Saving money...washing/reusing yeast

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98EXL

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I have read across the board recently about people wanting to save money. Quite frankly who doesn't? Not only do I want to save some bucks here and there, I think the ways to save will improve my technique, and understanding of things.

I've now already started this saving by (for now) saving my DME containers to get $3 off per extract kit from the LHBS. The guy that works there told me if I brought them back, he'd subtract the cost of the container out of the kit price. That's sweet, how hard is it for me to rinse and sanitize that container to use again....not at all.

So now that brings me to this whole yeast cake, washing yeast, etc technique that I'm very curious about. I've searched a lot, even read the wiki, and still have some questions. I know there are a bunch of you guys who do this, so help me out here with some clarification. Please and thank you!

Here we go:

Washing Yeast - So I have my 'British Pale Ale' in the primary right now. I have to dry hop it tomorrow, and check out its SG. Probably saturday night, or sunday, I'll rack the BPA into its secondary. When I do that, I will have some of that wonderful trub at the bottom of said primary. So what I'll do is add about a half gallon of clean, filtered, and cool water, aggitate the hell out of it, and pour into a clean, sanitized container and let separate. After that, on the BOTTOM of that container, I'll have junk, but what I want is on the TOP? I take that, and transfer the good stuff on top into yet another clean, sanitized container with clean, cool, and filtered water, aggitate the heck out of that and let it seperate. Repeat last step, and let that container sit for a few days to have the yeast fall to the bottom.

Then what? pour off a little water, aggitate, and divide solution of yeast and water equally into seperate sanitized vessels?

Is that only good for putting in the fridge? What if I want to freeze these bad boys? Someone used something as an additive that began with a G before freezing.

Do I need a starter either way, pulling yeast from fridge or freezer?

Starters are another area I have to look into, but if I take yeast strain 123abc, and wash it, the next time I need to use strain 123abc, I can take one of my washed vessels, use a starter a few days before hand, and not have to spend anther $7 on yeast 123abc.....right?


Thanks guys and gals, and if someone wants to interject some humor or sarcasm, feel free, it's one of those days, and I could use a laugh or two with some excellent information!

~G
 
Most of the facts are straight, but...

The water you add to the yeast cake should be boiled and cooled, not tap water. Swirl the heck out of it so the cake is broken up and the yeast is seperated from the trub.

When you swirl and pour it into a sanitized container just let it sit for about 5 mins and you'll see the heavier trub fall out. Pour off the cloudy water (what you want to save) into another container and allow the heavier stuff to fall out some more.

Repeating this process another time should get all of the trub out.

Let it sit overnight and most of the water will/should be clear.

When you want to separate it into smaller batches, I use baby food jars and the vials, pour off 4/5th of the water and re-swirl to get the yeast mixed with the water. Then pour into containers.

Don't forget to label the containers with the strain, date, etc.

For freezing you want glycerine. I'm not sure of the ratio, but someone will chime in. :D

Make a starter as usual.
 
Once you have it separated into the baby food jars how long will it keep in the fridge? I have a beer fridge coming to me this Saturday so I'm going to start washing my yeasts for storage.

EDIT: Nevermind, just read the wiki. Only one month in the fridge, hmmm. I was hoping it'd have a longer shelf life than that.
 
wow, wicked fast responses...thank you all

Ok, so from what I have gathered, I'm on the right track conceptually understanding all of this.

I need to bust out the brew pot and boil some water....ok, mental check!

yeast cake.....stuff at bottom of carboy, or even bottle?

glycerine for freezing....I'll search on that for the ratio
 
Raffie said:


been skimming there all day today.

starter seems like a must....if there is anything I do this weekend technique wise, it seems like it should be that.

Now, if I want to save my yeast from this weekend.....do I have to wash it ASAP? To clarify, what if I can't find suitable containers by saturday for washed yeast? Can I just save the trub from the primary or what?
 
Roterdrache said:
Once you have it separated into the baby food jars how long will it keep in the fridge? I have a beer fridge coming to me this Saturday so I'm going to start washing my yeasts for storage.

EDIT: Nevermind, just read the wiki. Only one month in the fridge, hmmm. I was hoping it'd have a longer shelf life than that.
Hmmm, funny, I just used some yesterday that was dated Sep 06...much longer than 1 month...:D ;)
 
hmm, I've re-fallen in love with home brewing.

I'm going to the LHBS to get some yeast for EdWorts Apfelwein, some DME and a flask to make starters....so sweet!!!!!

Thanks to all!
 
