Yeast Washing Illustrated - Page 67

tamoore · 04-20-2010, 11:54 PM

Here's the result of my first yeast washing.. it went pretty well.

I'm planning on brewing this weekend, and I'll need to make a yeast starter. Using the Mr. Malty calculator, I have to make a 1.47L starter for 1 smack pack....

How do I convert one of these jars to 'smack packs' to avoid over pitching?

Thanks!

jalgayer · 04-21-2010, 01:21 AM

good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?

Beavdowg · 04-21-2010, 04:05 PM

For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.

scottlindner · 04-21-2010, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beavdowg

For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.

Hehe.. my first attempt (I was quick about it and didn't care if it was a success) was just the opposite of yours. I got just as much, if not more, but you can see color layers... so the washing didn't work so well.

I figure that a little trub isn't going to hurt me if I pitch reasonably soon. If not, I'll just dump it all or see if my dog wants to eat it.

Scott

**Grizzlybrew** · 04-22-2010, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tamoore

[IMG]How do I convert one of these jars to 'smack packs' to avoid over pitching?

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalgayer

good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?

I've got the same question!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beavdowg

For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.

How long are you letting it rest for each stage before decanting? You may have too much settling out.

400d · 04-22-2010, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalgayer

good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?

This is the same question that I have!

I also wanted to ask is it safe to keep washed yeast in plastic tight sealed jars?

**Grizzlybrew** · 04-22-2010, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 400d

I also wanted to ask is it safe to keep washed yeast in plastic tight sealed jars?

I would make sure the plastic provides an oxygen barrier (to help keep the yeast dormant). Otherwise, I would use glass containers.

**Grizzlybrew** · 04-23-2010, 12:48 AM

Well, it seemed at least a few of us recently had this question and I'm sure plenty more had, have or will have the question: how many cells are in the harvest?

If the post in this link is reliable (which I think it is for the most part), then the following is true:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/why-not-pitch-your-yeast-cake-166221/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob

You can expect around 1 billion active cells in a ml of harvested slurry, depending on how much trub and break material makes it into the fermenter. My counts ranged from 0.5 billion to 2 billion, depending on style brewed and brewery practice. 1 billion is a solid average across a dozen different breweries, professional and amateur.

Thus, 228 ml of freshly-harvested slurry is the correct pitch for 5 gallons of 1.048 wort. Conveniently, that's only a few ml less than that found in one cup (8 fluid ounces).

So, it would appear that each 8 oz. (or half-pint) jar of harvested yeast contains approximately enough yeast for a 5-gallon batch or 1.048 beer. If you couple that with the fact that viability decreases with stored slurry, then one 8 oz jar of slurry pitched into a small starter should be appropriate for your (my) average 1.054 beer.

Read the post - there's a lot of good info in there. And... Denny was the first off the bat to comment on it!

**BBKing** · 04-23-2010, 02:18 AM

Awesome!

Before seeing this the whole "yeast farming" thing seemed a mystery to me.

The PacMan will live on!!!

**Grizzlybrew** · 04-24-2010, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBKing

The PacMan will live on!!!

This was my thought exactly. I'm not going to wait another three years...

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-pickles-174556/