Making my yeast go farther

In an attempt to bring down costs of brewing and therefore brew more beer I've recently made the switch to all grain and started buying hops by the pound. I also wanted to bring the cost of my yeast down. Six bucks a batch adds up quick. I looked into culturing my own yeast but I'm not quite ready for that yet. I was just looking to get more batched out of one yeast packet. I was thinking of splitting one package into four then split each of those four into four so I end up with a total of sixteen starters. Is this the way to go about it and if it is what would be the best way to split the yeast?

In an attempt to cut costs, and therefore brew more beer, I've recently switched to all grain and started buying hops by the pound. I also wanted to stretch my yeast a little further. I've looked into cultivating my own but I'm not quite ready for that yet. What I was thinking was splitting a package of yeast into four and then splitting each of those into four, ending up with 16 starters.
Is this a good way to go about it and, if so, what would be the best way to do so?

sounds about right. just split, ferment, chill, decant, and repeat.

the simplest would be to make a starter, and reserve half for the next starter, repeat like sourdough bread.

I almost never buy yeast any more. Check out the yeast washing thread. I currently have favorites like Denny's Favorite 50, Pacman, WLP001, Northwest ale yeast (Wyeast 1332); california lager yeast, Bavarian lager yeast, and a few others in my yeast fridge. Once I make a beer, I wash the yeast and store jars. I probably get an average of 6 or more brews out of one package of yeast. I could get more, but I don't make many lagers so the lager yeast strains don't get saved as often.

If you're talking about dry yeast, then 1 packet is about right for pitching most 5g brews, and it is not recommended to make a starter with dry yeast.
If you're talking liquid yeast, I recommend a starter with a full packet to build up the cell count, and use that for a single brew.
However, once the first brew has finished, you're going to have a whole bunch of yeast (and even if you started with dry yeast, it will be liquid by then).
You can harvest and wash that yeast giving enough for several more brews (with a starter). I collect enough from each brew to make about 4 new batches.
Then you can harvest the yeast from each of those 4 batches, getting enough yeast for an extra 16 batches. Then you could harvest the yeast from those 16 batches, giving you enough for another 64 batches etc. I usually make 4 batches out of the second generation, and 10 - 15 out of the third generation. By that time, I feel the yeast has paid for itself, so I start again with another one.

-a.

That sounds like it will work. But I wouldn't reuse the yeast cake after making a batch from the starters that you made, to many growth cycles chance for mutation to high. Check out the yeast washing link. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/ I would think this would be a better idea. Keep culturing in the back of your mind though it is super fun.

Yeast washing is easy man, just follow the link above. $6 for one thing of yeast could last you 100 batches if you do things right.

ruffdeezy said:

Yeast washing is easy man, just follow the link above. $6 for one thing of yeast could last you 100 batches if you do things right.

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+1Washing is easy it is what i started with. I have since moved to slanting yeast because SWMBO was getting annoyed about the 15+ mason jars of yeast in the fridge. Slanting is fun takes up little space in the fridge and you can keep strains around for months Sacc has a very good write up on it https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/slanting-yeast-133103/
plus if you slant from a wyest or white labs packet you almost guarentee purity.
it is also good for storing strains from commercial bottles like Chimay or Rogues pacman.

+1 on yeast rinsing. From 1 batch you can generate 3 jars with enough yeast in each to make another batch. If you harvest again, which is also fine, you then get another 3 jars from each of those 3 jars. Some people have gone a lot of generations in without a problem. Think I've only gone to 4. Anyway, point being, if you like the yeast good enough to keep using it, you could use one pack of yeast for a helluva lot of batches of beer.

Get a yeast bank from Country Wines http://www.countrywines.com/products.asp?category=150.

The way I use it is to make a starter then decant a small amount to one of the tubes. Let it separate overnight in the fridge then remove the beer from the tube and divide the settled yeast between two other tubes. Fill all three about half full with the glycerin solution label the tubes and freeze. Now I have three vials of yeast. When I put the last tube in a starter I start again at the beginning. Takes up very little room in the freezer and I recently built up a starter from a tube that was put up in July of 2009. That beer is happily fermenting in my lager chest.

Ok, I know the answer [opinion] is on the forum somewhere

I have some yeast that I have captured, rinsed, and has been stored in a nice cold sanitary environment... for 10 months.

Can I use it?

Yeah, if it was something I could pick up at the store, I'd just do that

LooyvilleLarry said:

Ok, I know the answer [opinion] is on the forum somewhere

I have some yeast that I have captured, rinsed, and has been stored in a nice cold sanitary environment... for 10 months.

Can I use it?

Yeah, if it was something I could pick up at the store, I'd just do that

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Sure, why not? If it has been taken care of properly, kept in a sterile (or at least very sanitary) place, why not? I'd look at it, and make sure it's the right color (not brown) and smells ok. I've saved cultivated yeast for a year or so, and used it. If it doesn't seem "right" though, I'd ditch it.

Thanks Yoop. It happens to be some from one of your favorite native beers : Bells 2 Hearted

LooyvilleLarry said:

Thanks Yoop. It happens to be some from one of your favorite native beers : Bells 2 Hearted

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Ironically, I'm drinking one of those at this very moment. Excellent beer. That's my "everyday goin' fishin'" beer. They even make reference to the UP on the label. Of course, today I'm not goin' fishin'. Just drinking.

If you've kept it for 10 months, it's not going to be as viable as a fresh yeast. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it won't work, or that it won't work as well as a fresh sample. It will just take longer to start. I'd make a small starter (about 1 pint), give it about 3 - 4 days to get going and wake the yeasts up, then step it up to the required volume about 24 hours before brewing.

-a.

I've been having this same discussion with my friend and he mentioned that Brewstrong stated that after washing a yeast, the yeast is only good for 4 weeks.

I would like to prove him wrong b/c I like yeast washing and I love saving money.

uabericm said:

I've been having this same discussion with my friend and he mentioned that Brewstrong stated that after washing a yeast, the yeast is only good for 4 weeks.

I would like to prove him wrong b/c I like yeast washing and I love saving money.

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Then about 80% of my brews are no good. I (and the other people who drink my beers) would not agree with that, but with older starters you do need to take extra care in the preparation i.e. step up the starter.

-a.