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Pugs13

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Do you think that 6.5% is considered too high of an ABV for harvesting and reusing yeast? I have read different things that say to stay away from harvesting or reusing yeast in high alcohol beers...what is considered high? The yeast I use for my IPA is WLP007. Thanks
 
Well from what I know it would only be "BEST" for beers 6.5 and above... My understanding is you can "cast" into a higher alcohol beer but you should not use it for a Bitter or a Mild...
 
I only harvest and reuse for the same recipe...for instance if I made a bitter I harvest and reuse for that same recipe next time...same with all 4 beers I make...IPA with IPA, stout with stout, so on so forth...
Even if my bitter is only 3.9% is it alright to harvest and reuse for another 3.9% bitter? Or are you saying that if its not 6.5% and above don't reuse at all?
 
according to wyeast 6.5% is the recommended cutoff, so you're kinda on the edge. if it was a healthy fermentation, you may just want to pitch some into a starter to replenish the corps if you choose to re-use.

also, you can re-use yeast in whatever environment, you can go to a lower abv brew just as easily as a higher one
 
dcp27 said:
according to wyeast 6.5% is the recommended cutoff, so you're kinda on the edge. if it was a healthy fermentation, you may just want to pitch some into a starter to replenish the corps if you choose to re-use.

also, you can re-use yeast in whatever environment, you can go to a lower abv brew just as easily as a higher one

I would do starters with all harvested yeast. I did a starter with my harvested English ale yeast for my bitter and it seemed to work great...
 
Is it alright to do starters with all my harvested yeast before reusing them?
 
Pugs13 said:
Is it alright to do starters with all my harvested yeast before reusing them?

I always do this :)

Also, I just listened to a panel of 3-4 pro brewers AND Neva (head of lab control at White Labs) talk about pitching IIPA yeast into a Blonde or any other beer. They used to be afraid of carryover, but haven't had any problems. So I pitched my Cal Ale V from IPA to Blond to HoneyWheat & found they're right. FWIW.
 
No problem for 1 generation. Definitely do a starter if you don't repitch within a few days.
 
TyTanium said:
No problem for 1 generation. Definitely do a starter if you don't repitch within a few days.

I'll be open--I'm pretty experimental. I'd guess most folks will say to follow the "only pitch higher/darker" and I think that's fine. On that note, I now have several yeasts (Cal ale V, Pacman, Wyeast3711) at 4-6 generations, slurry only. (I mean, I don't wash & separate.). However, I also probably brew more often than 90% of the folks here, so my slurry is generally sitting no more than 10-12 days and gets a starter (& measurement per online pitching calc) before it goes back in the game! :)
 
Just out of curiousity...what does the yeast smell like if it is bad after you try and harvest it? I have only done it once and it smelled and looked really good...I was just curious if there was a particular smell or whatever. Thanks
 
What size starter is recommended? I wouldn't think Mr. Malty calculations would be helpful since I'm starting with about 50mL slurry from my harvest. Is there a rule of thumb that anyone;s employed with success? I was thginking maybe a liter or 1.5L starter but that's 100% arbitrary.
 
klnosaj said:
What size starter is recommended? I wouldn't think Mr. Malty calculations would be helpful since I'm starting with about 50mL slurry from my harvest. Is there a rule of thumb that anyone;s employed with success? I was thginking maybe a liter or 1.5L starter but that's 100% arbitrary.

That's about what I use is a 1-1.5L. Works great.
 
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