Yeast Washing Illustrated

sok454 said:

Notty only got it to 1.048 from 1.115. S-05 toolkit to 1.034. Probably wont wash as I'm sure the yeast is worn out!!

Click to expand...

Lol yea that stuffs been nuked.

3 questions on this -

#1 - I brewed a porter and an IPA and for both batches the guys at HBS told me to pitch a packet of dry yeast with the smack pack, so I did. Is that a common practice to get enough yeast?

#2 - I used 1056 and Safale US-05. is the Safale like a 'generic' ale yeast that can mix with other ale yeasts? Does it make a difference using two varieties?

#2 - I want to start washing yeast - is having two varieties any issue for this?

1) I've never heard of that (not that I know everything), but most likely 1 dry packet would have been enough. Or the liquid yeast with a starter, but not both. Looks like they were trying to make a few extra bucks.

Go to mrmalty.com and you can see how much you overpitched by (and wasted money ).

2) Everything I've seen says those 2 yeasts are the same.

3) See number 2. Shouldn't be an issue.

bzwyatt said:

3 questions on this -

#1 - I brewed a porter and an IPA and for both batches the guys at HBS told me to pitch a packet of dry yeast with the smack pack, so I did. Is that a common practice to get enough yeast?

#2 - I used 1056 and Safale US-05. is the Safale like a 'generic' ale yeast that can mix with other ale yeasts? Does it make a difference using two varieties?

#2 - I want to start washing yeast - is having two varieties any issue for this?

Click to expand...

Mtnagel beat me to it, but here's my take...

#1 - if you like the outcome of the beer, its a good practice. Personally, I would make a starter with the smack pack. There's a lot of people on here that will stand by using starters. Others will say to just pitch some dry (or rehydrated) yeast since its cheap and is reliable. Its really up to you. That's the beauty of this hobby. Its your beer.

#2 & #2.1- In my limited experience, I hear that 1056 and US 05 are the same strain, just packaged by different companies. One is the dry and one is the smack pack. I would think that if you wanted to wash your yeast that you should be fine. I could be wrong. Just as long as you keep your stuff clean and sanitized. If you like the outcome of either brew, definitely reuse the yeast.

When reusing, brew a similar beer with the yeast. Using the washed porter yeast in a pale ale might give it some porter characteristics. Which might not be a bad thing...again, that's the beauty of the hobby. It allows you to tinker with recipes and create something that you can say "I did that!"

TangoHotel said:

When reusing, brew a similar beer with the yeast. Using the washed porter yeast in a pale ale might give it some porter characteristics. Which might not be a bad thing...again, that's the beauty of the hobby. It allows you to tinker with recipes and create something that you can say "I did that!"

Click to expand...

I used washed yeast from a stout to make an IPA about 2 months ago. There wasn't any flavor or anything that carried over into the IPA so I wouldn't worry about using washed yeast for a different style.

KeyWestBrewing said:

I used washed yeast from a stout to make an IPA about 2 months ago. There wasn't any flavor or anything that carried over into the IPA so I wouldn't worry about using washed yeast for a different style.

Click to expand...

Haven't tried it myself. This is just what I have heard. I have a stockpile of washed yeast accumulating in my fridge that needs some sugars to get it going. Maybe I will try using my munich lager yeast from my Bock for the oktoberfest that I want to try. :-D

Even without washing there isn't really a whole lot of flavor in the trub that will remain in the beer. It's just going to settle out again and it's hitting the beer cold, so don't think you're getting much flavor from it. I've never noticed much, if any difference using repitches.

tre9er said:

Even without washing there isn't really a whole lot of flavor in the trub that will remain in the beer. It's just going to settle out again and it's hitting the beer cold, so don't think you're getting much flavor from it. I've never noticed much, if any difference using repitches.

Click to expand...

While I only harvest from starters now (signature for link), I couldn't agree more with this.

I pitched some rinsed US-04 from 4/13/13 into my batch of ESB I brewed on Sunday. It was warmed up to room temp the day before.

Didn't make a starter as I read just pitching is ok. Wort was 86 deg at time of pitch. So far haven't had any airlock activity so far, but am willing to wait to see if I under pitched or what (I know lack of airlock bubbling means NOTHING!) before I put a fresh pack in the primary.

