Yeast Washing Illustrated

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I personally don't reuse yeast because my brew cycles are too far apart to make it viable.

How far apart are they? I've used 6 month old washed yeast with no issues at all. I have some older that I just haven't tried yet so I don't know how far back I can go.
 
I have read that the washed yeast should be used within a month, but obviously you have proven that you can use it again. Others here may be able to respond better than I. Most of my brews are about 4 weeks to 6 weeks apart.

I usually just use Safale US-05 for the majority of my brews and I really don't see why I should save the yeast since dry yeast is so readily available. Even though I have been brewing for years, I just have not used the yeast washing method at all. Perhaps it is just the fact I am too busy with my mundane job! :)

Came back to edit. After reading some more, there have been good results using washed yeast up to one year old. Most of what I read suggested that you should not go over 3-4 months. In any event, a starter is needed to insure good yeast reproduction.
 
Yep, I always use a starter and I think I've seen a few people also mention using it up to a year. For US-05 I wouldn't bother either but for some of the liquids I'm happy to save the money on repurchasing the same strain.
 
So you guys are saying that even if you wash the yeast you should make a starter? Well heck, on a 5 gallon batch of beer that you are washing the yeast from there is a heck of a lot of yeast to begin with
 
So you guys are saying that even if you wash the yeast you should make a starter? Well heck, on a 5 gallon batch of beer that you are washing the yeast from there is a heck of a lot of yeast to begin with

A starter for washed yeast is more to determine viability (especially if it has been sitting for awhile) than to increase cell count.
 
Speaking of smells and tastes, does anyone want to take a shot at answering my question about sterilized, though somewhat tomato-y smelling salsa jars for yeast washing? Will the starter smell like a TexMex restaurant? :D

I know this question was asked a couple years ago, but I just recently had experience with this so I figured I'd answer anyway...

I've reused yeast from salsa jars and tomato sauce jars. I would've bought some new mason jars but I have no need for a pack of 12 (nor the desire to store them). So I went the frugal route, cleaned up the jars, threw them in the dishwasher, then soaked them in oxyclean when I was removing labels from bottles and... they've worked great! No issues with the reused yeast.

So I'm not necessarily recommending this, but if yeast washing day arrives and you're low on options, it's worth a shot :)
 
rodisian said:
I know this question was asked a couple years ago, but I just recently had experience with this so I figured I'd answer anyway...

I've reused yeast from salsa jars and tomato sauce jars. I would've bought some new mason jars but I have no need for a pack of 12 (nor the desire to store them). So I went the frugal route, cleaned up the jars, threw them in the dishwasher, then soaked them in oxyclean when I was removing labels from bottles and... they've worked great! No issues with the reused yeast.

So I'm not necessarily recommending this, but if yeast washing day arrives and you're low on options, it's worth a shot :)

Same here. Use tomato sauce jars. Lid smells like sauce but doesn't seem to make my yeast smell like roasted garlic sauce. Worse case I have roasted garlic tomato ale.
:)
 
So you guys are saying that even if you wash the yeast you should make a starter? Well heck, on a 5 gallon batch of beer that you are washing the yeast from there is a heck of a lot of yeast to begin with

Could anyone give me an ballpark estimate of how many ml of yeast in total could be harvested from a healthy 2.75 gallon brew of an ale (OG 1.070) using 05 yeast. I seem to have a hell of a lot more than I expected to get and wonder if some of it is junk?
 
That's not easy to do. How do you transfer wort? How do you chill? False bottom in the BK? All these and a few more variables will determine how much trub, cold break, yeast, etc are in the fermentor. My process uses a plate chiller which gets recirculated and have a filter in the BK so very little crud makes it to my fermentor. I would guess that I get 1-1.5 L of yeast that is diluted in some beer. It's really hard to say, since it really depends on your process and vitality of your fermentation.
 
That's not easy to do. How do you transfer wort? How do you chill? False bottom in the BK? All these and a few more variables will determine how much trub, cold break, yeast, etc are in the fermentor. My process uses a plate chiller which gets recirculated and have a filter in the BK so very little crud makes it to my fermentor. I would guess that I get 1-1.5 L of yeast that is diluted in some beer. It's really hard to say, since it really depends on your process and vitality of your fermentation.

I did a PM BIAB of Yoopers Dead Guy Clone using Death Brewers PM stovetop method. I have what looks like about 650 - 700ml of yeast after washing the entire cake of a 2.75 gallon brew in 2 litres of water. Does that sound plausible?
 
jpr210 said:
how soon after i wash my yeast is it usable?

If you want to use it immediately, I wouldn't wash it. Just pitch it onto your new wort.
If it's cold, it might take 6-8 hours to warm up to pitch temps if you have enough slurry, or up to 18-24 hours for a starter.
 
I just started reading about reusing my yeast because I bought one of those vials of wet yeast.

Is yeast washing and yeast harvesting the same thing?

In the pictures (since 110 pages of posts is a lot to go through) are the lids of the canning jars sealed, or are they just closed?
 
nittanybevo said:
I just started reading about reusing my yeast because I bought one of those vials of wet yeast.

Is yeast washing and yeast harvesting the same thing?

In the pictures (since 110 pages of posts is a lot to go through) are the lids of the canning jars sealed, or are they just closed?

Wash is to reuse the yeast from the primary.
Harvest is to get yeast from tube into slants prior to fermenting.
 
nittanybevo said:
So, if I harvest, after I pitch it and it gets going, I siphon some back out and into jars to make starters?

