washed yeast 11-15-11

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

OHIOSTEVE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
3,546
Reaction score
80
Location
SIDNEY
I just put some british aleII yeast on the stir plate for a kentucky bourbon barrel ale brew.. I washed it from another batch on 11-15-11... any guesses as to it taking off or being dead? I have started older successfully... oh yeah using some canned wort I have had in the fridge forever also.
 
According to Mrmalty.com yeast that was harvested 1 year ago would have a 1% viability. Since yours is coming up on 2 years I would toss it. The amount of dme you would need to build it up to a good pitching rate would cost as much as MANY vials/packets of new yeast.
 
I washed it from another batch on 11-15-11... any guesses as to it taking off or being dead? I have started older successfully... oh yeah using some canned wort I have had in the fridge forever also.

That is so old that the vitality must be close to zero (there might be a few live cells left but they will be weak). I usually make a new starter of any washed yeast that I keep in the fridge about every 6 weeks to keep it healthy and strong.
 
That's quite a while for FROZEN yeast, let alone refrigerated. I've had spotty success with 4-6 month refrigerated, washed yeast. You're looking at like 19 month old yeast. Hopefully you meant 11-15-12???
 
That's quite a while for FROZEN yeast, let alone refrigerated. I've had spotty success with 4-6 month refrigerated, washed yeast. You're looking at like 19 month old yeast. Hopefully you meant 11-15-12???

nope 11-15-11...... if it works fine if not I will brew something else until I get the right yeast.
 
According to Mrmalty.com yeast that was harvested 1 year ago would have a 1% viability. Since yours is coming up on 2 years I would toss it. The amount of dme you would need to build it up to a good pitching rate would cost as much as MANY vials/packets of new yeast.
some canned wort I have had in the fridge so no real cost there... as I said if it works fine, if not no loss....something to mess with for the time being.
 
I gonna bet against the nay sayers. I'll take 4:1 odds that the yeast get going and only require 3 steps to pitch into an 1.050 beer. And to the poster who said the DME to get it going would cost too much, if there is any living yeast, you are wrong.

You can get 3lbs of DME for around $13.50/lb. Two tubes of Yeast is roughly $13-$14. So if you have the slightest bit of living yeast in there it would probably take about a pound of DME to get it to a viable count. Thats $4.50; even at 2 lbs of DME you are at $8....you by then you would have enough starter for a couple batches of beer.
 
I wish I was more educated on yeast and starter volumes etc.. I just dump some washed yeast onto the stir plate add a quart of starter wort and let it roll.. if it takes off I pitch the whole thing....I gotta start studying up on that... what I am doing works but I know the beer could be better.
 
1017089_10201616541553472_1797822508_n.jpg
 
That does not look like the yeast has done much work. It still looks like fairly clear wort to me. When my starters are mostly done they look VERY creamy as compared to when they started.

If you're just looking to experiment with old washed yeast and aren't overly concerned about the finished bourbon barrel ale then by all means keep at it. I'm sure that dumping that starter into a batch of beer and waiting you will end up with fermented beer, but the quality may suffer.

If you are wanting to create a good bourbon barrel ale end product then seriously consider using some new yeast.

Of course, is is just my humble opinion. :D
 
I just did a series of wheats off an american hefe wheat washed over a year ago with the expiration on the bottle 6-10-12 and they just taste off. Can't quite put my finger on it but they all taste off. Starter was going like crazy at 24 hours.
 
That does not look like the yeast has done much work. It still looks like fairly clear wort to me. When my starters are mostly done they look VERY creamy as compared to when they started.

If you're just looking to experiment with old washed yeast and aren't overly concerned about the finished bourbon barrel ale then by all means keep at it. I'm sure that dumping that starter into a batch of beer and waiting you will end up with fermented beer, but the quality may suffer.

If you are wanting to create a good bourbon barrel ale end product then seriously consider using some new yeast.

Of course, is is just my humble opinion. :D
after cold crashing... looks like yeast to me??? I am not trying to argue but trying to learn...I have a new smack pack of yeast to use but my sanitation is good.. this was started and stepped up....why not use it?
994853_10201637883367004_4672745_n.jpg
 
I say try it. The worst that can happen is you make beer. I thought I remember reading a blog by kai that talked about yeast not losing viability as much as originally thought.
 