HB99,

Was that yeast frozen or refrigerated? I was just going by what the wiki said which looks to have come from the Wyeast web site and it states the yeast should only be held for 1 month in the fridge. After that the cells can start breaking down the and the yeast won't be viable.

I'd like to start harvesting and reusing yeast but if it's really only good for one month then I don't brew anywhere near often enough to make use of washed yeast.

In doing some other reading on the net I found a couple sites that talked about building a big starter, splitting that into 3-4 containers and then brewing a batch from each of those. Has anyone attemped that and had any success?
 
Roterdrache said:
HB99,

Was that yeast frozen or refrigerated? I was just going by what the wiki said which looks to have come from the Wyeast web site and it states the yeast should only be held for 1 month in the fridge. After that the cells can start breaking down the and the yeast won't be viable.

I'd like to start harvesting and reusing yeast but if it's really only good for one month then I don't brew anywhere near often enough to make use of washed yeast.

In doing some other reading on the net I found a couple sites that talked about building a big starter, splitting that into 3-4 containers and then brewing a batch from each of those. Has anyone attemped that and had any success?
Just in the fridge. I have sucessfully used yeast that was expired over 1 year old!

I did have to make a starter about 4-5 days sooner than brewing, but I always plan for that. Following my own preaching...NEVER brew a batch without making a starter first to make sure the yeast is alive and good.

As for splitting a larger starter, I've done that, but you really end up with more yeast if you wash it from the primary. I've made a starter and re-filled the vial the yeast came in, but I did not split it into 4.

Dating your yeast samples is key to using the oldest first. Sometimes I'll combine 2-3 baby food jars into 1 batch just to use them because of the date, but I didn't have to...I ended up with new washed yeast after that batch anyway, just another generation.:D
 
going to make my first starter ever later today....got a flask during lunch today, and some hopped DME!!!

woo WOOOO!
 
You'll be impressed with how effective starters are. I did my first two these last two brews and both times they REALLY took off...steady bubbling in the first 3-5 hours.
 
that's awesome to hear. I had someone tell me somewhere on her that when my BrewBabe understands a starter, and I have a pic of her pitching that instead of the 'slap pack,' then I will have reached a new level. Well......that time is coming!
 
98EXL said:
that's awesome to hear. I had someone tell me somewhere on her that when my BrewBabe understands a starter, and I have a pic of her pitching that instead of the 'slap pack,' then I will have reached a new level. Well......that time is coming!
The proof's in the picture...;)
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Where'd you find "hopped" DME? Not that I'd use anything pre-hopped, but I didn't know that animal existed...:D

yeah, I was talking to one of the guys at the LHBS and he said hopped DME over regular DME.....like I had any real clue, so I submitted and said sure!
 
98EXL said:
yeah, I was talking to one of the guys at the LHBS and he said hopped DME over regular DME.....like I had any real clue, so I submitted and said sure!
Be sure about it and don't get it anymore. Going unhopped allows you to regulate the amount of hops you want in your brew. ;)
 
98EXL said:
...Now, if I want to save my yeast from this weekend.....do I have to wash it ASAP? To clarify, what if I can't find suitable containers by saturday for washed yeast? Can I just save the trub from the primary or what?
I use these simple apple juice jars for collecting and separating my yeasts. I pull more than enough yeast out of the fermenter that I never use a starter. I’ve also pulled yeast out of the fridge that was sealed and capped in a beer bottle that was 4 months old and never had any problems.

YeastHarvesting.JPG
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I use baby food jars and the vials

Don't know why I didn't think of that, thanks for the tip!! :drunk: Now I know what to do with those jars...I'm sure the SWMBO will be happy about saving something other than beer bottles. ;) :p
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Be sure about it and don't get it anymore. Going unhopped allows you to regulate the amount of hops you want in your brew. ;)



well...we'll see, there are so many different ways, I'm only going to figure out what works best for me until I do it
 
Beirmuncher, can you please tell us more about what we're seeing with the three bottles full of yeast? Great pic by the way!

Why is there so much yeast and so little wort/beer in the middle one?

Does the difference in colors between the Irish Ale and the Safale result from the beer you retrieved them from or from the yeast itself?

Did you just pour or siphon from the yeast cake into these bottles?

How long do you leave them out at room temp with airlocks before re-use? I'm wondering if I could just save the cake from the fermenter in a bottle like this and wait a week or two to use it in the next batch.

Thanks!
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Just in the fridge. I have sucessfully used yeast that was expired over 1 year old!