Usually you make starters first then pitch it and finally wash it.
Or
You can harvest it, makeh step up starters, finally pitch it, then wash it to use for around 10 batches.
I think that's right.
 
You can make starters from washed yeast as well. You can spread it pretty far. I think 30ml of thick washed yeast is about equal to 1 vial or 100 billion cells. At least that's what I'm figuring based off of my playing around with mr malty's calculator. I usually end up with around 60-75ml of yeast cake in each jar after washing it.

I calculate my starter based on using 2 vials since it's pretty close.
 
First of all, thanks for taking the time to write this up; I'm going to try it out tomorrow and am hoping for great results.

A couple quick things (Note: if you already answered these, I apologize):

1) Would it work to just use a quart jar for the big vessel and 2 pint jars for the yeast? I don't really want to make 4 pints, because I probably won't use them all.

2) When everything has settled out and the liquid is more light brown, are you using that clear-ish brown liquid to make the starter, or are you dumping that top liquid out and using the sediment at the bottom? AKA, where all the white yeast at?

3) What's your preferred method for making a starter for these? I would be interested to know what has worked for you in the past.

Thanks!

Dave
 
After chilling them in the fridge, you pour off most of the clear liquid. Then shake it up a little and pour the thick part out.
 
seabass07 said:
After chilling them in the fridge, you pour off most of the clear liquid. Then shake it up a little and pour the thick part out.

Sorry, I'm still confused on what you mean by "pour out"

Does "you pour off most of the clear liquid" mean you dump it down the sink?

And "shake it up a little and pour the thick part out" means pour that into the starter, meaning it's the part I use?

Again, I apologize for seeming naive, but I want to be clear here.
 
Lol...sorry! By those instructions, you'd just be dumping the whole thing.

You pour out (throw away) the liquid part after chilling it. You mix up the remaining little bit of liquid and the thick part (the yeast) and use it for the starter.
 
seabass07 said:
Lol...sorry! By those instructions, you'd just be dumping the whole thing.

You pour out (throw away) the liquid part after chilling it. You mix up the remaining little bit of liquid and the thick part (the yeast) and use it for the starter.

I now fully understand. Thanks!
 
First of all, thanks for taking the time to write this up; I'm going to try it out tomorrow and am hoping for great results.

A couple quick things (Note: if you already answered these, I apologize):

1) Would it work to just use a quart jar for the big vessel and 2 pint jars for the yeast? I don't really want to make 4 pints, because I probably won't use them all.

2) ANSWERED

3) What's your preferred method for making a starter for these? I would be interested to know what has worked for you in the past.

Thanks!

Dave

Anyone have any insight on numbers 1 or 3? Not imperative that I know right now, but really curious for when I brew this weekend.
 
Kealia said:
1) I don't see any reason that you can't.

3) Here's a quick overview from White Labs

Superb, thanks.

Out of these options, am I correct to think number 1 is correct? I could see it being the second option as well. But I'm not even sure if it matters at all!

Typical Starter Volumes for 5 gallons:
To activate the yeast: 1 pint (with 1/4 cup DME)
To revitalize yeast past its Best Before Date: 2 pints (with 1/2 cup DME)
To brew a high gravity beer: 2 pints (with 1/2 cup DME)
To brew a lager beer, starting fermentation 50-55F: 4 pints (with 1 cup DME)
 
When I use harvested yeast, I use 1 gram of DME for every 10 ml of water.
 
I use quart jars because they were available for cheap at the dollar store. I've had no problems but I have no clue what the yeast count is though.

---Chris
 
It's always an option to grow up large starters, wash them and split them up in half-pints if you're worries about the multiple generation thing. More "siblings" and less "grandchildren" if you follow me...
 
bigbeergeek said:
It's always an option to grow up large starters, wash them and split them up in half-pints if you're worries about the multiple generation thing. More "siblings" and less "grandchildren" if you follow me...

Or you could skip the wash.
 
Or you could skip the wash.

You certainly could, but if you're "canning" the yeast for longer term storage, you'll have less growth/mutations in chilled/boiled/oxygen-free/nutrient-depleted water than you will in starter wort. Put those yeasties down for a good long nap. Either way you're putting the multi-generational worries at bay.
 
I don't think washing is the right word for that. That's just decanting off the liquid and replacing it with boiled/cooled water. I agree that's a good way to do it if you want to store it for a while.
 
I don't think washing is the right word for that. That's just decanting off the liquid and replacing it with boiled/cooled water. I agree that's a good way to do it if you want to store it for a while.

Semantic police finally caught up with me at my hideout here on HBT... :rolleyes:



You're right: I'm advocating decanting and replacing with water.
 
I'm not being a semantics nazi, just clarifying since a lot of people reading this might misunderstand it and go through the whole washing process.
 
Here's a question. Last weekend I brewed a chocolate oatmeal stout and my floating thermometer broke in my kettle. I always strain my wort anyways, but it was very important this time to collect any glass/metal balls that were left over from the thermometer. I really wanted to wash this yeast, but now i'm wondering if I should just let this yeast cake go down the drain. What do you all think?
 
Wash it, use it. Odds are there's no glass/metal in the cake anyway, but if any does happen to end up in your washed jars, it's going to settle out in the fermentor anyway and not end up in your beer.
 
seabass07 said:
I'm not being a semantics nazi, just clarifying since a lot of people reading this might misunderstand it and go through the whole washing process.

Since we're just clarifying: we're not really washing the yeast. We are rinsing it. Washing involves acid and stuff. Just to clarify.
 
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