AG#053 - Summer Lightning

[RabMaxwell]

My Hop Back yeast is looking good started hearing bubbles about 1 1/2 hours after pitching the yeast.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6586/dsc00091a.jpg

[SiHoltye]

Before I pitched the SO4 I skimmed the Hop back yeast and got a couple of tablespoons of healthy looking yeast from the skim, do you think this is worth using to make my next starter or should I start from scratch again?
Russ

I've not skimmed yeast off the top before but if you're happy with your sanitation you could add that to 300ml of 1.040 spraymalt wort in a 500ml bottle for a week, then pour of spent starter medium and using a 5L water container pitch it into 4L of wort again for a week. I'd feel happy I'd got enough yeast to pitch into 5G from there.

[Russ]

Thanks

Will may be go with that. The last starter I made was smaller than 4 l, but it looks like a high pitching rate is what this yeast needs.

Russ

[RabMaxwell]

Hello all i have just taken a reading from my hop-back yeast brew it's went from 1.058 to 1.024 in 25 hours looking good The bubble rate coming from the blow-off tube seems low compaired to when i use safale 04 but it sure is eating it's way through the sugars. (Lovely )

[SiHoltye]

Took a reading at 5pm - 1.021, again just now 6hrs on (hrs 48-54) and it's plumb on 1.021 still. Sample seems very clear with that huge cake of yeast sitting immobile on top. Going to stir it back in.

[SiHoltye]

I stirred (gently without aerating) the yeast head back into the beer at 10pm last night.
BEFORE.................................................................................................................AFTER


Just now (11hrs on) it's plummetted by all of 0.001...just . This is not a successful ferment, I want to brew again on Friday so I'm repitching now with S-04 to hopefully get down to something respectable like 1.014 which would be 70% attenuation.

Maybe it was the yeast being less than perfect in the bottles I collected it from. Maybe I collected too little from the last brew (300mls) to pitch into this. This Hop Back thing isn't over for me, but it is for now.

[RabMaxwell]

I cant get a hydrometer reading as it's just a fermenting 5 inch mass on top & crazy fermenting slurry coming from my racking port.

I don't think you under pitched i pitched 800 mils of thick slurry that was put back on the stir-plate with continuous aeration bubbled in some cooled wort from the boil for 2 hours .I then set my air stone on a timer at 15 min's an hour for the first 8 hours .I think this one is going to ferment all the way might even have to halt fermentation with cooling as i don't want it to go too low as it's a Scottish ale.

[SiHoltye]

Have you got piccies of your air stone set-up, you know make and model etc. If not don't worry, curious now though.

[RabMaxwell]

Hello SiHoltye i use a mixed bag as i am just starting to refine it & it's only the second time i have used my stir-plate but here is what i used.

(click to enlarge)
This it my small air pump set-up http://xrl.us/beixor for aerating the stir-plate starter it's just got an air stone from a pet store.The filter is a tube with cotton wool sprayed with vodka then bubbled through a jar filled with vodka.This seems to work never had an infection but have a couple of sterile filters ordered from hop & grape to try.
My bigger set-up using stainless air-stone & mini compressor for my 120 litre brews

(click to enlarge)
Mini compressor stainless air stone it fits through a 15 mil push fit tank connector in the lid of my fermenter.

(My fermenter)

(Cheap plug timmer)
I bought the stainless air-stone a few years back from hop & grape they said it could be used with a normal aquarium pump but it cant i read it needs to be a deep water pump my Mini compressor works it easily though suggest you make or buy a stir-plate though they sure make more yeast i am finding
I tried a few hours ago to take a reading again but there is still too much yeast on top & dont want to skim it off when it's doing it's work but the bubbles are slowing down now should get one tomorrow.

[SiHoltye]

Thanks Rab,

That post starts to humanize the possibility of adding air to a brew without clean room status and O2 bottles waiting to explode.

Serving my 5G bucket I'm thinking along the lines of your mini compressor, H&G filters (don't know how long they'd do a reasonable job for), air stone (autoclaveable?) and timer plug a la Rab. I'm thinking this might improve consistency with liquid yeast cultures and help with brewery strains...I've got Harveys, Hop Back, Hogs Back, I'd like to nail regularly and they all practice wort aerating/agitation during early ferment.

I am thinking aloud at present

[RabMaxwell]

The mini compressor is great i use it to run my flojet pumps too. I dabbled with liquid yeasts years ago but often got inconsistent FG's but now armed with a stir-plate & aeration & info from Daab about stepping your starter size correctly it's looking good .I have been keeping the last running's from my mash in 2 litre pet bottles in the freezer to save on using too much spray malt. (Frugal Scotsman )

[SiHoltye]

Cheers Chris, I've emailed to see what 'buy it now' price...he, he. Captain impatient strikes again.

[RabMaxwell]

I think thats the same person i bought mine from it was a couple of years ago though think i paid about £43 ish .

[RabMaxwell]

The head on my brew has collapsed so i got a reading not as low as i thought it was going to be but it's still working away.It is at 1.016 /71% it will be 72 hours at 8pm tonight if it manages to get to 1.013 in the next few days that will be the magical 77%.This brew has 20 % Caramalt in the recipe so this will be adding a good few dextrin sugars but also added 5 % sugar to try & compensate.Time will tell though

[SiHoltye]

36hrs from re pitching S04 I'm down to 1.016.