"Brave New World" and....tar!

sbaclimber

sbaclimber

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Even though I am far from joining the world of "keggers", I have just filled my first (2) party kegs, instead of bottles! Afraid I may have overfilled them a bit, but with the 2.5 bar release plugs I am hoping the worst that will happen is a bit of beer sprayed around the cellar during conditioning. :D
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After a decade of trying to find space in the car to take 1-2 cases of bottles for the yearly get together of friends-who-like-to-drink-my-homebrew (depending on vehicle and number/age of children, a challenge!), one of those said friends brought a 5L party-keg to the get-together last year, which got me thinking.....1x space = 2x vol. beer! ....and seeing as 8-10 drinkers a night can easily empty 5L, I don't need to worry about a proper keg...I should be able to treat it like a 5L bottle. ...will see if my theory pans out in ~4 weeks, when I tap the first keg...

And now for something completely different...
Does old yeast = tar!?
I ask, because the brew bucket for the above mentioned brew had a satan's ring that I couldn't even remove via mechanical means (plastic scraper)...and what I did manage to scrape off stuck to all surfaces it came in contact with like the tar baby from Uncle Remus (yes, I am that old ;))
I am new to bottom fermenting yeasts, and in this case W-34/70, but I have the feeling each subsequent brew got "stickier"...(I harvested and reused the yeast via starter 3 times).
The attenuation seems to also be a bit on the low side in comparison to the last brews, even though the starter went gangbusters...
I am definitely pitching new yeast next brew, but wondering if this is "normal"...?
 
In my case it is NOT:D.
I've brewed with 34/70 a handful of times and it took not much More than a healthy skirt with the hose and a soak in PBW to dislodge the old krausen ring.

But I'm guessing here maybe if you left the fermentor for a month or two before packaging off the main primary vessel maybe that would give the krausen ring enough time to dry on.

Love the little kegs.

So you primed them with sugar and transfered in.
Carbonation will drop the more that's drunk from it without maintaining pressure with co2.
 
I've drunk a bunch of commercial beer from those kegs. Interested to hear how they go for homebrew.

Haven't used a lot of 3470, just an annual Schwarzbier when the temperatures drop, and like Ben, I haven't noticed it any harder to clean than any other yeast.
 
@Trialben, yes, I just primed and filled the kegs the same as the bottles. I picked up a funky little hand-pump to keep some pressure in the keg once it has been tapped, albeit with air not co2. Supposedly it is only really effective for keeping beer "fresh" in storage post-tapping, but I think it should help maintain a bit of pressure while pouring too. I remember using a similar system at (full-sized)keg parties back in my college days.

Connecting the tarry yeast residue to used / old yeast was because I have re-used the same yeast 3 times for the pretty much exact same brew (same grain bill, same volume, same OG, same time in primary, etc) and it wasn't quite this bad the first 2 brews.
Next brew = new yeast + same brew, will see how it goes... :)
(I will most likely be harvesting the slurry again after that brew though, so it will be interesting to see if it again changes over repeated brews)
 
sbaclimber said:
@Trialben, yes, I just primed and filled the kegs the same as the bottles. I picked up a funky little hand-pump to keep some pressure in the keg once it has been tapped, albeit with air not co2. Supposedly it is only really effective for keeping beer "fresh" in storage post-tapping, but I think it should help maintain a bit of pressure while pouring too. I remember using a similar system at (full-sized)keg parties back in my college days.

Connecting the tarry yeast residue to used / old yeast was because I have re-used the same yeast 3 times for the pretty much exact same brew (same grain bill, same volume, same OG, same time in primary, etc) and it wasn't quite this bad the first 2 brews.
Next brew = new yeast + same brew, will see how it goes... :)
(I will most likely be harvesting the slurry again after that brew though, so it will be interesting to see if it again changes over repeated brews)
Click to expand...
I assume you tried PBW?
I use that yeast a lot and have re-pitched it in the past. I've never had the experience you are describing though.... I can't recall if I have used it 3 times but I would assume I have...
 
"Tarry" is a weird descriptor for yeast residue. You haven't been doing some really hoppy beers, have you? It makes more sense as a hop residue, or as a dried-on beer or wort residue than from hops.
 
sbaclimber said:
PBW would've worked, I am sure...but I don't have any on hand. Just good 'ol Dawn and Elbow Grease. :D
They haven't been hoppy beers...here's the recipe: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1039983/2020-08-cal-1-plan
The sticky stuff is definitely just dried krausen, which is always a PITA to wash off, but for what ever reason, it was extra sticky this time.
Click to expand...

While PBW is better, OxiClean (which is 50% Sodium Percarbonate) is a cheaper, more available option. That and some hot water should do the trick.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
While PBW is better, OxiClean (which is 50% Sodium Percarbonate) is a cheaper, more available option. That and some hot water should do the trick.
Click to expand...
hmm, interesting. I've got plenty of OxiClean, but only use it as a disinfectant....never thought of using it as an actual cleaner.
 
I'd think dishwasher detergent would be a good cleaner for this kind of job, just make sure it's very hot.
 
sbaclimber said:
hmm, interesting. I've got plenty of OxiClean, but only use it as a disinfectant....never thought of using it as an actual cleaner.
Click to expand...
Hang on. Oxiclean may have a disinfectant I'm not sure. But what you want is Oxiclean Versitile fragrance free. It's a powder and commonly used in laundry. It's a cleaner.
 
Sodium percarbonate is what you need it'll be on the side of the tub and should give you a percentage /weight usually I get like 38%.
Just Make sure you give it a good hot water rinse and use your snifter as an added fall back plan to make sure you've rinsed that soap off:).
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Ah this one is in grams but that's 33%
 
Gotta love MSDSs! :)
https://www.brouwland.com/content/docs/004/004 Materiaalreiniging/004.055.0_MSDS_EN_Chemipro oxi_v2.pdf
Only 2.5-5.0% sodium carbonate, but 50-100% sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate (which, as I understand it, turns into sodium carbonate + hydrogen peroxide when added to water, so... is / like sodium percarbonate!?), so yes, basically the same stuff.
I will definitely give it a go next time I have "the stickies"! (I was still finding remenants stuck in the kitchen sink drain last night...)
 
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Thanks!
Surprisingly clear for having exactly the same malt bill and source as the last 2 brews, which turned out very hazy...:confused:
 
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