My question is how long should I wait before repitching? How long will the wort stay viable? Thanks for your help, guys!

Have you checked he gravity?

bzwyatt said:

3 questions on this -

#1 - I brewed a porter and an IPA and for both batches the guys at HBS told me to pitch a packet of dry yeast with the smack pack, so I did. Is that a common practice to get enough yeast?

#2 - I used 1056 and Safale US-05. is the Safale like a 'generic' ale yeast that can mix with other ale yeasts? Does it make a difference using two varieties?

#2 - I want to start washing yeast - is having two varieties any issue for this?

Click to expand...

I've used them both. They are the same yeast, but don't taste the same in the finished product. Same with the white labs wlp001. Same strain. The white labs and wyeast are very, very similar with the safale us-05 being the different one in the set (because its dry packaging processes from what I've been told). You shouldn't have any problems though.

mtnagel said:

Have you checked he gravity?

Click to expand...

No, but I removed the lid on Saturday and saw a small kraussen ring! So, something was going on in that wort! I rep itched 11.5 grams of us-04 from a spare pack I had...

Brulosopher said:

While I only harvest from starters now (signature for link), I couldn't agree more with this.

Click to expand...

And I primarily only top-crop now, but every now and then I fill a big-ass jar with slurry. I once got about 1L of settled slurry from the FV, pretty clean, too.

Just attempted my first yeast wash with Wyeast North West Ale. I have a question, because I didn't have tongs I used star san to sanitize my jars and such. Is using star san going to screw me up or is it an acceptable alternative to boiling everything?

That's fine for sanitizing everything. Boiling the water is mainly done to drive the oxygen out to help the yeast go dormant.

KeyWestBrewing said:

That's fine for sanitizing everything. Boiling the water is mainly done to drive the oxygen out to help the yeast go dormant.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!

Duplicate post sorry

Bernie Brewer said:

It seems to me that there have been quite a few inquiries about yeast washing lately, so since I was racking/washing today, I grabbed the digital camera to illustrate one way of doing it. I have had great success with this method, so I thought I'd share. Here goes:


The only materials that I use besides regular racking equipment is this:
4 pint sized Mason jars w/lids
1 larger container for extra water
1 kitchen tongs
My old boiling kettle from my original brewing kit.





I put all the stuff- lids and all- in the pot and add enough water to cover it:

Boil it for about 20 minutes or so. This will sanitize everything as well as get rid of any oxygen in the water, so the yeasties will take a nice long nap. Then remove the jars and lids with the tongs, keeping them full of water.

Cover all the jars and let cool in the fridge for several hours, or maybe overnight.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on yeast washing. It is great. There is only one thing that I'd like to ask.

You end up with 4 pints of liquid. The rest of the liquid from the bigger jar is waste and stays behind as the sediment settles during the washing?

Also...is there a way to calculate how much extra water we need for the big jar? I am asking because I dont wanna lose yeast by using too much water. Thanks.

I've been using this method for about 5 batches now; it's great! I've been very successful, even with the mighty Conan! Thank you!
My question...do I need to make a starter? Could I pitch one or even two pint size mason jars (about a half inch on bottom) right into the wort?

doomXsaloon said:

I've been using this method for about 5 batches now; it's great! I've been very successful, even with the mighty Conan! Thank you!
My question...do I need to make a starter? Could I pitch one or even two pint size mason jars (about a half inch on bottom) right into the wort?

Click to expand...

You don't have to make a starter but it doesn't hurt. Kinda lets the yeast wake up before you put em to work.

yeah, I did ...

There is one thing that puzzles me about this process: what is the point of keeping 4 mason jars in the fridge when you could just open them after a couple of days (once the yeast has formed a nice layer at the bottom) and dump most of the excess water. Swirl with the little bit of water you leave in the jar (just to stir up the yeast at the bottom) and pour the content of the mason jars into one. Less space, 3 empty jars to wash more yeast, and you will need all the slur eventually for a 5-gallon batch (if you dont make a starter).

Any ideas if this would be a good idea to do (or good practice)?

