Yeast...Should I wash it, re-use it or dump it?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
TwoHeadsBrewing

TwoHeadsBrewing

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
3,949
Reaction score
53
Location
Chico, CA
I've been wondering about reusing my yeast and have read several threads on here about the different techniques. I'm just wondering what methods people generally use, and with what success.

I'm going to brew up another batch of pale ale this weekend and will be transferring my wheat beer to secondary or bottling it depending on my gravity reading. I used Wyeast 1056 for my American Wheat which is the same yeast I plan to use for my Pale Ale. I've got a few options here, what do you think the best one would be?

After racking to secondary...

1. Siphon out trub and wash the yeast for reuse later
2. Keep only 1-2 cups of the yeast and dump into clean primary with the next batch of Pale Ale.
3. Just dump the fresh wort on top of the trub and call 'er good!
 
can someone give the particulars of dumping new beer on top of a yeast cake?

I'm interested in doing this too - but have the following questions:

1) how long can I leave the yeast cake uncovered, before the wort goes on top of it? (thinking it will be difficult to bottle & brew at the same time. - my yeast cake might be sitting open for 2 hours before new wort goes on it...)

2) what temp should the wort be at (I'd assume pitching temp - 85*F or lower?)

3) can I do it the other way - like the OP said - dump a couple of cups of the yeast cake on top of new wort?

4) what about the carboy? when my brews finish up the carboy is filthy - is that a problem for a new brew?
 
tranceamerica said:
can someone give the particulars of dumping new beer on top of a yeast cake?
Click to expand...
Can't really help you there because I refrain from doing that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just think that the trub that builds up can become excessive and I don’t really want 2-3 inches of gunk at the bottom of my fermenter.

I like to harvest as much yeast as I can and wash it.

Then I use half that yeast for the next batch and save the other half in the fridge for later batches.

Washing the yeast helps you get rid of the unwanted particles so you’re pitching a healthier slurry.

Use some large apple juice jars along with water to fill…give em a shake and then pour into another jar and leave behind the last 1/8th inch of stuff. Repeat 2-3 times and you’ll have the best of the yeast for future uses.
 
Most resources I have read recommend scavenging roughly 12 fl. oz. of trub for innoculating five gallons of wort. Depending on the yeast you use, that's about the perfect pitching rate.

I have yet to do it myself since I havent brewed similar styles back-to-back. I just didn't want to use hefeweisen yeast in a brown ale, for example.

But if I had similar styles going back-to-back, I'd use the one-cup method.


EDIT: As for carboy grime, I don't worry about it too much unless it sits in the open air for a long time. The carboy is still sanitary (as far as bacteria goes) from having beer in it. One time I tried rinsing it with the bottle washer but not bothering to sanitize it. I didn't have any problems at all but I'll admit it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
 
TrojanMan said:
Most resources I have read recommend scavenging roughly 12 fl. oz. of trub for innoculating five gallons of wort. Depending on the yeast you use, that's about the perfect pitching rate.

I have yet to do it myself since I havent brewed similar styles back-to-back. I just didn't want to use hefeweisen yeast in a brown ale, for example.

But if I had similar styles going back-to-back, I'd use the one-cup method.


EDIT: As for carboy grime, I don't worry about it too much unless it sits in the open air for a long time. The carboy is still sanitary (as far as bacteria goes) from having beer in it. One time I tried rinsing it with the bottle washer but not bothering to sanitize it. I didn't have any problems at all but I'll admit it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
Click to expand...

So I suppose one technique is to clean/sanitize a new carboy - for the new beer, then pour 1.5 cups (12 oz) of trub/yeast from the old carboy to the new one. correct?

The reason I'd rather do it that way is that I don't yet have a wort chiller - so I can bottle my beer while I put my carboy in the sink/ice bath to cool. Probably about the time my wort is cool enough, I'd have the beer bottled, and can pitch some nice yeasties into the new beer.
 
As I understand it, yes, that's exactly it.

For the life of me, I can't find the source that recommended using 12 ounces.
This link recommends a quart (32 ounces) but I'd say that's probably overkill.

12 ounces to a pint should work fine.
I do all my cultures (if using dried yeast) in one-pint mason jars and have never had a problem with pitching rate.


You probably don't HAVE to sanitize the carboy if you're immediately re-using it but it certainly won't hurt to do so.

