Bottle harvesting yeast

I have some bottles(5) of homebrew that I would like to get the yeast out of. I also have some light dme. Can I combine the two, stir, and get enough to use in another batch?

You can recultivate the yeast from those bottles, but you'll definitely want to prep it ahead of time so that you can make a starter from them. If you're asking if you can just mix the residue from the bottles with the DME and then pitch the blend into your next batch, no, there won't be nearly enough yeast.

I'd say you'll want to cultivate a starter with it for at least 4-5 days, more likely a week ahead of time before you'd have enough. At least for a standard gravity beer; more robust brews will require even more .

Search for "culturing dregs" on here. You probably can do it, but you want to start with a relatively small starter. Good sanitation is absolutely critical.

smagee said:

If you're asking if you can just mix the residue from the bottles with the DME and then pitch the blend into your next batch, no, there won't be nearly enough yeast..

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I was being a bit glib. But I am glad to hear that I can use this yeast. It is actually from my first brew, an English bitter. I'd have to say it's my best batch yet.

Thanks!!

Chefencore said:

I have some bottles(5) of homebrew that I would like to get the yeast out of. I also have some light dme. Can I combine the two, stir, and get enough to use in another batch?

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I have done this before with good results. Start with a small starter maybe 50ml then build it up to 250ml then up to 2000ml. Try to build each step up at high kraeusen.

btw....+1 on sanitation

King of Cascade said:

I have done this before with good results. Start with a small starter maybe 50ml then build it up to 250ml then up to 2000ml. Try to build each step up at high kraeusen.

btw....+1 on sanitation

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I started with 500ml. What do you mean step up at high krausen? Add more wort? It's been 'fermenting' for 7 hours and it looks like I've got more in the bottom then when I started, but I haven't seen any bubbles rising or anything. When should I expect krausen? Should I also expect sediment?

Sent from my iPhone, beer in the other hand

step up before fermentation subsides
yes
soon
yes

If it begins to form a nice layer of sediment, add more wort and stir (shake the bottle). The sediment means it's done. Ideally, you want to step up while it is still active, but as long as the yeast is viable and multiplying (which sediment or cloudyness is a sign of), and it doesn't have any off smells, then you should be fine.

So should I boil up more wort so I can step-up? Keep it at room temp? I have a stirplate (homemade) and it's kinda noisy and SWMBO doesn't like it so I only stir it on occasion. I can keep it on during most of the day, though. How do I know when it is done? Should I just decant and refrigerate as usual?

Sent from my iPhone, beer in the other hand

Always boil (and then cool) before adding anything to your starter. As for stirring, a stirplate is nice but not entirely necessary. I use one myself, but you could just as easily walk by every hour or two and give it a quick swirl by hand when you need to maintain a quieter environment.

To tell that it's done, you have a few options:
1) Quick gravity check: since you're basically making beer here, if it's somewhere in drinkability range (gravity-wise, at least), it's done or close to it.
2) Bubble check: especially when the stir plate is active, you will normally see pretty steady bubbling and bubble collection up top. When this subsides, it's done.

Once fermentation's done, do a quick chill to drop the yeast out of suspension, pour off the "beer", and repeat as necessary until you have a big enough starter for your needs. Or refrigerate until you need it.

Thanks for all the help!! It felt like my first batch all over again. But it looks like it's going great, even with the crude setup.

put up another pic after it settles

I turn off the stirplate around 4, this is 5 1/2 hrs later. There is still some foam around the top, off-white with some brown lacing. Gravity is 1.013- it foamed up real good when I poured it. There is a nice layer if sediment as well. Hopefully some of that is my yeast! I think it went pretty well for the dregs of 2 bottles!

Btw, is it just coincidence that this smells like the original brew?

The final product!! It still is a bit cloudy, but it seems to be clearing up, and the yeast is almost a bright white. Smells great too. I had it in three jars, but they seemed to be off-gassing, so I rinsed it and this is what I got. I'm pretty pleased with the results, this being my first time and only using two bottles!! Thanks for the help everyone!:cheers:

looks good