Potential infection and oxidation from exposing yeast are the only things I can think of..

bzwyatt said:

Potential infection and oxidation from exposing yeast are the only things I can think of..

Click to expand...

how would the yeast get contaminated? It could get contaminated at the steps the OP talks about at the beginning at the washing....where he uses a big jar and then pours what is in the big jar in 4 smaller jars. During those steps the yeast is exposed to air too.

I might be wrong though.

Yes you're right. I didn't mean it is especially likely, just that any time you expose it, it is possible. Using boiled water and filling up the jars to the brim mean once you seal the jars, there is very low chance of oxidation or infection (practically zero?). It isn't likely or anything, but opening the jars up again exposes the yeast inside. Those are the only potential negatives I can think of.

I just want to say this was a very instructive post, thank you!

Elysium said:

There is one thing that puzzles me about this process: what is the point of keeping 4 mason jars in the fridge when you could just open them after a couple of days (once the yeast has formed a nice layer at the bottom) and dump most of the excess water. Swirl with the little bit of water you leave in the jar (just to stir up the yeast at the bottom) and pour the content of the mason jars into one. Less space, 3 empty jars to wash more yeast, and you will need all the slur eventually for a 5-gallon batch (if you dont make a starter).

Any ideas if this would be a good idea to do (or good practice)?

Click to expand...

You'd probably want to do a starter, as the yeasties have been napping in the mason jar; so, you'll have four jars of yeast (for four batches of beer);

and, yes, I would think exposing to air as little as possible would be best.
I've used this method several times with great success. Having four of each of different kinds of yeast is great. It allows me to be flexible with brew schedule; it saves $; and another benefit: trading and gifting! I've traded mason jars for other yeasts and for cigars!!; I've given away many jars to homebrew friends!

Elysium said:

There is one thing that puzzles me about this process: what is the point of keeping 4 mason jars in the fridge when you could just open them after a couple of days (once the yeast has formed a nice layer at the bottom) and dump most of the excess water. Swirl with the little bit of water you leave in the jar (just to stir up the yeast at the bottom) and pour the content of the mason jars into one. Less space, 3 empty jars to wash more yeast, and you will need all the slur eventually for a 5-gallon batch (if you dont make a starter).

Any ideas if this would be a good idea to do (or good practice)?

Click to expand...

Splitting them up also allows you to maintain different generations of the same yeast

Well,after washing a batch of WY3056,I got 4 Tostitos jars of yeast. i cleaned & sanitized them & the lids right before filling. But the kicker is,I just used water with a few ounces of Starsan added to it in the washing jar.
They went into the fridge for 3 days with no ill effects. The last two jars had too much trub from the bottom of the yeast column above the settling trub. So I'm re-washing them now with the same proceedure. Sanitizing the water with a little Starsan seems to work just fine. No mold or anything.

unionrdr said:

. But the kicker is,I just used water with a few ounces of Starsan added to it in the washing jar.
They went into the fridge for 3 days with no ill effects. The last two jars had too much trub from the bottom of the yeast column above the settling trub. So I'm re-washing them now with the same proceedure. Sanitizing the water with a little Starsan seems to work just fine. No mold or anything.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't using starsan in your yeast washing water have ill effects on the yeast, what with it being a sanitizer and all? Typically you just want to wash with plain water, boiled and cooled to sterilize and remove oxygen. I don't think the starsan addition is necessary or helpful in this case.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your procedure.

BGBC said:

Wouldn't using starsan in your yeast washing water have ill effects on the yeast, what with it being a sanitizer and all? Typically you just want to wash with plain water, boiled and cooled to sterilize and remove oxygen. I don't think the starsan addition is necessary or helpful in this case. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your procedure.

Click to expand...

A tiny amount is actually good for yeast (or so I've heard), as it's just phosphoric acid. Thing is, you don't need to sanitize water... haha. Boiling serves the purpose of deoxygenating the water, which is more hospitable for dormant yeast.

Brulosopher said:

A tiny amount is actually good for yeast (or so I've heard), as it's just phosphoric acid. Thing is, you don't need to sanitize water... haha. Boiling serves the purpose of deoxygenating the water, which is more hospitable for dormant yeast.

Click to expand...

