Estimating Yeast Cells in Rinsed Yeast

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zrule

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So I have rinsed my yeast and now is in in bottles and has settled out. Is there a formula or a way to estimate the number of cells in the cake at the bottom of the bottle?
 
I don't know of any sure-fire, simple way of estimating cell count, it's volume dependent. IIRC, you can make a starter and the yeast will eventually reach maximum cell density on their own, again depending on their environment (food). Check out MrMalty.com for information on starter size.
 
Estimates of cell counts can be made using percent yeast solids of the slurry. Percentage of yeast solids per volume of slurry can be estimated by allowing a sample to sediment under refrigeration and estimating the percent solids. Generally 40-60% yeast solids will correlate to 1.2 billion cells per ml. This will very with the yeast strain. By using this method with every brew, a brewer can achieve consistent pitch rates batch to batch resulting in a more consistent product. The following picture relates sedimentation to cell count.
sedimentation


sedimentation.jpg


Taken from and more here: http://www.wyeastlab.com/com-yeast-harvest.cfm
 
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