WY1469 (West Yorkshire) - Endless Krausen

[JonBrew]

Hello,

First time using this yeast after hearing lots of good things about it. I've fermented an oatmeal stout which finished up a couple of weeks ago - hit target FG and it hasn't budged since then. Krausen at the end of fermentation was huge and slowly dissipated over a week or so, however, I'm still left with about half an inch of whipped egg white-like krausen on top of the finished beer.

I'm going to be bottle conditioning this beer ahead of a competition in the middle of May so I'm keen to bottle soon. For those who have experience with this yeast, is the krausen likely to fall out completely any time soon and, if so, is it worth waiting? Alternatively, am I as well to rack out from under the remaining krausen?

Cheers for any input. I should add, I am not able to cold crash.

 

[STMF]

It will drop eventually, so you can just wait if that is what you want.
You could "disturb" the fermenter a bit (poke it on the side a few times, rack it a bit carefully back and forward) to speed it up abit.

 

[JonBrew]

Thanks. I will try gently disturbing the FV a bit to see if I can dislodge it. Cheers!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Typical behaviour for a proper top-cropping yeast - see this video for what it looks like in its native habitat, in a commercial environment most of the krausen would be skimmed off leaving just enough to protect the beer from oxygen. I don't know if it's practical for you to skim it, otherwise draw off the beer into a secondary and it should drop clear, it's only the CO2 that's holding up the krausen and once that's gone it should just drop in lumps.

 

[rhys333]

Go ahead and top-crop that sucker. WY1469 is perfect for that, and I think it boosts the ester profile a bit too. Its been a while since I've used the strain and I don't recall the krausen sticking around more than a week or two, but the harvested slurry will likely do its job quicker for you next time around.

 

[secondbase]

The krausen sticks around for an obnoxious amount of time. I typically give it three weeks in primary to drop and then rack it into a keg. This is my favorite yeast for a bitter!

 

[rhys333]

The krausen sticks around for an obnoxious amount of time. I typically give it three weeks in primary to drop and then rack it into a keg. This is my favorite yeast for a bitter!

I stand corrected then. It's been a while. Do you get the same from harvested 1469 though? It doesn't stand out in my mind as a slow yeast, and it may because I purchased it once and then the harvested slurry for X number of batches.

 

[Qhrumphf]

The yeast is fast. The krausen drop is not.

If you were going to top crop I wouldn't use that persistent krausen. I'd have done it sooner while still highly active.

I've racked from under the krausen with that yeast a few dozen times.

Been times where I've racked a Mild or Bitter with this yeast to pin after 2 days and been drinking by day 7.

 

[secondbase]

I stand corrected then. It's been a while. Do you get the same from harvested 1469 though? It doesn't stand out in my mind as a slow yeast, and it may because I purchased it once and then the harvested slurry for X number of batches.

I'm currently on generation 4 and the krausen still sticks around.

 

[rhys333]

The yeast is fast. The krausen drop is not.

If you were going to top crop I wouldn't use that persistent krausen. I'd have done it sooner while still highly active.

I've racked from under the krausen with that yeast a few dozen times.

Been times where I've racked a Mild or Bitter with this yeast to pin after 2 days and been drinking by day 7.

I wanted to do a mild with 1469 last Fall, but they were out and I had to settle for Ringwood. I think I'll have to revisit this now.

Regarding top crop: I've had the best results skimming and discarding early floc yeast at ~24h after Krausen shows, and collecting at 48h.

 

[trav77]

The yeast is fast. The krausen drop is not.

If you were going to top crop I wouldn't use that persistent krausen. I'd have done it sooner while still highly active.

I've racked from under the krausen with that yeast a few dozen times.

Been times where I've racked a Mild or Bitter with this yeast to pin after 2 days and been drinking by day 7.

So I've been having the opposite experience. I've recently brewed 2 bitters using 1469, the first 1.048 the second 1.042. Both stalled out at 1.020. I was able to get the first down to 1.017 with rousing the yeast, the 2nd is still stuck at 1.020 (albeit it has only been 4 days, it hasn't moved a point in 24 hours). Really not sure what the deal is with this one. My system tends to produce beers that over-attenuate if anything. Both bitters were very basic... MO with 5-7% crystal, both mashed at 150 F (validated thermocouple), well oxygenated, used adequate starters, etc. etc. Hard to believe this yeast that is supposedly quite attenuative is having a hard time finishing off a couple of <1.050 bitters...

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Both stalled out at 1.020....well oxygenated

When you say "well oxygenated" - was this a one-time oxygenation? Some of these northern yeasts need a LOT of oxygen, in commercial production some breweries will be rousing them every couple of hours.

 

[trav77]

When you say "well oxygenated" - was this a one-time oxygenation? Some of these northern yeasts need a LOT of oxygen, in commercial production some breweries will be rousing them every couple of hours.

Yes, 1 time oxygenation with a stone at pitching. Maybe I'll give it a go of trying to rouse it. Sitting around 1.020 still so hopefully not too late to encourage it a bit more.

 

[rhys333]

She's gonna blow, Cap'n!

Two month old 1469, two hours after activating. I forgot how much of a beast this strain is.

 

[balrog]

When you say "well oxygenated" - was this a one-time oxygenation? Some of these northern yeasts need a LOT of oxygen, in commercial production some breweries will be rousing them every couple of hours.

Rousing how? Rouse with O2? Just bubble CO2 through it? Stir with a calibrated petrified eel's tail?
All kidding aside, I pitched 4 days back and already saw the telltale exotherm day 2, and ramped from 68° to 74° over 24hr. I'm thinking I should reach in and give it a stir?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Rousing how? Rouse with O2? Just bubble CO2 through it? Stir with a calibrated petrified eel's tail?

Commercially they use fishtails....

But yeah, just a good stir with a sanitised spoon should do it.

 

[balrog]

I wish I'd taken a pic. It's only 4 days on but had started to clear, with a 1-2 inch thick cheesy krausen cap which I stirred right in.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

When you say "well oxygenated" - was this a one-time oxygenation? Some of these northern yeasts need a LOT of oxygen, in commercial production some breweries will be rousing them every couple of hours.

I know this old and sorry to resurrect, just wanting to get solid on a rousing and top-cropping routine for this yeast - i.e., want to establish this as a house yeast and "put it into production," meaning, rousing properly and harvesting it for re-use, rather than constantly buying another pack and brewing from generation 1. So, needing a more concrete sense of how far into primary fermentation to rouse, and the timing and frequency of cropping (i.e., can you crop more than once, after multiple rousings).

I am patching together notes from @McKnuckle and @cire . Do I understand it properly, places like TT or Black Sheep rouse several times per day over the fishtails, over the first several days of fermentation - using "peak" activity as a guide so the rousings stop once the rate and thickness of krausen shows a slower yeast activity?

Secondly, in my case, brown crud; skim and discard. I'm left with a solid cap and I presume I can harvest this and leave a thin krausen behind. Can I harvest more, presumably after rousing and allowing another krausen "set?" or would harvesting many times and leaving only a thin krausen behind negatively impact on the donor beer's ability to ferment properly?