Why Not to Pitch On Your Yeast Cake - Page 20

Hermit · 03-19-2010, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheezydemon3

Yeast viability gone 25% every 7 days? Bullspit.

I had a 3 month old cake, dried and cracked, sprang to life with little effort and produced a great beer.

How do they produce dried yeast without destroying the delicate little dears if they are so fragile?

I love this discussion, but I think the opinions range from completely anal and careful beyond reason, to a little wreckless and careless.

Rather than carelessness or lazyness, I hate to waste the little bastards just to use some new little bastards.

I know someone that uses them to spray on his lawn. Think about it.

scottlindner · 03-20-2010, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EO74

I did a st pattys day brew yesterday

i racked a cream ale into a keg , off a notty yeast cake poured edworts haus ale on top and it started bubbling within an hour!!!The cake was 3 weeks old and i've never tried this before,im pumped.I wash yeast all the time and reuse it a couple times before i start off fresh again but if this comes out good i'm gonna pitch on yeast cakes more often!!

Two weeks ago I pitched onto an active yeast cake (I scooped a bunch out first) and had activity almost immediately.

I'm glad it worked so well. I'm very curious how you feel about the results when you are ready to try it.

Scott

BigJason · 03-20-2010, 03:05 AM

I just bottled my Wheat Stout that I pitched from a prior batch of Wheat Stout. Tasted exactly the same as the last couple batches of it at bottling time. I pitched into Primary on top of about 1/2 the cake / trub (mini-mash extract recipe), left it for 9 days, until it was done fermenting, then to secondary for ~2 weeks before bottling. What a time/money saver, and not having to worry about washing and recreating a starter... EASY!

**masonsjax** · 03-20-2010, 04:06 AM

Just another anecdote for the pile:

I recently kegged a beer that was in primary for 5 weeks, no secondary. I planned to discard the yeast, but for some reason didn't get around to it. The carboy sat for nearly 2 weeks at about 64 F.

I realized yesterday that I didn't have a fresh pack (or slurry in the fridge) of S-04 to use for the stout I made yesterday, which is what I wanted, so I just pitched it right onto the old cake. The fermentation is quite healthy, now nearing blow-off.

Praiodan · 03-20-2010, 05:01 AM

I made a huge starter for a dead guy clone and let it ferment out for 2 1/2 weeks. I brewed up an arrogant bastard clone and dumped it right onto the massive yeast cake the dead guy clone left behind. I must say that it's been my best brew thus far!

**masonsjax** · 03-20-2010, 09:29 PM

While we're on the pitching rate subject, I have a question. On the liquid yeast packaging, it calls them "pitchable", yet general wisdom recommends always using a starter with liquid yeast. On the other hand, when talking about rehydrating dry yeast, people usually say to follow the directions on the package because "who knows better than they do?".

It's my understanding that when you feed yeast, the first thing they do is multiply. So the question is: does pitching the calculated proper amount of yeast result in overpitching because of the multiplication phase? How is pitching a a pack of yeast to beer different from pitching to a starter? Is this the reason the manufacturers call them pitchable?

**cheezydemon3** · 03-22-2010, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit

I know someone that uses them to spray on his lawn. Think about it.

Not to be a smartass, but if I spray Stone ruination on my lawn, does that make it worthless?

Not sure I understand your point.

BigJason · 03-22-2010, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheezydemon3

Not to be a smartass, but if I spray Stone ruination on my lawn, does that make it worthless?

Not sure I understand your point.

My guess is that he drinks the beer and yeasties and then sprays the lawn...

**cheezydemon3** · 03-22-2010, 09:27 PM

Hee Hee!!

That sounds right, but doesn't really make sense with his original point.

mojotele · 03-22-2010, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masonsjax

So the question is: does pitching the calculated proper amount of yeast result in overpitching because of the multiplication phase?

My understanding is that no, that won't happen. How I understand it is that yeast will multiply until one of two things happen:

1. They run out of resources necessary to multiply.
2. They've reached a certain density depending on the environment.

In regards to #2, I think of it as animals reproducing only as much as their ecosystem can sustain. It's like they get to a certain point and say, "Whoah, wait a sec. If we keep multiplying they'll just be too many of us! Let's stop." I'm certain there's a much more fancy way of saying it, but that's what I've gotten from all my research.

So if you use the calculated proper amount of yeast, it should still be less than the cell count of reason #2. If you've given them enough oxygen and nutrients, they'll multiply until they hit that cell count which would not be considered overpitching.

Likewise, if you use less than the calculated proper amount of yeast then you'll need more oxygen and nutrients to get them to multiply up to that amount. At some point, it becomes difficult to supply them with enough of the necessary stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masonsjax

How is pitching a a pack of yeast to beer different from pitching to a starter? Is this the reason the manufacturers call them pitchable?

I think the difference is that if you use a starter it is much more likely that they'll stop multiplying due to reason #2 rather than reason #1. The latter could result in an amount of yeast that is too low. I think they can call the packs pitchable because it will work given certain conditions. It may not work optimally in all conditions, though.