Hello
We are a micro in UK that has been brewing for about 18 months. My commercial experience is limited to having spent days assisting others, a few formal courses, and my own (steep) learning curve over the course of the last year or so.
I am looking for guidance on an issue I am experiencing with Windsor yeast. I will point out that I have contacted Lallemand (locally in UK) and they are being extremely helpful - no complaints. The yeast is doing exactly what it should be doing, and the ale is great, but I wanted to know if there are any 'experiences' that might give me ideas as to how to overcome the issue.
The brew is a cask-conditioned porter (4.7% ABV).
A little on my tanks. My fermenters are pre-used open tall, cylindrical, flat-bottomed with lid. It is not possible to dump the yeast.
Okay, pre-amble done. The issue is that the low flocc and low sedimentation rate of Windsor, means that I am leaving the beer in the FV for an extended time. When it comes to casking, my yeast counts are, initially, still way too high. Also, the count 'gradient' between the first runnings (very high) and the last runnings (very low) is very wide ranging. This causes problems estimating the amount of cask finings to use.
All in all, I am managing to produce an excellent porter - to which I attribute a lot to Windsor yeast. But, I am unhappy having to instruct my customers to give the casks an extended stillage to ensure that the ale has cleared and is in prime condition for serving.
Has anyone had this type of problem and, if so, what steps have you taken/would you take to reduce the yeast count prior to casking, either mechanical or by fining, to even out the yeast count gradient in the FV?
Thank you in advance.
We are a micro in UK that has been brewing for about 18 months. My commercial experience is limited to having spent days assisting others, a few formal courses, and my own (steep) learning curve over the course of the last year or so.
I am looking for guidance on an issue I am experiencing with Windsor yeast. I will point out that I have contacted Lallemand (locally in UK) and they are being extremely helpful - no complaints. The yeast is doing exactly what it should be doing, and the ale is great, but I wanted to know if there are any 'experiences' that might give me ideas as to how to overcome the issue.
The brew is a cask-conditioned porter (4.7% ABV).
A little on my tanks. My fermenters are pre-used open tall, cylindrical, flat-bottomed with lid. It is not possible to dump the yeast.
Okay, pre-amble done. The issue is that the low flocc and low sedimentation rate of Windsor, means that I am leaving the beer in the FV for an extended time. When it comes to casking, my yeast counts are, initially, still way too high. Also, the count 'gradient' between the first runnings (very high) and the last runnings (very low) is very wide ranging. This causes problems estimating the amount of cask finings to use.
All in all, I am managing to produce an excellent porter - to which I attribute a lot to Windsor yeast. But, I am unhappy having to instruct my customers to give the casks an extended stillage to ensure that the ale has cleared and is in prime condition for serving.
Has anyone had this type of problem and, if so, what steps have you taken/would you take to reduce the yeast count prior to casking, either mechanical or by fining, to even out the yeast count gradient in the FV?
Thank you in advance.
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