ETA: Fill that Primary #2 with the Apfelwein ASAP. It takes a while to ferment but good gosh is it easy (and cheap) to make!
 
tranceamerica said:
The reason I'd rather do it that way is that I don't yet have a wort chiller - so I can bottle my beer while I put my carboy in the sink/ice bath to cool. Probably about the time my wort is cool enough, I'd have the beer bottled, and can pitch some nice yeasties into the new beer.
Click to expand...
Just as an FYI...if you can fit your pot in the sink you can cool your wort to about 75 degrees in about 20 minutes. I do it all the time as I only have a 24 qt stock pot. You have to be active but it's easily done (especially if you have an aluminum pot as it transfers heat really well). I fill one side of my sink with cold water from the tap and place the pot in there and start stirring the water around the pot. when the water is warm I remove the pot and place it in the other side and repeat. I do this one or two more times (depending on how fast the water outside the pot warms up) and then the final time I continually add ice to keep the water cold (if you have a ice maker in your freezer it should be a little less than a full tray of ice). You can even do this if you don't have a two-basin sink. I was a tard and didn't think about filling each side of my sink til my third brew so I acted as though I had only one basin.

I know this is a bit :off: but felt that I needed to share this for those who may not be able to afford a chiller yet. Mods, if you feel this belongs as it own thread my feelings won't be hurt. :cross:

:tank:
 
Thanks for all the replies...but it seems not many of you use any of these techniques? I was under the impression that most people re-used their yeast, but maybe I'm mistaken. I'm still unsure whether to do this or not...my first two batches have gone well and I'm not sure if I want to risk ruining 5g of homebrew just because I don't want to spend a few bucks for new yeast.

I've got a few days before I brew again this weekend, and I'll use that time to think about it some more. Hopefully, more people will post and give me some more input as to their own methods. If I do this I think I'll take the following approach:

1. Rack beer out of primary carboy
2. Fill up a large jar with the remaining trub
3. Use 1-2 cups of the slurry into clean and sanitized carboy
4. Pour wort on top of yeast
5. Prepare for large yeast activity, possible explosions, and/or bad infection :confused:.

Anyways, I guess I'll think about it some more. It will be easier to gamble with my beer when I have a better stock built up of homebrew....right???
 
I haven't actually tried reusing yeast either but I know that a lot of people do. I am actually thinking of washing my yeast from a Irish Red ale tomorrow and then using it probably in the next few weeks. My plan is to take the washed yeast, pitch it into a starter and then if it looks viable I will pitch that into my batch. I should think that as long as you are supper sanitary about storage you should end up with a good product and since you would be making a starter you would know if your yeast is viable or not. With prices going up and up on grain and hops you have to save money somewhere.
 
I'm with BierMuncher here in that I wash the yeast and then re-use it. I shoot for 2-3 brews from liquid yeast. I racked onto the excisting remains once and although you do get a very fast ferment I lost about .5 to .75 gallons due to the amount that blew out through the blow-off tube.

I suppose that you could swirl it up real good and then pour out 1/2 and siphon the new brew onto the remaining half and see how it goes.

A lot of folks are using dry yeast as well and that is not even worth the effort of washing because it so cheap.
 
devaspawn said:
Just as an FYI...if you can fit your pot in the sink you can cool your wort to about 75 degrees in about 20 minutes. I do it all the time as I only have a 24 qt stock pot. You have to be active but it's easily done (especially if you have an aluminum pot as it transfers heat really well). I fill one side of my sink with cold water from the tap and place the pot in there and start stirring the water around the pot. when the water is warm I remove the pot and place it in the other side and repeat. I do this one or two more times (depending on how fast the water outside the pot warms up) and then the final time I continually add ice to keep the water cold (if you have a ice maker in your freezer it should be a little less than a full tray of ice). You can even do this if you don't have a two-basin sink. I was a tard and didn't think about filling each side of my sink til my third brew so I acted as though I had only one basin.

I know this is a bit :off: but felt that I needed to share this for those who may not be able to afford a chiller yet. Mods, if you feel this belongs as it own thread my feelings won't be hurt. :cross:

:tank:
Click to expand...

DOH! that's a brilliant idea. I'm def. doing this for my next brew. Why didn't I think of that!?!
 
Here is a link to an article about yeast washing. I used this method when I harvested my yeast from an American Amber. I stored the yeast in the fridge in the final quart jar for almost two months. I just brewed another batch of Amber last night with a one quart starter made from the harvested yeast. After 12 hours, fermenation was evident. After 24 hrs, it is really chugging along. http://www.libationassociation.org/a_ystwas.htm
 

Similar threads

B
Yeast Scientists: Why not create yeast collections before brewing?
Replies
2
Views
397
McMullan
McMullan
bjhbrew
Re-pitching a yeast that had produced excess sulfur
Replies
6
Views
323
bjhbrew
bjhbrew
F
Transferred to secondary too soon. Dump it?
Replies
10
Views
821
WesBrew
WesBrew
T
Anyone Mix LalBrew Dry Yeasts?
Replies
3
Views
402
HM-2
HM-2
TalonsUpPuckDown
Over Attenuation from Over Pitching?
Replies
22
Views
2K
rmr9
rmr9

Latest posts

Back
Top