How to make a starter from trub

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dmbnpj

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Just bottled today. Normally I have been just throwing the trub away but this time I collected some of it into a jar. Is this what I need to get a starter going?

If so, can I put this jar in the fridge with the top on or do I need to saran wrap loosely with a rubber band to prevent it exploding?
 
I wouldn't save the trub. You can easily do yeast washing, though, and save the yeast. I don't usually bother saving dry yeast (since it's cheap, and I have a supply ready to expire this year). But for liquid yeast, I almost always do this and make many batches out of one vial of yeast. I only buy liquid yeast about once a year.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/
 
Is that showing to save the trub in the bottom of the fermenter and then pour that sanitized water on top of it?

And I am assuming you can only make the same kind of beer with that stuff?
 
You can make a different beer, but you want to go from lighter to darker, in general. Don't want to try to make a cream ale from the yeast you used in a stout but the other way around would work if the yeast is good for both.

At least, that's the rule for pitching right onto the yeast cake. With yeast washing, you might have more leeway.
 
So once you get the stuff into the mason jar, what is the part that you end up using when making a new batch? The liquid on top or the trub on the bottom of that mason jar?
 
Easy peasy method:

Get two large empty apple juice jugs (readily available if you've made Ed's Apfelwien).

Once your fermenter is drained of beer, fill one of the jugs half full of cold water and pour into the fermenter.

Stir the whole mix up and pour into the jug. Shake it up to mix thoroughly.

Let sit for 15 minutes.

Gently pour all but the last 1/2 inch into the other jug.

Top off with clean cold water and shake.

Let sit another 15 minutes and pour back in to the original (cleaned) jug again.

Repeat once more.

You've just washed your yeast.

By thinning the trub with water and letting it rest, you allow the solids to fall out while the yeast stays in suspension.

Place the container in the fridge with the lid loosened slightly until you're ready to use.

Check on it the next morning and you'll see a nice compact layer of white yeast on the bottom.
 
So when you go to use it what part do you use, the liquid stuff or the stuff on the bottom?
 
When you're washing it, you want to keep the liquid and discared the solids on the bottom.

After you refrigerate it, the yeast will drop out. So from the fridge, you do the opposite. Pour off the top and use the yeast that settled to the bottom.
 
That's a trick question! Initially, you keep the liquid stuff on top- that's the lighter weight yeast in suspension with the water. So, you throw out the stuff on the bottom. Then, after you save this liquid, the yeast falls to the bottom, in a nice white layer. The water rises to the top. You can pour off the liquid before you use the yeast at that point. In my fridge, I can see the distinct layer between water and yeast. Right before I use it, I pour off most of the liquid, and then swirl the remaining liquid up and pour that into my starter.

If you wash the yeast properly, discarding the trub, you will have nice yeast left behind. It'll keep quite a long time in the fridge- for several months, at least.
 
Cool, these replies have really helped.

I have read about using/making a stir plate which is also used somehow with yeast. What is that for?
 
You make a small amount of wort (about 1/3 cup light DME to 1 quart water), after its cool, pour this into your starter vessel, add your yeast and stir bar, attach an airlock, and put this on your stir-plate. The stir plate spins the starter and increases yeast propagation. It usually takes about 1-3 days to ferment out which you need to do before brewing. On brew day after the boil you can just pitch this starter and fermentation should start within 12-24 hours.
 
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