PBX IPA Extract Brew

[AdrianTrace]

I've been planning a slightly higher gravity beer this week, as I wanted to reuse the Nottingham yeast cake from last weeks brew. I wanted to do an English-hopped IPA, and have read positive reviews of Pilgrim with Bramling Cross so:

Fermentables:
500g Light Caramalt steeped at 68*C
3kg Extra Light DME dissolved in 5l water and straight to FV, together with around 500ml of Nottingham yeast cake

Hops: Pilgrim 2014 10.4% AA; Bramling Cross 2012 5.34% AA

60 mins: 20g Pilgrim
10 mins: 20g Pilgrim & 20g BX + 1/2 Whirlfloc
0 mins: 15g Pilgrim & 20g BX
Dry Hop (after main fermentation): 10g Pilgrim & 20g BX

17 litres with estimated OG 1.068 (it read lower, but there were still lumps of DME floating about).

An hour after pitching and there is an inch of yeast at the top and it's happily blasting away

 

[froganco]

Hi when you use a bucket like that for Kilmer lager should you have sediment left in the bottom also the lager is quiet dark

 

[AdrianTrace]

Hello & welcome to the forum :thumb:

The picture is of an IPA that had just started off, but using around 500ml of the sediment scooped from the bottom of the fermenting bucket of the Herk SMaSH! that I brewed last week instead of a fresh pack of yeast. As it was just getting going, the yeast was active at the top of the wort (Nottingham is a top fermenting ale yeast strain), but it'll settle in a thick layer at the bottom once the fermentation dies down.

Lager yeast is bottom-fermenting, as far as I know, and should also leave a layer at the bottom of the bucket once it's done. I've never made a lager (Hammer of Thor is supposed to be a lager, but is very aleish looking - more like a pale ale) but i would expect it to be lager-coloured :)

 

[froganco]

And it's OK to keep using it?

 

[AdrianTrace]

For a limited time. The sediment at the bottom is not only live yeast - it is also dead yeast, protein from the brewing and other rubbish, so if you keep reusing the sediment you can get off flavours and may even get mutation of the yeast strain.

Some people crop the live yeast from the top when it is active so that there is none of the **** with it, and then culture it for their next brew. But this is normally for more expensive liquid yeasts - not really worth the effort for a dried yeast that costs a couple of pounds for a fresh pack.

I will not be reusing a third time, but some people do this 3 or 4 times, increasing the strength of beer brewed each time to take advantage of the additional yeast available to pitch to get high strength beers brewed.

 

[froganco]

Thanks Adrian
You seem to know your stuff [emoji106]

 

[AdrianTrace]

Thanks Adrian
You seem to know your stuff [emoji106]

I've picked it up hanging around on here :thumb: