I'm going to be doing a batch of beer at my uncle's cabin tomorrow. I'll probably be brewing Saturday afternoon and making the two hour drive back on Sunday morning. My concern is that with all the jostling the fermenter will be doing in the back of my pickup on the two hour drive home, am I better off pitching the yeast after I'm done brewing on Saturday or once I've gotten back home on Sunday?
To pitch or not to pitch
- Thread starter mrbippers
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Pitch your yeast BEFORE you transport.
It's safer to do it at that point, then any other part of the fermentation process. You'll get plenty of aeration, your yeast won't be harmed, it will get thoroughly mixed with the wort, the yeast has the best chance of taking hold before anything bad gets in, AND when fermentation happens it would clean up anything that might have happened during transit.
If you wait too long you end up like this guy who didn't take my advice.
One of the issues folks don't realize is that a carboy or bucket is not an airtight enviroment. It's really not supposed to be, and an airlock, though very important is still only a delicate barrier between the beer/co2 cushion and the outside world. Sloshing the beer even with an airlock on opens up the beer to both oxygen and to the possibilities of nasties getting in (the airlock could even get dislogded) it's not the best way to do things, but adding the yeast ahead for the reasons mentioned, kinda hedges the bet.
And that's why I caution folks not to move it with an airlock once beer is in there....you have a greater risk of oxygen/oxygen getting in there during all that whipping up in transit.
But you don't want to wait too long.
It's safer to do it at that point, then any other part of the fermentation process. You'll get plenty of aeration, your yeast won't be harmed, it will get thoroughly mixed with the wort, the yeast has the best chance of taking hold before anything bad gets in, AND when fermentation happens it would clean up anything that might have happened during transit.
If you wait too long you end up like this guy who didn't take my advice.
One of the issues folks don't realize is that a carboy or bucket is not an airtight enviroment. It's really not supposed to be, and an airlock, though very important is still only a delicate barrier between the beer/co2 cushion and the outside world. Sloshing the beer even with an airlock on opens up the beer to both oxygen and to the possibilities of nasties getting in (the airlock could even get dislogded) it's not the best way to do things, but adding the yeast ahead for the reasons mentioned, kinda hedges the bet.
And that's why I caution folks not to move it with an airlock once beer is in there....you have a greater risk of oxygen/oxygen getting in there during all that whipping up in transit.
But you don't want to wait too long.
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if transporting a fermenter while primary fermentation is taking place would be a wise decision. I would seal it up good and pitch once you get home. If you do transport the next day after pitching I would be very leary of blow off. However, Revvy may have the better advice.
Celticway
Well-Known Member
If I were you, I would wait until you get home to pitch. Aeration before pitching is a good thing, after it is a bad thing. Your Wort shout be fine until then. Another thing to consider, make sure you are down to pitching temp before doing the deed!
You don't need to over stress/over think this....See this?
This is national homebrew day, it takes place twice a year at HUNDREDS of homebrew shops across the country, where HUNDREDS of brewers are brewing batches of beer, and then taking them home at the end of the day. In cars (not by levitation
)
Unless they are doing no-chill brewing everybody pitches their yeast before leaving the various sites.
And since we all come back, noone's ruined a batch of beer by transporting it with yeast in there.
I've done two hour drives on brew days before....with yeast in there, if it's starting to ferment then it's protecting your beer.
This is national homebrew day, it takes place twice a year at HUNDREDS of homebrew shops across the country, where HUNDREDS of brewers are brewing batches of beer, and then taking them home at the end of the day. In cars (not by levitation
)Unless they are doing no-chill brewing everybody pitches their yeast before leaving the various sites.
And since we all come back, noone's ruined a batch of beer by transporting it with yeast in there.
I've done two hour drives on brew days before....with yeast in there, if it's starting to ferment then it's protecting your beer.
LVBen
Well-Known Member
+1 for pitching before the transport. The jostling around will only aerate your wort a little bit, and a little bit of aeration is completely OK in the first 24 hours. The yeast will have plenty of time to consume all of the O2 over the following couple of days.
mrbippers
Well-Known Member
Looks like the consensus is pitching first. Thanks for the advice! I'm going to use some triple ripples as airlocks for the trip as I figure they're less likely to drip back into the beer than the three pieces.
Just try to keep it under the first 24 hour mark....don't decide to leave too late.
The other option is to go the no-chill route for this brew. Honestly it is the best option for folks wanting to move their wort.
The premise is that you don't need to sanitize it. You merely dump your boiling wort right into it and seal it up hot....it will steralize the container and form a vacuum in the container, protecting it...Then you either stick it in a fridge or just leave it to cool down to pitching temps on it's own, then you either rack to another fermenter, or just pitch yeast inside and ferment right in the aquatainer.
The method is great for folks who don't want to use 5-20 gallons of water to chill their wort, or where the groundwater is warm and won't really chill the wort all that fast anyway.
Dumping and sealing while boiling hot protects the wort from infection and lengthens the safety window til you can pitch the yeast. Folks have left their wort sealed for a week before even pitching the yeast with no issues.
Just do it, and stick it in your trunk, and don't worry about it.
The premise is that you don't need to sanitize it. You merely dump your boiling wort right into it and seal it up hot....it will steralize the container and form a vacuum in the container, protecting it...Then you either stick it in a fridge or just leave it to cool down to pitching temps on it's own, then you either rack to another fermenter, or just pitch yeast inside and ferment right in the aquatainer.
The method is great for folks who don't want to use 5-20 gallons of water to chill their wort, or where the groundwater is warm and won't really chill the wort all that fast anyway.
Dumping and sealing while boiling hot protects the wort from infection and lengthens the safety window til you can pitch the yeast. Folks have left their wort sealed for a week before even pitching the yeast with no issues.
Just do it, and stick it in your trunk, and don't worry about it.
samc
Well-Known Member
Personally I'd buy the White Labs new strain that has yeast helmets for protecting the yeast in transit.
WLP514 - Cali Head Protector Ale Yeast
btw - I'm a neurotic yeast pitcher. The moment the wort hits the fermenter I get very tense about getting the yeast to work.
WLP514 - Cali Head Protector Ale Yeast
btw - I'm a neurotic yeast pitcher. The moment the wort hits the fermenter I get very tense about getting the yeast to work.
Celticway
Well-Known Member
I disagree. I see no problem waiting to pitch for 2 hours. Then you can get it on whatever temp control you use a home and then pitch. What will be the temp fluctuation on the ride home--who knows. Plus you can put a solid stopper on it during transport. Either way is probably ok, but I think waiting is better.
mrbippers
Well-Known Member
Don't have any aquatainers and not going to be able to get any in time. Maybe in the future. One last point of clarification. I'm brewing Sat afternoon and leaving Sunday morning. I've got a chiller I'll be bringing with me to cool the wort. Are you saying I should pitch on Sunday just before I leave instead of on Saturday after I'm done brewing as I normally would?
mrbippers
Well-Known Member
My LHBS is a Wyeast operation. Pretty limited White Labs availability.
Pitch when you're finished brewing like you normally would. If you wait too long in a truly unsealed environment (and a carboy or bucket with airlock is really an unsealed environment.) You don't want to go too long without good yeast taking hold, otherwise bad stuff will take hold instead. Get it in, and get on the road the next morning....
Celticway
Well-Known Member
mrbippers said:
Oh, I thought you were leaving the same day.
Celticway
Well-Known Member
In that case I would pitch first. My bad.
Seven
Well-Known Member
+1 for yeast helmets!
Clementine
Well-Known Member
+1 for pitching, I would take the airlock out and put a solid stopper in for the trip if it is starting to krasuen I would stop and bleed it (let the CO2 escape) everyone now and again on the way home. Stirring the yeast up is not an issue, Oxidazation is a non issue in this case as either the yeast are not really active by the time you drive in which case any O2 that gets in the wort will help and if fermentation is really active then there is nothing but CO2 in the head space so any shaking won't introduce O2. The only risk I see is if you wait too long and you have a blow off happening when you wake up in the morning then capping it with the stopper and shaking it for two hrs on the way home could making for an entertaining ride.
Clem
Clem