I did have to make a starter about 4-5 days sooner than brewing, but I always plan for that. Following my own preaching...NEVER brew a batch without making a starter first to make sure the yeast is alive and good.

As for splitting a larger starter, I've done that, but you really end up with more yeast if you wash it from the primary. I've made a starter and re-filled the vial the yeast came in, but I did not split it into 4.

Dating your yeast samples is key to using the oldest first. Sometimes I'll combine 2-3 baby food jars into 1 batch just to use them because of the date, but I didn't have to...I ended up with new washed yeast after that batch anyway, just another generation.:D


I was listening to an old Basic Brewing Radio podcast where the interviewed Charlie Papazian. In 1983 he was asked to make a special brew for a brewery. Instead of using dry yeast (only thing that was available to homebrewers) he got a big culture from a brewery (wouldn't say who, it is in his book). After brewing this special beer he saved some of the yeast.

He has been using the same strain of yeast since then...for 23 YEARS!! (OK, many will argue that it isn't the same stain but...). Uses this yeast for lagers and ales. This strain is probably older than I am (born late '83).

He said that it got infected with some wild yeast a few years back so he put it in some wort, let it ferment, and left it there for 2-3 years. Decided to try it out, all wild yeast gone, and fermenting cleanly. He said it is the only yeast he really uses now, likes to experiment with malt/hops more now. Also said he sent it out to White Labs for analysis, they said they couldn't believe how clean it was.

Something to works toward.:mug:
 
So I'm reading howtobrew.com.....specifically the section about yeast. If I understand things correctly....

I made my first starter today for my Old Soul Stout (PM Oatmeal Stout) I could wait 2 days, and my Wyest liquid yeast of approx. 100 billion cells we will say double. I could split that mix up, pitch one of them, and save the other?

Or am I completely crazy? Is that how you can cultivate the yeasties?
 
98EXL said:
So I'm reading howtobrew.com.....specifically the section about yeast. If I understand things correctly....

I made my first starter today for my Old Soul Stout (PM Oatmeal Stout) I could wait 2 days, and my Wyest liquid yeast of approx. 100 billion cells we will say double. I could split that mix up, pitch one of them, and save the other?

Or am I completely crazy? Is that how you can cultivate the yeasties?

Yup, you can do that.

I would say grow for 2 days, split, save half, and step the other half up...ready to pitch in two days.
 
Beerrific said:
Yup, you can do that.

I would say grow for 2 days, split, save half, and step the other half up...ready to pitch in two days.


wow, that is interesting.......:ban:
 
Yes, you could split your starter, but then you'll have just as many as you started with in each batch.

Actually, we wash our yeast from the primary after racking to the secondary.

(With a British infomercial tone of voice)...From there you can separate it into 5-6 batches of yeast to make new starters!

From those 5 you can separate it into another 5 (each) = 25

That's 31 batches of yeast from 1 vial, or $0.23 of yeast from 1 vial at $7.00!! And that's only the 2nd generation.

From those 25 you can turn that into 125 by using each one of those once and making 5 more batches!!

That's 156 batches from 1 vial at $7 a vial = less than a nickel per batch!!!

Who said liquid yeast is expensive???
 
I'm going to try this washing thing on my British Pale Ale this weekend.....see what happens
 
Moonpile said:
Beirmuncher, can you please tell us more about what we're seeing with the three bottles full of yeast? Great pic by the way!


Why is there so much yeast and so little wort/beer in the middle one?
The middle picture was just harvested about an hour prior. THe one on the left was done prior day and the one on the right I had just pulled out from the fridge after a week. THese are just the different stages of settling the yeast goes through.

Does the difference in colors between the Irish Ale and the Safale result from the beer you retrieved them from or from the yeast itself?
From the beer itself. If I recall, the one on the right came from my Orange Kolsch and the two on the left were from two 5-gallon batches of my Bass Ale.

Did you just pour or siphon from the yeast cake into these bottles?
I siphoned out all the beer, then filled each of those plastic jugs with a couple cups of sanitized water...threw them into the carboy and swirled the yeast cake loose, then poured the slurry directly into the jugs.

How long do you leave them out at room temp with airlocks before re-use? I'm wondering if I could just save the cake from the fermenter in a bottle like this and wait a week or two to use it in the next batch.
If I'm going to use the yeast the next weekend, I just leave it out. It will actually continue to ferment a little bit during the week...tons of CO2 still being produced, just enough alcohol from the slurry and I've never had a problem with bacteria.

Thanks!
Anytime :D
 
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