I'll admit I'm not the strictest person as far as the procedure of yeast washing is concerned. In fact, I may be about as far away as you can get from strict procedure following. With that said, why exactly is it you don't have to sanitize the water? That is one of the two major reasons for boiling it (deoxygenation being the other reason). If you have a sound reason for why the water doesn't need to be sanitized, please share it.

brewski09 said:

I'll admit I'm not the strictest person as far as the procedure of yeast washing is concerned. In fact, I may be about as far away as you can get from strict procedure following. With that said, why exactly is it you don't have to sanitize the water? That is one of the two major reasons for boiling it (deoxygenation being the other reason). If you have a sound reason for why the water doesn't need to be sanitized, please share it.

Click to expand...

. Back when I brewed with extract, I usually topped up with about 2-3 gallons of water... straight from the tap, no sanitation step. I've yet to have an (unintentionally) infected batch. And I've never heard of anyone using StarSan in their water to sanitize it, which I don't think would really work, as you need a certain amount to lower the pH enough to have a sanitizing effect.

Brulosopher said:

. Back when I brewed with extract, I usually topped up with about 2-3 gallons of water... straight from the tap, no sanitation step. I've yet to have an (unintentionally) infected batch. And I've never heard of anyone using StarSan in their water to sanitize it, which I don't think would really work, as you need a certain amount to lower the pH enough to have a sanitizing effect.

Click to expand...

I agree that the small amount of starsan isn't doing much and that poster is asking for an infection. The thing about topping off with the I sanitized water in your beer is any organism is going to be overrun by the very active yeast and the alcohol production. For this application, the yeast is dormant and you have no preservatives (hops or alcohol). I think eventually that you will encounter an infection if you continue without sanitized water.

I used some 3-5 ounces in 1/2-2/3's jar of water. Yeah,there's still o2 dissolved in the water. You'd be surprised how much beer is soaked into the yeast. It still colors the water in the jars the same color as the beer it was used to ferment. After a couple weeks,no infections. The liquid yeast/water mix was filled up to just below the threads,just as in canning. So the yeast settles on the bottom,under a column of water/beer/sanitizer mix. The little bit of air in the head space can't get to the yeast through the liquid. Since the jars are stored in the fridge sealed,there's not much chance of infection.
Nasties need air,moisture & warm temps to thrive. They get none of these in a sealed jar in the fridge.
I did this with 2 batches of WY3056. Next,I have 2 batches of WL029 where as an experiment,I'll boil & cool some water & wash with that. We'll see there isn't going to be much difference under the same conditions otherwise. I also had a thought that since Starsan breaks down into yeast food,& I didn't aerate the water,what o2 is dissolved in it would work with the Starsan to help keep the yeast viable at fridge temps.

Just thought I'd throw this out there, particularly for the newbies worried about their washed yeast:

I made a 1.3L starter on Monday with washed yeast that was in the fridge since mid-Feb (5 months). Starter was on stir plate for 30h and then put in fridge overnight to settle. Warmed to room T the next day and pitched into 6 gal wort. Krauesen had started to form and fermentation was visibly active within 4h of pitching.

Moral: the yeasties can survive at least a few months in the fridge as long as a starter is made. However, as many have said, the sooner you can use washed yeast, the better...

I have a stepped starter rolling right now with some 2308 that was washed from a Bock made in May. It is bubbling at a great rate now for use later this afternoon. Oktoberfest, here I come!

Mine will be in the fridge maybe 2 months till I get some brewery expansions done. Aaahhh,growing pains...:rockin:

Last Friday I washed some Notty from BM's Centennial Blond. It was the first time I'd washed yeast.

I plan on brewing another batch this week.

So what do I do? Just pour the liquid off and pitch into my starter?

Is washing and reusing yeast that easy? If so, why am I just now doing so?

Yes, that's it.

If you were planning on brewing again so soon, I've heard you could have just grabbed some of the trub at the bottom and saved that in a sanitized contained and either added it to your beer or made a starter. I've never done that because either I brewed the same day I was transferring off the yeast cake and just scooped some out and used in my next beer directly or I washed the yeast.

Washing in general is for longer term storage (weeks up to a year).