Saving Yeast

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LarMoeCur

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A was leafing through the Joy of Homebrewing and an idea popped into my head. :drunk: Now that I have to mail order all my supplies I was thinking about how to save yeast for new batches. I just don't trust the yeast being sent in the mail (temp get way to high in the summer here).

Anyone done this before? After the primary is complete pour the yeast into beer bottles and cap. They should stay in the refig for a month or two don't you think? And I should be able to get two half full bottles if not more. Then just pitch into a starter for my next batch. I've heard of massin jars but never a bottle with a cap.
 
Here's the method I use:

Yeast Washing for the Home Brewer

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hbrew/hbyewash.htm

Objective:

To recover yeast from a finished batch of beer for repitching or storage for future brewing.


Materials:

One primary fermenter after beer has been siphoned or removed.

Three sanitized 1 quart mason jars with lids, filled half full of sterile or boiled water which have been cooled and chilled to refrigerator temperature (38 F)


Procedures:

Sanitize the opening of the carboy.

Pour the water from one of the quart jars into the carboy. Swirl to agitate the yeast, hop residual, and trub from the bottom.

Pour carboy contents back into the empty jar and replace the cover.

Agitate the jar to allow separation of the components. Continue to agitate periodically until obvious separation is noticeable.

While the viable yeast remains in suspension, pour off this portion, into the second jar, being careful to leave as much of the hops and trub behind as possible.

Agitate the second container to again get as much separation of yeast from particulate as possible. Allow contents to rest, then pour off any excess water from the surface.

Pour off yeast fraction, which suspends above the particulate into the third container. Store this container up to 1 month refrigerated. Pour off liquid and add wort, 2 days before brewing or repitch into a new brew straight away.

Good luck,
drinker:mug:
 
LarMoeCur said:
A was leafing through the Joy of Homebrewing and an idea popped into my head. :drunk: Now that I have to mail order all my supplies I was thinking about how to save yeast for new batches. I just don't trust the yeast being sent in the mail (temp get way to high in the summer here).

Anyone done this before? After the primary is complete pour the yeast into beer bottles and cap. They should stay in the refig for a month or two don't you think? And I should be able to get two half full bottles if not more. Then just pitch into a starter for my next batch. I've heard of massin jars but never a bottle with a cap.


Papazian goes through the whole process in great detail. I think it is towards the end of the book mebbe 3/4 through or such. He basically has you save sterilized wort in bottles and keep a yeast culture in a sterilized thing. I can't recall all the details though, but I liked the idea of putting the wort into bottles.
 
Another option is to time your brews so that you can rack directly on top of the primary yeast cake once a batch is done.
 
I plan on racking right on to the yeast but I'd like to save some of the first generation yeast. I just think beer bottles with caps would be easier then mason jars. The whole yeast scrub steps seem to be a pain the the butt.
 
Read the yeast link in my signature - this comes up fairly often, but it's a good question.

I've successfully used harvested yeast several months after collecting it.
 
You don't think the yeast will mutate after 3 fermentations? One in the primary and two small ones as you add DME. I'm not a yeast expert but I am paraniod.
 
LarMoeCur said:
You don't think the yeast will mutate after 3 fermentations? One in the primary and two small ones as you add DME. I'm not a yeast expert but I am paraniod.
I don't think it's going to be changed by much. I know the possibility exists, but with good sanitation and a pure malt fermentation, I think I'm protected. In any event, it works. I don't do this procedure more than about three times before discarding the yeast strain.
 
LarMoeCur said:
I plan on racking right on to the yeast but I'd like to save some of the first generation yeast. I just think beer bottles with caps would be easier then mason jars. The whole yeast scrub steps seem to be a pain the the butt.

Then what I do http://www.schwedhelm.net/brew/yeast_harv_freeze.html is out of the question.

Using beer bottles of yeast can be a shattering experience. If you go this route then at least don't cap it and instead use a airlock in a stopper on your beer bottles.
 
Boo Boo,

If it's yeast from a ferment that is complete it shouldn't build up any pressure. Plus the bottle will not be full.
 
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