Yeast Wash Question (Pic)

I followed the illustrated tutorial, and washed my WLP004 off of a stout.

At that time my jar showed a thin layer of beer on top, a light layer in the middle (yeast), and a slightly darker layer at the bottom (sediment)

After a night in the fridge it looks like this:



What am I looking at here? Is that entire layer on top supposed to beer that I need to remove? My other 2 jars have the same characteristics.

The top layer is definitely beer. The other two, can't say. The middle layer is really light colored to be yeast, and the bottom could be yeast and trub.

These proportions are new to me. Usually I have about 20% beer, 70% yeast, and 10% trub at the bottom.

hmmm...I've never washed from a stout before, so your bottom layer looks different, but yes - the bulk of the liquid on top is beer that you can decant off before your make your starter...

You can store it as is....here's what mine typically looks like.

OP: The very fine layer at the top is your least flocculant yeast (those that don't clump up). The creamy layer under that is the normally flocculant layer. The bottom layer would be your most flocculant yeast & trub. Next time you wash the yeast let it settle a little longer before you decant into your smaller containers. You won't get as much trub. Wait until you see a pretty defined layer of yeast. AZ's jar on the left is what you're shooting for. Even with a stout it'll clear up pretty well because of the water you've added.

Thanks. Do you think I should decant the beer and consolidate my three jars into one?
(I didn't use a turkey baster or siphon earlier, but I'll use one this time)

I would add them all into a larger jar topped up with sterile water. Then let it settle out until you start to get that creamy layer to show up. Most of the trub, if not all, should have settled out by then.

^Does it matter if that larger jar doesn't seal shut. I don't have any jars that size that don't smell like pickles.

Thanks.

I leave mine loose on purpose, just so no pressure builds up.