Reinventing the "airlock"

[McMullan]

Anyone who enjoys fermenting wort with Yorkshire yeast strains should consider giving this a go.



It really seems to bring out the magic in these yeasts

[orlando]

Very interesting set up. Shame "he" didn't mention what yeast he was using and how often and for how long and at what intervals he recirculated. Was it you?

[Meatymc]

Nice vid!

[McMullan]

Very interesting set up. Shame "he" didn't mention what yeast he was using and how often and for how long and at what intervals he recirculated. Was it you?

It was me, I take full responsibility. The yeast used was WLP037 'Yorkshire Square' and it performed exceptionally. Perhaps in its element? There is a description on Youtube, but I don't think you'll see it playing the vid from the forum. The fermenter ('square') is almost completely filled with sweet aerated wort; a healthy Yorkshire yeast culture is pitched; the 'yeast trough' is attached; top up wort until it overflows into the trough, but not above the 'yeast hole'; wait about 18-24 hours before rousing the yeast by pumping/recirculating wort for 5 minutes every 3-4 hours for about 36 hours. (Use a digital timer plug for overnight yeast rousing.) There are a number of fermentation schedules for this type of system. So there's lots to try out.

I brewed it a couple weeks ago and it was ready for packaging last night, pretty bright and tasted amazing. Unlike some reports for WLP037, yery, very subtle phenolic character that blends nicely with the hops to add some interesting complexity. Quick, strong fermentation and very flocculant. I needed a 19L keg, a 9L keg plus 6 x 500ml bottles. All from one 30L FV (about 35L occupying the headspace) and a diluted 23L batch of wort. I just scaled the recipe and held back on the water I couldn't fit in the boil. The yeast trough extends the FV's capacity More importantly, I think it's one of the nicest bitters I've ever made. Not a million miles from Harvey's Best Bitter.

I repitched some of the yeast harvested from the trough into a porter, which has turned out very nice too. I'll definitely be using this set up again. I'm already planning some modifications

[orlando]

Not a million miles from Harvey's Best Bitter.

Now you've really caught my interest. Just have to think of a way of doing something similar with my conicals. A simple way would be to prop open the coiled lid and feed a return hose back into the top. Splashing against the coils should give me the aeration.

[orlando]

Would a Burton yeast benefit from this, thinking about the Union system you would have thought so?

[MTW]

Very nice work!

[McMullan]

Would a Burton yeast benefit from this, thinking about the Union system you would have thought so?

I'm not sure. Burton and Yorkshire yeasts are described as being quite different. Yorkshire strains are bigger, more oval with thicker cell walls and more vacuoles. The Burton Union system is quite different. The fermenting wort is recirculated continuously quite gently and powered by the yeast (CO2), IIRC. I guess you could have a blowoff tube from the FV to a yeast trough, to separate/capture the yeast and allow the clear wort to return to the FV. I'm not sure if it's mainly a yeast harvesting system that produces bright ales without a settling vessel/secondary? That's another benefit of this DIY 'Yorkshire Round' system - about 2/3rds of the yeast gets trapped in the trough after the final rouse, leaving surprisingly clear ale in the FV.

[WalesAles]

What`s an airlock?

WA

[orlando]

What`s an airlock?

WA

You not follow the space race?

[Kev888]

It is an inspiring project! I've only used Yorkshire strains a couple of times, due to the results not being very special. But.. my rousing was somewhat half-hearted even by manual standards. The difference here is huge; I must have another go and give it proper attention.

[orlando]

I've already ordered my timer. Will try the Hook Norton yeast with it as I'm fairly sure that is a Yorkshire strain looking at how it performs.

[McMullan]

I've already ordered my timer. Will try the Hook Norton yeast with it as I'm fairly sure that is a Yorkshire strain looking at how it performs.

That sounds very interesting, I might have to try that one. I had a look at their website and might book the brewery tour in the summer, if I can fit it in.

[HTH1975]

Cool experiment- how is this different to rousing the yeast with a spoon?

[McMullan]

Cool experiment- how is this different to rousing the yeast with a spoon?

I'd say the rousing here is a lot more effective than that which can be achieved with a spoon alone, but I've not roused with a spoon for 5min every 3-4 hours for a period of 36 hours. It's possibly more comparable with what traditional breweries achieve in their roused fermentations. A spoon can still be used to rouse the yeast which settle in the trough between pumped rousings. Once set up it's pretty much hands-free and you'll end up with a trough full of healthy yeast for repitching in the next brew (within a few days ideally). Simply bung the yeast hole, unscrew the trough, swirl and pour the trub-free yeast slurry into a big jar. Note too the FV is filled to the brim, producing more than 50% more ale If you like Yorkshire yeast, give it a go. There's a lot to gain using this one. It seems to work better than I anticipated. My best home-brew project to date