brewing or picking beer by yeast type?

I was trying to decide of a couple of kits that I would like to try for after Christmas.

it got me thinking to maybe pick acouple of kits that use the same yeasts... That way I could reuse the yeast on the new batch....

the yeast is constantly reproducing and new yeast are born all the time right? So if I picked something like the safale us-05... I could just reuse it for batch after batch right?

I don't want to sound cheap... But ....

sean

Reasons for re-using yeast:

1. You are about to brew a really huge IIIPA, and need a 5-gallon starter. The beer you just bottled fills the bill.

2. You got ahold of some really rare, or expensive yeast - say, from the dregs of a bottle of XYZ Abbey Gold. Cultivate it, develop a yeast farm, and keep using it.

3. You are using a lot of liquid yeast at $7 a pop, why keep buying it?

4. You are using a lot of US-05 at $2 a pop, and you're really cheap.

Kidding about the last one. Go ahead and develop the process - learn how to do it with dry yeast, and someday one of the other reasons will appear, and it will be a piece o' cake. Just be really careful about sanitation. You don't want to cultivate slime mold, ar anything like that. Good luck!

things i have read:

1. reusing the whole yeast cake is usually overpitching. you should use one cup of the light colored yeast center layer of the yeast cake.

2. it is not good to start with dark beers and make lighter beers with the reused yeast. go lighter to darker, or keep making the same color beer.

3. it is not good to start with high ABV beers and make lower ABV beers with the reused yeast. go weaker to stronger, or keep making the same ABV beer.

I re-use yeast all the time. US-05 is a good neutral yeast that can be used fo a wide variety of beers. American Ales, American Wheats, and even English Ales (though some would say it not really to style). Use in pale ales, IPAs, Stouts, Browns, Porters, etc.

I recommend only using about 1/4th of the cake for each subsequent batch rather than the full cake.

Dogphish said:

things i have read:

1. reusing the whole yeast cake is usually overpitching. you should use one cup of the light colored yeast center layer of the yeast cake.

2. it is not good to start with dark beers and make lighter beers with the reused yeast. go lighter to darker, or keep making the same color beer.

3. it is not good to start with high ABV beers and make lower ABV beers with the reused yeast. go weaker to stronger, or keep making the same ABV beer.

Click to expand...

1. Correct
2. Makes no difference. The small amount carried over makes no difference.
3. Best to stay belwo 1.060 OG to reuse yeast (not a very definative number), but you can go from a 1.060 to a 1.040 without issues. The high gravities puts high osmositic pressure on the yeast potentially damaging the cells with high beers.

does it matter how long the yeast was in the primary before it is reused? is 2 week primary yeast better than 4 week primary yeast?

frazier said:

4. You are using a lot of US-05 at $2 a pop, and you're really cheap.

Kidding about the last one.

Click to expand...

Sadly, my LHBS is nearly $5 a packet of anything by Fermentis. Notty and Windsor are $2.50 each.

to the OP...sure! I've done a liquid yeast for a brown ale, then done a porter right after, right on the yeast cake (explosive fermentation!) after I racked to secondary. definitely over pitched but it turned out fine.

Usually dry yeast is a bit cheaper so there's less of a good reason to wash it, but using the slurry for the next batch isn't a bad idea at all. Its just more common with the liquid strains because they're $7 or more a pack and sometimes you need 2 or more vials (if you're not making a starter) which really adds up fast.

I just feel that the cheaper I can brew a batch the more likely I will be able to do another batch. Also I feel that it might even taste better saving $.10 a bottle!

I'm not picky on what I drink either... I mean as far as "type" of beer... Just thought I could save a few bucks by maybe using one of my primaries and constantly reusing the same yeasts....

nut brown, pale ale, stout, "big" beer or "small"... Me don't care... Me love them all.