Yeast cake changes

[bob downe]

Hello,

Up until my last brew, I had always used a seive like wire filter on my boiler outlet. The wort always looked quite clear going into the fermenting bucket. At the end of the fermentation, there was always a thick coherent slab of gunk in the bottom of the bucket.

The last brew, I have moved to a pipe with holes in for the hop filter as the seive filter used to block sometimes. I noticed that a lot more bits of protein etc. went into the fermenter. After fermentation, the yeast cake in the bottom of the bucket is 'crumbly' not a coherent slab as before.

I always keg my beer but have been considering bottling a few. My concern is that the yeast won't form a coherent layer in the bottles and may be crumbly like in the fermenter.

Is this normal. My suspicion is the 'crumbliness' is something to do woth more particulates going in from the boiler?

Any ideas.

Thanks.

 

[battwave]

I used a small amount of wheat malt in my mash yesterday and I seemed to be suffering with more sticky globules at the end of the draw-off than usual. These usually disappear with a bit of re-circulation.

Will be interested to see what answers you get to your question from the "Mash Illuminati"

 

[bob downe]

The recipe I've used is one I have done before and does involve wheat malt. This didn't occur before when brewed previously?

I've got a suspicion it is to do with letting more 'bits' into the fermenter. On another forum, somebody has suggested that it is Protofloc bits getting into the fermenter.

Either way, doesn't seem to be detrimental.