Topcropping

[Tom McLean]

We would like to successfully top crop our ales and save the yeast for re-pitching. We tried this the first time the other night, and ended up with two pint jars of beer with just a little yeast on the bottom.

Is there anyone out there that does this successfully?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

warning if you top crop your robbing yeast from the current batch and will slow the fermentation some but in a nutshell, you need to take your top crop and add it to a starter, let the starter run its course then let it ferment out, then refrigerate, then decant, then refrigerate the final yeast to save.

doing it this way your will get the most yeast for the final results, now keep in mind there are 50 different ways to do anything, this is not the only way just my way

 

[Tom McLean]

This is what my brew partner and I concluded after a 1/2 hour disusssion.

The beer we are working on was pitched with Wyeast 1728. We filled two pint jars with foam after 24 hours. The beer covered the top of the fermentor with more foam in about 30 min. So far we love this strain, it get up and gets it done, and ferments a very clean tasteing beer

We will pitch a starter today or in the morning, and collect that for storage.

We are using topcopping as a way to learn more about yeast. What else can you add QHB?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

after you leave the final yeast in the fridge, you need an air tight container, I use glass or white labs containers, leave it undisturbed until needed, then warm up to room temperature and add it to another starter with dme and run that until the wort is cooled to 70ish then pitch, your really only saving $12 but in the end its satisfying in my book

 

[Tom McLean]

The real question, for me at this point, seems to be: How much foam makes a 1/2 cup of slurry? And what is a reasonable cell density for that slurry? From what I have done so far; about one and onehalf pints of foam will get 1/2 cup of wet mud. I am guessing that will contain 1.5 B cells/ml.

Any comments on these assumptions?

Has anyone else tried this?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

every fermentation is different, Ive had the same yest ferment with a 4" foam on top as well as a 2" in another batch and I use a wide mouth 13 gallon plastic barrel so all you can do is grow it to your satisfaction and maybe add another one to it if too small in the final starter

In my opinion more yeast is better because believe it or not some times half is dead or doesn't perform well

 

[Tom McLean]

Thanks QHB.

I think that I finialy got to the same conclusion. That is the collection. When it becomes time to pitch it to a new wort, a starter is necessary to get the quanity of yeast needed for the new beer. At least thats the way it seems without actually tring it.

Yes, brew smarter but how do you get there from here; exacly?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

read forums for years and buy lots of toys and experiment, then one brew day it will all come together