First Time Bottle Harvesting Questions

I saved the dregs from 3 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles, flamed the lip, and pitched them into a sanitized flask. Last time I brewed BMs Centennial Blonde, I made an extra gallon and pressure canned it in pint size canning jars. I added about 3 ounces from one of those and have been occasionally swishing it around (when I'm off work) for 2 days. I plan on brewing 5 days from now.

Questions:






I know I can buy this strain from my homebrew shop if this experiment doesn't turn out, but this seems to up the cool factor for some reason.

carrotmalt said:

I saved the dregs from 3 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles, flamed the lip, and pitched them into a sanitized flask. Last time I brewed BMs Centennial Blonde, I made an extra gallon and pressure canned it in pint size canning jars. I added about 3 ounces from one of those and have been occasionally swishing it around (when I'm off work) for 2 days. I plan on brewing 5 days from now.

Questions:

Can I step it up to 1.5 liters in that amount of time?​

What increments should I use?​

How do I know for sure when to step it up?​

-This morning there seemed to be a decent layer on the bottom. Maybe this afternoon...?​

Are there any tests I can try to ensure it's worthy of a 5.5 gallon batch (other than smell and taste)?​

Should I reboil the rest of my first pint of canned wort or just add the rest (other than trub)?​

-I quickly put the lid back on and put it in the fridge after pouring the initial 3ish ounces.​

I know I can buy this strain from my homebrew shop if this experiment doesn't turn out, but this seems to up the cool factor for some reason.

Click to expand...

Relax, simply opening your canned jar of wort shouldn't have contaminated it if you gave it a good spray of sanitizer over the jar. IMHO, it is fairly difficult to contaminate wort unless you are being completely carless.

As far as the procedure for bottle harvesting goes, I just started my first bottle harvesting experiment Sunday night. I used the dregs from a 22 oz bottle of Rogue Somer Orange Honey Ale, there was a nice layer in the bottle.

Anyhow, if you check the link in my sig, I detail the steps that I took to try and culture Rogue's Pacman yeast. I stepped it up last night, and plan to do a third and final step tonight.

Check my sig or click here.

Good luck!

FYI, I added the rest of the first pint yesterday and this morning had the first sign of noticeable Krausen and a decent layer of yeast on the bottom. I gave it a swirl and will probably step it up either to a liter or the full 1.5 tomorrow.

I did forget to add nutrient, but I may boil some and include it when I step it up again.

~Fingers crossed~
:rockin:

RDWHAHB! It will be fine!