Racking Directly onto Yeast Cake

I plan on brewing an APA in the next week or two and would like to then transfer it to a secondary (after two weeks or so) and brew an IPA that I would just pitch right into the primary & onto the yeast cake from the APA. What is everyone’s experience with this method? Yeast would be Wyeast 1056, American Ale I.

There will obviously be a little bit of proteins & hop sediment in the primary left over from the APA. Will the leftover hops impart any flavor onto the IPA? Specifically if I want to do an all Citra IPA, will I get other hop flavors from the leftover trub or will it be too little to notice?

I am thinking I would try to get the APA to a SG of 1.045ish & the IPA to a SG of 1.067ish & color should be too similar to be affected.

All input/horror stories/success stories are appreciated.
:cheers:

You can use just 1/3 of the cake for the IPA and divide the rest between two quart Ball jars, then store cold. Each jar is a pitchable amount if used within 3-4 weeks.

Unless your IPA is a lot higher gravity than the APA, follow Shadetree’s advice. 1/3 the yeast cake is plenty of yeast for a similar strength beer.

If you wanted to brew something like a barley wine, then you could use the entire yeast cake. In fact, any time I plan to brew a very high gravity beer, I brew something smaller first to grow a big enough yeast population that will ensure a strong fermentation.

Thanks guys. Due to space constraints, once I get the IPA done I probably won’t be brewing for about 6 weeks so unless I can find a friend to use the yeast I will prolly just dump 1/2-2/3 off and rack onto the remainder.

I do plan on doing the APA at a SG around 1.45 & the IPA at a SG of around 1.067 if that makes a ton of difference. The IPA will not exactly be a big beer but big for me. The biggest I’ve brewed so far is 1.056.

:cheers:

[quote=“GeerBoggles”]Thanks guys. Due to space constraints, once I get the IPA done I probably won’t be brewing for about 6 weeks so unless I can find a friend to use the yeast I will prolly just dump 1/2-2/3 off and rack onto the remainder.

I do plan on doing the APA at a SG around 1.45 & the IPA at a SG of around 1.067 if that makes a ton of difference. The IPA will not exactly be a big beer but big for me. The biggest I’ve brewed so far is 1.056.

:cheers: [/quote]

dump it into a mason jar put it in the fridge and keep it for another starter? Save you a couple bucks next time around.

more like nearly $10 these days.

I recently did this but did not remove any yeast. So ended up pitching a 1.056 SG beer on 4x the normal amount of yeast. Took a lot of conditioning to fade this slight fingernail polish remover off flavor in the background.

What temperature did you ferment at? Typically, overpitching won’t cause excess esters, unless it is WAY overpitching, which I think means even more than 4x the recommended amount. In fact, moderate overpitching can cause too few esters, which can kill the profile of Belgian or British styles that rely upon the esters to achieve proper balance.

What temperature did you ferment at? Typically, overpitching won’t cause excess esters, unless it is WAY overpitching, which I think means even more than 4x the recommended amount. In fact, moderate overpitching can cause too few esters, which can kill the profile of Belgian or British styles that rely upon the esters to achieve proper balance.[/quote]

Fermentation was around 65f. It was just the finest whiff of fingernail polish. And unfortunately I don’t gulp my beer, but taste every sip. It was sitting in the primary for 5 weeks.