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kjung · 07-17-2009, 12:35 PM

I'm sure this has been covered before, but I can't find anything in the search thread, so...
I'm about to make a starter, using some washed Cry Havoc. I have quart jars, with a small layer of white on the bottom of what I THOUGH was the yeast, but I'm now seeing is actually trub (?), and the rest is an amber liquid.
The last time I used washed yeast, I just gently shook the jar, and pitched the entire thing into the starter. Is that the correct procedure ? If the bottom layer IS trub, do I NOT shake the jar, and try to pour as much of the amber liquid as I can ?

**Laughing_Gnome_Invisible** · 07-17-2009, 12:44 PM

If in doubt I would pitch it all. White trub though? sounds like yeast to me. Why do you think it's trub?

kjung · 07-17-2009, 01:18 PM

I originally thought it was yeast, too, but while going through the search thread, I THOUGHT I read in one post that it's trub. Didn't make sense to me, but............

**Laughing_Gnome_Invisible** · 07-17-2009, 01:27 PM

Well, sometimes my washed yeast does not stratify exactly as it is supposed to. I sometimes find a "medium" level that looks a bit iffy. It looks somewhere in between the real coarse trub and the real silky yeast.

I was curious about this too, so for one brew I pitched just the "dubious" yeast. I never saw any difference between pitching that and just pitching the obviously good stuff.

I concluded (Possibly incorrectly) That it is worth keeping everything that is not the truly obvious trub.

**petep1980** · 07-17-2009, 01:27 PM

Sounds like yeast to me too. What you can do is take a little of the finished wort, stick it in there and shake it up to pitch.

But if you think some is still in suspension then just throw in that whole thing.

**GreenwoodRover** · 07-17-2009, 01:51 PM

How long were the washed quart jars sitting? If it was stored cold more than a day or two then the bottom is most likely yeast and (a little) trub.

The way I interpreted the washing procedure (as outlined by Bernie Brewer?) and what I've been doing is the stratification for decanting is an intermediate step (less than 15 min or so) after the initial wash to let any really heavy trun/particles settle out while the yeast is still in suspension. After storing the clearish liquid is decanted and the remaining "solids" are pitched into a starter....

kjung · 07-17-2009, 01:54 PM

It's been in the refrigerator for a few weeks now, so everything is settled.

Like I said, last time I just pitched the entire jar, but I'm just curious as whether or not that's the right procedure.

The other thing that I'm worried about is the fact that when I first used this yeast, it was for a dark ale, and this time it's going to be a pale ale. I don't want to have any residual cross-over tastes, if that makes any sense. That's why I'm concerned with any trub that might be present.

**GreenwoodRover** · 07-17-2009, 02:06 PM

I'd just decant and dispose of the the majority of clearish liquid and pitch the slurry into your starter. I don't think the (in my estimation) 3/4" of sediment/slurry in a quart jar (90% of which is most likely the yeast) will add any flavor to the finished beer. I did a brown after a stout with this technique with no noticible cross flavoring.