I am sort of new to wine making but Ive done beer and harvested the yeast many times over. Is it possible to also harvest the yeast in wine or since the yeast has been poisoned with the alcohol there isnt a way to wash and reuse... Would love to try to harvest but dont want to ruin any of my wine experimenting while so close to new years
Could Wine yeast be harvested?
- Thread starter Big_Cat
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Felixio
Well-Known Member
I've not tried saving yeast from one batch to another, but after reading about it in beer threads for a while now, I've thought about trying it. In particular, I want to try taking a kit/grape based yeast and pitch it into a fruit wine, to see if it changes the flavor profiles any.
I would start by harvesting the yeast, just like you would with beer, maybe washing it (still trying to figure out the how and why here, not experianced with this at all), then I would create a starter with (additive free) juice (grape, orange, blueberry, strawberry, whatever kind of wine I'm making), to ensure that it is viable, then I would pitch it into my must. I would also have my usual dry yeast packets sitting in the fridge, just in case.
I would start by harvesting the yeast, just like you would with beer, maybe washing it (still trying to figure out the how and why here, not experianced with this at all), then I would create a starter with (additive free) juice (grape, orange, blueberry, strawberry, whatever kind of wine I'm making), to ensure that it is viable, then I would pitch it into my must. I would also have my usual dry yeast packets sitting in the fridge, just in case.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
IMO, with quality wine yeast (Lalvin) being so cheap, it's not cost effective to harvest/wash it. Plus, if you push the yeast to it's tolerance level, reusing it might not really be advisable. I typically (and routinely) push the wine yeast strains to their listed limits. As such, I don't save them. I can afford the $1-$2 per pack of Lalvin yeast.
I know its cheap and i could also afford to purchase but its about learning in case one day you can't get the yeast due to travel /availability /etc....
So it is possible to wash give nutrients and reuse?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
It can be stressed by alcohol level, depending on the OG.
While you can wash pretty much any yeast cake, it's more a matter of if it's worth all the effort. You could have a good number of cells that are no longer viable.
Big_Cat said:
IMO, there's a higher chance of the world ending this month.
If you want to do this, do it. I just would use it in a small, sample, batch before committing any resources to it (that you can't afford to toss out).
amandabab
Well-Known Member
I think your confusing the purpose of a wine primary and a beer primary fermentor. A primary slurry is never going to be stressed.
Its oxygen rich, accustomed to an alcohol enviroment and just finished it's replicating stage.
Its the healthiest yeast possible.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
OG-FG (or SG) is how you determine current ABV. Doesn't matter what you're fermenting. Also, you use wine yeast for more than just wine. I use it for all my meads (refuse to use 'mead yeast').
KBentley57
Well-Known Member
It is possible, in fact, I only bout 4 packs of yeast this year, one of D47, 1118, RC-212, and KV-1116. I've used the #47 in two mead batches, and a Apfelwein, I used the rc212 in a red zin, then a merlot. The kv1116 was only used once so far in a blackberry wine, and the 1118 was used in a banana, another cider, and a small experimental batch.
Saving wine yeast is maybe even easier than beer yeast. I always get it out of the secondary, where its clean, and about a 3x increase in volume.
Saving wine yeast is maybe even easier than beer yeast. I always get it out of the secondary, where its clean, and about a 3x increase in volume.
KBentley57
Well-Known Member
I dont make beer (gasp), but I used the sticky in the beer forums to learn how to do it. I basically rack down till I am about to suck up the yeast and stop. From there I give it a good swish around to resuspend it in the remaining liquid (sometimes I add water to help out). From there I pour it in quart jars and put them in the fridge. After a few weeks ill take them out, decant, and put the remaining yeast slurry in pint 8-12 oz (pint?) jars. That's it. I've kept them for 4 months before and they still turn out fine. I always make a stirred starter when I go to use the though.
KBentley57
Well-Known Member
It depends on what I'm making. I typically use about 1L of the juice I'm fermenting, 1/2 a teaspoon of DAP, and a 1/4 teaspoon yeast energizer. I put it on the stir plate for a full day while the must is sulfating, then toss the whole thing in.
Not so! A primary slurry is often stressed, and sometimes creates H2S even. In primary, a wine may go from 1.100 to 1.010 or even lower. Most wine primaries have the wine removed from the lees at 10-12% ABV, so that right there is one reason to not reuse wine yeast.
I have reused both wine sludge and yeast cakes. If I have a lot of sludge left over in the primary from the fermented fruit, I make a seconds wine with it. When I rack off the second time and have a nice yeast cake I have started a new wine with it. I have also used it to help out a slow or stuck ferment. However I have never saved it for more then a week. I am down to my last two yeast packets and am not dumping my used yeast untill I get more! Yeast cakes make a nice security blanket
However, at $1 each, I usually just buy fresh and use that. They take up a lot less space then used yeast cakes!
However, at $1 each, I usually just buy fresh and use that. They take up a lot less space then used yeast cakes!
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