Speise

Speise is wort taken from the main batch of beer before yeast is pitched and used for priming later. This method of priming is sometimes incorrectly called krausening where fermenting wort is taken from the main batch of beer after yeast is pitched. Using speise is a great alternative to krausening because one doesn't have to brew one batch of beer and bottle a different batch the same day. It is best for German beers because it doesn't require the addition of corn sugar and conforms to the Reinheitsgebot.

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Amount of Speise for Priming

The higher the Original Gravity of the wort that the speise is taken from, the less one needs to prime because higher Original Gravities of wort contain more sugar. The amounts of speise for 5 gallons of beer are listed below and vary in amount of carbonation desired.<ref name="Brewbible">Snyder, S: The Brewmaster's Bible,page 37. Harper Perrenial, 1997</ref>

  Original Gravity of Speise           Speise Needed
   1.070                                1-1.5 quarts
   1.060                                1.5-1.75 quarts 
   1.050                                1.75-2 quarts
   1.040                                2-2.5 quarts
   1.030                                2.5-3 quarts
   1.020                                3-3.5 quarts

Using the Speise

To use the speise one must take the a portion of the wort before the yeast is pitched and kept refrigerated in a sterile, sealed container until ready to prime with. One then adds the speise to the beer at bottling time.<ref name="Brewbible"/>

References

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