I gonna bet against the nay sayers. I'll take 4:1 odds that the yeast get going and only require 3 steps to pitch into an 1.050 beer. And to the poster who said the DME to get it going would cost too much, if there is any living yeast, you are wrong.

You can get 3lbs of DME for around $13.50/lb. Two tubes of Yeast is roughly $13-$14. So if you have the slightest bit of living yeast in there it would probably take about a pound of DME to get it to a viable count. Thats $4.50; even at 2 lbs of DME you are at $8....you by then you would have enough starter for a couple batches of beer.
I'll go with this as well. I've had plenty of years-old yeast take off no problem.
 
Give it a shot and let us know how it works out. I'm sure it'll ferment your wort and you'll end up with beer. I've ended up with drinkable beer using yeast old enough that I probably should not have used it. The beers turned out "okay" but I have a feeling that they would have been better had I used fresher/better yeast. Regardless, I drank the beer and it was fine.
 
I think it looks fine. Smell ok? Go for it; I'm sure your beer will be just fine. :mug:
 
Ya, I have no idea what it means to "plate a yeast culture that old" either. Just use it. It looks and smells fine. Use it.
 
What it means is to inoculate a disk of gelled wort (either agar-agar or gelatin) with a small sample of the yeast you are trying to cultivate and then after letting it incubate for a day or so you can actually see the yeast colonies on the "plate" and then select a healthy yeast colony and avoid bacteria or mold that might cause an infection in the beer you are ultimately brewing.
 
What it means is to inoculate a disk of gelled wort (either agar-agar or gelatin) with a small sample of the yeast you are trying to cultivate and then after letting it incubate for a day or so you can actually see the yeast colonies on the "plate" and then select a healthy yeast colony and avoid bacteria or mold that might cause an infection in the beer you are ultimately brewing.
way way way over my head......here is my plan for this.... brew 10 gallons of KBBA and pitch this into 5 gallons and the fresh yeast into 5 gallons...treat em both the same and see if there is a discernable difference.
 
And way, way, way too much monkeying around.

I like your idea OHIOSTEVE. Of course beer from 2 fermenters will end up with differences, but I think this is still a neat idea. I'm willing to bet you end up with 2 fine beers. Keep us posted! :)
 
way way way over my head......here is my plan for this.... brew 10 gallons of KBBA and pitch this into 5 gallons and the fresh yeast into 5 gallons...treat em both the same and see if there is a discernable difference.

While the process requires attention to detail, plating yeast is not difficult (a petri dish partially filled with solidified wort or another culturing medium is known as a "plate"). I plated my first yeast culture after brewing my third or fourth batch of beer. However, that was back in 1993 when the state of commercial yeast in the amateur brewing community was fairly dismal.

Plating requires extreme attention to sanitation. I make my own plates and slants from 5 degrees Plato (1.020 SG) hopped wort and agar (a gelatin that is made from seaweed that remains solid at room temperature). Unlike starters, plating and slanting gelatinized wort should be autoclaved to render it absolutely sterile. While most microflora are killed at temperatures above 150F, one has to take the temperate up to 250F for at least 13 minutes in order to kill spores. This process is accomplished using an autoclave (I usually autoclave plating and slanting media for 15 minutes). An autoclave is little more than a laboratory-grade pressure cooker. One can use a normal pressure cooker as an autoclave in a home setting. I know that some amateur brewers only boil their plating and slanting gelatinized wort, but I do not recommend that practice. If one wants to produce plates and slants that will reliably keep for months in a refrigerator before being used, one should autoclave one's plating and slanting media. A small pressure cooker can be purchased fairly cheaply.

Plating is usually performed within the confines of a laminar flow hood in a laboratory setting. The air inside of a laminar flow hood is under positive pressure to keep anything from settling onto the plates (the air source is filtered).

A plate being streaked in a laminar flow hood

hood-mrri.jpg


The tool that is in the right hand of the scientist shown above is known as an inoculation loop. A disposable inoculation loop is being used in the photograph. I use a reusable loop that is made from nichrome wire. A reusable loop has to be heat sterilized using a Bunsen burner or an alcohol lamp before being used (the loop is heated in the flame until it glows). An alcohol lamp is much more practical for a home-based lab because denatured alcohol is nowhere near as explosive as propane.

