Harvested Bell's Two-Hearted yeast!

climateboy · 11-12-2008, 01:05 PM

So, it appears that my first foray into yeast harvesting was a success. I first did the tough job of drinking 3 bottles of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, swirled and poured out the last bit into a sanitized two-liter growler, added the contents of a capsule of yeast fuel (Austin Homebrew Supply's BrewVint), and about a liter of 1.040 starter wort. I know this might have been a lot of wort, but whatever. Stuck a stopper in the top and an airlock, and swirled it around whenever I had a chance.

That was Monday. This morning (Wednesday), krausen is beginning to form. Success! (I hope). Bell's Two-Hearted clone to be brewed on Sunday. mmmmm

So for all of you who want to try bottle harvesting, it can be done. There are more scientific and precise ways of doing it than I did, but as I lack a stirplate (NoClueBrewmaster is still laboring in the stirplate mines), as well as slants and petri dishes, I went with what seemed reasonable.

Now to go be unreasonable for the rest of the day.

shertz · 11-12-2008, 01:20 PM

Nice! I would like to do this one day also with some Belgians but have read that they bottle condition with a different yeast so I guess I got to be careful. Two Hearted is certainly a nice beer to try and duplicate, so tasty. Good luck.

TerapinChef · 11-12-2008, 03:03 PM

I just started a Gulden Draak clone starter...you can check the link in my sig. I'm hoping that it turns out for me.

MSAstoria · 11-14-2008, 05:22 AM

I'm trying the same technique right now with some hefe weisse yeast from a bottle of Julius Echter. So far I'm seeing minimal krausen, but then I started with a lot less yeast.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to drink more.

climateboy · 11-15-2008, 04:34 PM

Just an update...I stepped up to a 2 liter starter last night, and the yeast is just going bananas this morning. I had to affix a blow-off tube to my growler. They were sedately active in the first starter, but this is just bonkers fermentation. Very much looking forward to pitching the whole thing this evening.