SMaSH Dry Hop - what to do?

[J A]

So the only thing I can't do, then, is the "poor wort directly on the yeast cake" thing, right? (because they will have too much spent hops in them)

I do it all the time...You just have to know that your next batch will pick up some of the hop character from the previous one. Unless the hop load is heavy or the hops are particularly distinctive and don't fit the style of the new batch, it won't change things a lot.

 

[Tal Orbach]

I do it all the time...You just have to know that your next batch will pick up some of the hop character from the previous one. Unless the hop load is heavy or the hops are particularly distinctive and don't fit the style of the new batch, it won't change things a lot.

Really?!? Even though the hops are still in there? (from the dry hopping with loose hops)

 

[J A]

Really?!? Even though the hops are still in there? (from the dry hopping with loose hops)

Yeah...I usually tend to run progressive brews so that the first pitch is not dry-hopped but I routinely run an IPA right on top of the yeast cake after I rack off a dry-hopped pale. Again, the amount and type of hops you used matter so you have to know what sort of beer you're running on the second pitch.
Also, if you do this, you should cool the wort very well - 60 degrees for an ale isn't too low - because it'll kick into gear immediately and you'll have a hell of a krausen before you know it. Be sure your fermenting vessel is large enough. There's enough yeast in a 1-gallon pitch for easily 5 to 10 gallons of wort, so whatever you pitch on the cake will go very quickly. Lower temp through out the fermentation is a good idea.
If you're continuing to do 1-gallon batches, just put the whole cake into a large jar, hops and all with enough clean water to dilute it well. Swirl it around, put it in the fridge and let it settle. Then the hops and protein break material will be on the bottom and the yeast will settle into a layer over that. You can rack out the water and spoon out the yeast, relatively free of hops. Probably a tablespoon full of good yeast trub will be plenty for a gallon of typical wort.

 

[Tal Orbach]

Yeah...I usually tend to run progressive brews so that the first pitch is not dry-hopped but I routinely run an IPA right on top of the yeast cake after I rack off a dry-hopped pale. Again, the amount and type of hops you used matter so you have to know what sort of beer you're running on the second pitch.
Also, if you do this, you should cool the wort very well - 60 degrees for an ale isn't too low - because it'll kick into gear immediately and you'll have a hell of a krausen before you know it. Be sure your fermenting vessel is large enough. There's enough yeast in a 1-gallon pitch for easily 5 to 10 gallons of wort, so whatever you pitch on the cake will go very quickly. Lower temp through out the fermentation is a good idea.
If you're continuing to do 1-gallon batches, just put the whole cake into a large jar, hops and all with enough clean water to dilute it well. Swirl it around, put it in the fridge and let it settle. Then the hops and protein break material will be on the bottom and the yeast will settle into a layer over that. You can rack out the water and spoon out the yeast, relatively free of hops. Probably a tablespoon full of good yeast trub will be plenty for a gallon of typical wort.

Gotcha. But I guess for me it won't work, as I'm currently working on making SMaSH beers, with the purpose of getting to know the different hops' characters, so I want a well defined hop character in them (so any left over flavors from past hops are a problem)

 

[J A]

Yeah, you'll have to have a clean pitch.
The simple harvesting process I described will yield clean yeast that you can make starters from. Honestly, if you're making 1-gallon batches, just split up dry yeast and get several batches from one packet. You'll have to weigh it out with a gram scale but you can get 5 batches that way.

 

[Tal Orbach]

I have a gram scale, so that's really not an issue. I want to harvest the yeast for practice also, not just for money.

 

[Hawkbox]

Honestly for practice, don't stress about the hops. Wash some yeast, maybe overbuild your smash and pour the harvested yeast in the extra.

You'll get practice and if you hose the whole thing you won't ruin your main beer.

 

[Tal Orbach]

maybe overbuild your smash and pour the harvested yeast in the extra.

What does that mean?

 

[Hawkbox]

Basically instead of a 5 gallon batch make a 6 or 7 gallon batch and use the extra in a separate container.

Basically just a separate container of wort and use the harvested yeast in there. It will let you mess around while not affecting your main brew.

I personally don't wash yeast, I build big starters and keep 1/4 of them for the next batch but that would be an easy way to let you experiment.