Reusing yeast cake: beer sequence
 

Newbie on brew #6. I want to experiment with reusing yeast by the simple method of dumping the wort onto the existing "cake" in the primary.
Best advice seems to transition to darker, higher OG beers using this technique.

Given that my initial beer is a Munich helles/light lager, what would be a suggested sequence of beers? Two ideas below:

Helles --> Oktoberfest --> Dark Rauchbier

Helles --> Dark lager --> Dark bock

Given that I use some LME in my brews, I guess the brew will turn out dark pretty quickly!

Mike

definitely go to darker beers, but higher gravity isnt always the best if the yeast begins to weaken after a few life cycles. ive neve done it this way, i pour the trub into a sterilized funnel into a beer bottle and save it, then regrow it for the next time. this way you know the yeast is still viable. ive heard many people say that 3 cycles is optimal, but i talked to a commercial brewer in town who says they use their yeast 9-10 times before they throw it out. ive used the same british ale yeast 5 times now and its worked great everytime, except the time i didnt use a starter and my nut brown wouldnt go below 18. i think youre second sequence seems the best, because they are not as highly alcoholic beers, but it probably wouldnt make a difference either way. if you want to reuse yeast though i'd suggest saving it in bottles and making a starter everytime though.

You could also go from Helles to Helles to Helles to Helles... :D

The point of the tip is to not make a Doppelbock then use the same yeast for a Helles. :D