- I'd love to pitch the yeast right now but I've got beer coming out of my ears at the minute so it's going to be 4 weeks until next brew day I reckon. I'm trying to get through 7 gallons of DIPA but it's hard to hit it without getting seriously arseholed!! There's loads of yeast harvested though so I shouldn't have a problem getting enough to be viable, when I do brew again.
 

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