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I'm poured the keg remnants from a pressurized ferment into a beaker to let it settle out but I'm puzzled by the layers I'm seeing. From a typical non-pressure ferment, you see (from the bottom up), trub/hops, yeast and then beer/amber liquid--like you see here:

Pre-Wash Collection from Standard Ferment

But here's what I'm seeing:

Picture of Beaker With Layers Settling

I assume the foam was the result of releasing the last bit of pressure that had built up (probably a few psi) which foamed up the contents. The foam looks pretty yeasty but the yeast is usually not on top. It's not quite visible in the picture but it does look like there is a shallow layer settling out/building up at the base of the bottom layer. Should I assume the bottom layer will ultimately end up as a layer of trub/hops, and the yeast, and ignore that yeasty looking top layer?

Is what I'm seeing typical for a pressurized ferment?

Thanks!

p.s. Video clip of the bioactivty: Yeast Harvest Bioactivity

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Judging by the light creamy color of your yeast/trub layer, it looks like you harvested very clean yeast, with very little trub mixed in.

I'm not sure where that creamy foaming comes from, as you said probably from the carbonation. I've had harvested and stored Belgian yeast starting to float when removing from the fridge within 5-10 minutes, and even bulging and pushing out from under the lid after 2 months in the fridge.

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  • It was a New England IPA with no kettle hops, just whirlpool hopping. And I used a hop spider of sorts so that kept the hops contained somewhat. That said, the wort that went into the fermenter had more material in it than what seem apparent here.
    – Clark Updike
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 22:50
  • Also, curiously, there is still bioactivity going on in the beaker. If you zoom in on the foam/beer boundary in the picture you can see little fingers of yeast "dripping" down into the beer. And now there are little blobs of the bottom layer that rise up to the foam layer. It's like a little yeast lava lamp in there :-D I'm trying to get a video of it which I'll post if it comes out.
    – Clark Updike
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 22:55

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