A slightly bent reusable nichrome wire loop

250px-Inoculation_loop.JPG


In a home setting, one can plate over a clean, well-sanitized surface using only an alcohol lamp or Bunsen burner, as the air around the burner is rising. However, all transfers need to be performed within a few inches of the flame.

The basic yeast plating process is known as a four quadrant streak. The process is started by heating the loop until it glows. The loop is then dipped into the yeast culture to be plated, which will immediately cool it to the temperature of the culture. One then lightly draws a zigzag pattern on one quarter (quadrant) of the plate with the tip of the loop. The loop is then heated until it glows and cooled on a spot on the plate that has not yet been inoculated (I leave a small area in the middle of the plate untouched to use for cooling the loop). The plate is rotated ninety degrees, and the next quadrant is streaked by overlapping one's zigzag pattern with the pattern in the first quadrant. The third quadrant is streaked by once again heating the loop until it glows, cooling it on an untouched area of the plate, and overlapping one's zigzag pattern with the second quadrant. The process is repeated with the fourth quadrant; however, one must be careful to only overlap the third quadrant with one's zigzag pattern. The plate is then covered and allowed to incubate at room temperature (I store the plate in a clean well-sanitized container while it is incubating). What one is doing with this process is diluting the culture.

After incubating the plate at room temperature for a couple of days, the first quadrant of the plate will usually have a solid line of microflora where one drew the zigzag pattern on the plate. The zigzag pattern will start to have gaps in it in the second quadrant. By the time that one gets to the fourth quadrant, there will be well separated individual dots. These dots are referred to as "colonies." Each colony is composed of the offspring of a single yeast cell.

An incubated four quadrant-streaked plate

2247_staphylococcusaureus_4quadrantstreak_fig6.jpg


Yeast colonies are fairly easy to identify from other microflora. They are creamy white in color and round in shape. Anything that is fuzzy or non-creamy white is a nasty that one does not want in one's beer. When selecting a yeast colony for propagation, one should select only colonies that exhibit good morphology, that is, colonies that have a nice round shape. Non-round colonies tend to be genetic mutants. One wants to pick an average size colony to transfer to a slant. A slant is a screw-cap culture tube that contains the same gelatinized wort as one's plates. The culture tube is positioned at angle while the gelatinized wort is cooling; hence, the name "slant."

Screw-cap culture tube
T1360-1A.jpg


A slant is inoculated using the same sterile technique that was used to streak the plate. The loop is heated until it glows and cooled on an area of the plate that contains no visible microflora growth (I often use the same area of the plate that I used when streaking it). A yeast colony is then scooped from the plate using the loop and streaked onto the slant (just smear it on the surface of the slant). The culture tube is capped and allowed to incubate at room temperate for a few days before being stored on the refrigerator. The slant contains what is known as a "single-cell pure culture" because it was grown from a single yeast cell.


A properly grown starter from a slant will be significantly purer that anything that one can acquire commercially in the homebrew trade. I brewed for ten years using only home lab isolated and propagated yeast. My beers were significantly cleaner tasting than those of my peers who used commercially-produced yeast. My batch-to-batch quality control was better as well. Yeast is the most important ingredient in brewing; therefore, it should receive the most attention in the brewing process.
 
Nice writeup 'Early' Should be stickied, I think. Brings me back to my old microbiology classes..............
oops, there is a similar sticky at the top of the forum page
 
FUNNY.... I plan on brewing the KBBA this afternoon. I am gonna do 10 gallons and split it between the new yeast and the washed yeast. I recieved my shipment from Northern Brewer 2 days ago and I had my washed started yeast cold crashing in the beer fridge. So last night I decanted the washed , cold crashed yeast and added fresh wort and put it back on the stir plate... I smacked the pack of new yeast and opened it up and dumped it into starter wort and put it on the stir plate. This morning the washed yeast has a nice big kraussen on it and the new yeast has nothing. When the yeast arrives 2 days ago it was warm.. not just "not cold" it was warm...hopefully not too warm.
 
Well, I hope by now the "new" yeast has made some progress, but I gotta say I love how the washed yeast is doing. Yay for old washed yeast revival!!
 
Back
Top