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Mixed fermentation in barrels

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  • Mixed fermentation in barrels

    For those who are conducting mixed fermentation in barrels once the beer is transferred out are you completely cleaning the barrel? Are you leaving the yeast cake for the next fermentation? Or leave some of the yeast cake

    Cheers
    Pat
    Last edited by NatchezBrew; 04-25-2016, 09:46 AM.

  • #2
    Cleaning of barrel

    Once the beer is taken out from the tank, it requires to be thoroughly clean. And for the next lot other part of the yeast cake is to be dropped in the tank for its fermentation and for that purpose there are number of barrels/ small tanks for the purpose. They usually have more more than six to eight stainless steel tanks. After getting ready it is to be poured into these tanks and from here, it is packed in bottles.

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    • #3
      Depends on the particular project, as to how we treat the barrel. Usually, I leave a gallon or so in the barrel after transferring out, and I shake the barrel around to get the yeast cake in suspension. From here I rotate the bung hole down so I can collect the cake through a funnel into a flask. Good way to stretch out the budget on "bugs". If the next beer going in is very similar, and most importantly, if I liked the beer that came out, it'll get a cold rinse and refilled (after checking for any mold, problems, etc) and I'll repitch what was harvested. If I am going a different direction on cultures or the beer wasn't up to standard, everything gets cold rinsed, hot rinsed, hot soaked and steamed. I have also used sodium precarbonate and citric acid soaks after a hot soak.

      One particular beer, I DID leave the cake on and just refilled the 2 barrels, along with about 2 gallons of the previous beer. It took off like a monster, but has seemed to be overly sour now (not acetic), so it'll have to be blended out to try and recreate the beer I was shooting for. Don't think I'll be doing that method again, but I probably will start treating those 2 barrels as a solera and pulling out a portion and refilling directly.

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      • #4
        We ferment directly in the barrels with a new lab pitch, or a harvest from the cake of a barrel we're pleased with on first use for a particular barrel. On second use, presuming we like the beer that came out of the barrel and thus want to use the same culture again, we'll go directly on top of the yeast cake without cleaning, rinsing or any treatment.

        Over time, there will be incremental yeast and bacteria buildup that you'll have to address by lowering your bulldog after transfer and pulling additional slurry. However, different cultures will behave differently generation after generation so (IMHO) there is no science or rule of thumb to it -- just paying attention to what's going on in your fermentations and the profile of successive beers.

        If the goal is repeatability, you'll have to look at all of the factors and variables and minimize batch to batch variation by maintaining blend percentages if doing your own blends from original brett/sacc/lacto/pedio. If your goal is to reproduce the same results from previous lab pitches, you'll have to go back to the original lab culture and blend ratios.

        Our goal (since starting our sour program) has been to make "beers in time", by allowing cultures to drift and exhibit different characteristics due to differing malt bills, hopping rates, temperature fluctuations, etc. We've been happy with the results, and our customers are always excited to see what comes out next.

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