Saving a sour culture

I just bottled a Brett C grisette that had Jolly Pumpkin dregs enjoying life in there for about 18 months. I'm repitching a couple gallons of wort onto the cake, but I'm also pulling out about half the cake and storing it in a jar for now. What's the best way to treat the jar? I was thinking I'd just leave it trub and all in the jar until I want to use it again. Is that a decent way to go about it?

I boil mason jars and use them. I'd try to get as much trub out though. Maybe add the yeast you are saving to a larger mason jar with some sanitized water (from the boiled water you use to sanitize the jar), and mix it up, let the trub start to settle out and then transfer the yeast portion? I'm no expert, but that seems like it would work.

I dunno how well washing works with bacteria so I just do trub n all & top off with sanitized water to store. it's worked fine so far but i haven't let it go longer than a few months

I wound up washing it per ghosthef's suggestion. I don't think there'll be a problem... I was thinking that perhaps bacteria acts a bit differently but it should still be in suspension.

For next time, I found the viability stays much better for Brett and other bugs when kept with beer. The trub actually is a carbon source for Brett and can keep it alive for a long time. So the best way to keep it is to pour it off, with some of the beer on top. Keep it at room temperature also. Opposite of Sacc yeast, viability of Brett seems to go way down once refrigerated.

I've been pondering this question for a while. I have been making 'bug starters' that I add to secondary. I've been keeping a half pint of the starter in a mason jar in the fridge and using it next time for a new 'bug starter'. No washing, but it is clean to start off with. I usually add dregs to the starter too.

I'm not sure this is really a good way to do it. With my latest beer I have added the bugs up-front. After 2 weeks I'm going to take about 2 pints out and put in a large wine bottle with an airlock, let it continue to ferment and build brett. Lacto, and Pedio, until I am ready to use it as my bug source for the next beer.

Hm yeah... maybe we should be treating it like a sourdough culture, keep it alive at room temp with periodic food or something.

bovineblitz said:

Hm yeah... maybe we should be treating it like a sourdough culture, keep it alive at room temp with periodic food or something.

Click to expand...

Store in barrel and feed periodically.

TNGabe said:

Store in barrel and feed periodically.

Click to expand...

Ha, I actually do have a plan to get that going in the not so distant future, but something else has to work for now.

edit: Figured this would be a good place to look - http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2011/03/maintaining-brett-and-lacto-cultures.html

What about keeping one of the capped and primed bottles, say one of the last to be bottled where the yeast begins to get a little thick
and when time to use it gets close, then pouring it into a larger container and building a starter with it?

That's what I do. I have a cellar full of "sour cultures."