Repitching yeast

I have 3 kits in the mail that use white labs california ale yeast. I was wondering if when I was done with the first one in the primary I can just pour the second kit over the trub left behind from the first kit?

Can I do this procedure again for the third kit and save on the yeast?


Thanks

Yes you can.. and you'll get a very fast start and lots of activity. Better set up a blow-off tube. For the 3rd time around, siphon off some (about 1/2) of the yeast. You really don't need THAT much.

It's also a general rule to not go beyond 3 generations of saved yeast slurry. Starts to change profile...

I do it all the time - works great! And I stick to the 'three time rule', too. I try to go from light colored to darker colored brews instead of the other way around.

Instead of the pitch on the slurry I've just gotten in the habit of saving the yeast in swingtop bottles for later use and then only using them for appropriate styles for the strain. Just saved off 3 bottles of Belgium Wit (wl400) yesterday. With the heat now though I can't have more than one batch going at a time since I only have one fermentation chiller so no slurry pitches for me until winter .

desertBrew said:

Instead of the pitch on the slurry I've just gotten in the habit of saving the yeast in swingtop bottles for later use and then only using them for appropriate styles for the strain. Just saved off 3 bottles of Belgium Wit (wl400) yesterday. With the heat now though I can't have more than one batch going at a time since I only have one fermentation chiller so no slurry pitches for me until winter .

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You just store it in a refrigerator? About how long will it last?

Shmohel said:

You just store it in a refrigerator? About how long will it last?

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A bit more detailed and I'd review this link. Homebrewer_99 had a nice writeup. I don't take it quite to the anal levels I've seen in some instructions but I do make sure everything is "really" sanitized (actually, no more than any other brew process). I also do perform an isopropyl alchohol wipe and light on the top of the bottle that I'm saving it in. I'll "burp" the bottles often. For instance this last save yesterday I burped the bottles in the fridge about 2 hours later (1/2 full with slurry). They had huge pressure since it was still active while getting cold. Then burp daily for a week, then 2 times a week or so afterward.

Not sure how long they'll last and I don't take chances but have gone 3 months. What you should do (must?) is do a starter with your saved slurry to make sure it's good and smells "normal".

I tend to brew appropiate recipes for what I have on hand to use it up. I had 3 bottles of wl british ale yeast slurry so I did an IPA and a english style pale ale with those two bottles & will use the 3rd for more IPA. I didn't save slurry from these subsequent batches as I want to move on from this yeast & styles of beer but with my one vial I made 4 batches of brew. With this Belgium Wit I saved off, I'll just keep making that style of beer, trying to perfect my spin on the recipe (all grain here).

Thanks for all the replies. I am using white labs california ale to make the rogue I2PA kit and then I am moving to a porter and then a stout kits which also use the california ale.

I was planning on brewing one each week, so this will actually save me some work creating starters for each one. I can just move the slurry to a gallon jar while the boiling the wort, clean the primary, fill and repitch.

swh127 said:

Thanks for all the replies. I am using white labs california ale to make the rogue I2PA kit and then I am moving to a porter and then a stout kits which also use the california ale.

I was planning on brewing one each week, so this will actually save me some work creating starters for each one. I can just move the slurry to a gallon jar while the boiling the wort, clean the primary, fill and repitch.

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Your better off not to clean out the primary and just put your next batch right into it. Less chance of nasties getting in there. is also the reason that you'll usually go from light to darker beer when you do it this way (or same color). Do you use a secondary or all in the primary? Not saying you can't, just not heard of anyone doing that before.