Hey Guys,
Kind of a long story, please bear with me...
I have experimented with yeast recovery 2 times. I washed the yeast according to Palmer's recommendation, which yielded a small amount(3/8 inch?) of good looking yeast covered by 2 inches of spent beer(using a 1 qt canning jar). I decanted most of the spent junk and added a 1 pint starter. There was some activity, but nothing great. However, the amount of yeast layer went from 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch. I assumed therefore that the amount of useful yeast cells had grown enough.
When added to a 5 gallon batch of pumpkin ale, everything looked normal in the primary. I transferred to seconday after 7 days and everything looked normal. But after 3 days in the secondary, the airlock went totally flat. I'm not used to this. Usually, my airlock stays "up" until bottling time. So, I waited several days and bottled. I use plastic bottles, so I can tell by squeezing them if they are carbonated. After 7 days, no signs of carbonation...
After 10 days of nothing, I am forcing things a little. I put all the bottles in a bin and put christmas lights in with them to raise the temp. After 3 days of that, they are finally showing some signs of carbonation.
The exact same thing is happening with the second batch I have tried. Secondary is flat as heck...
Any thoughts? Am I not using enough washed yeast?
Thanks!!
Dan
Kind of a long story, please bear with me...
I have experimented with yeast recovery 2 times. I washed the yeast according to Palmer's recommendation, which yielded a small amount(3/8 inch?) of good looking yeast covered by 2 inches of spent beer(using a 1 qt canning jar). I decanted most of the spent junk and added a 1 pint starter. There was some activity, but nothing great. However, the amount of yeast layer went from 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch. I assumed therefore that the amount of useful yeast cells had grown enough.
When added to a 5 gallon batch of pumpkin ale, everything looked normal in the primary. I transferred to seconday after 7 days and everything looked normal. But after 3 days in the secondary, the airlock went totally flat. I'm not used to this. Usually, my airlock stays "up" until bottling time. So, I waited several days and bottled. I use plastic bottles, so I can tell by squeezing them if they are carbonated. After 7 days, no signs of carbonation...
After 10 days of nothing, I am forcing things a little. I put all the bottles in a bin and put christmas lights in with them to raise the temp. After 3 days of that, they are finally showing some signs of carbonation.
The exact same thing is happening with the second batch I have tried. Secondary is flat as heck...
Any thoughts? Am I not using enough washed yeast?
Thanks!!
Dan