Yeast Washing Illustrated

CornyKegs 728
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The lid being left off???

Some kolsch yeasts actually need a lower temp around 60F. What yeast and what temp did you ferment at?

In general, if the yeast wasn't good, washing it won't fix it.


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Any water suitable for brewing should be ok, as long as it's boiled or bottled. I prefer distilled bottled water.
 
brewski09 said:
The lid being left off???

Some kolsch yeasts actually need a lower temp around 60F. What yeast and what temp did you ferment at?

In general, if the yeast wasn't good, washing it won't fix it.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Click to expand...

miss print
i left the lid on i repeat ON whilst boiling the beer and it turned awful

i saved the yeast but will this ruin my next batch
 
I could be wrong but I always heard you are supposed to leave the lid off during the boil to vaporize volatiles out that could cause off flavors. If that is the cause, the yeast is fine. However, I would say get new yeast. Expenditure of maybe $15 and you don't have to worry about the yeast in future batches.


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I'm not sure if I did this right. I followed all the steps and let it do that initial settling out but I didn't have a visible perfect three different layers. A definite difference between liquid on top and heavy creamy below it but no visible trub line separating the trub and heavy cream looking stuff. It just looked heavier/thicker on the very bottom but no color difference. So I siphoned from the middle of everything from my seven jars I let settle and jarred what I siphoned from them into three. Did I do this right? Any info would be great
Here's a pic below
 
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1415186856.349459.jpg
 
Can you harvest from beers that had simple sugars? Would that have a negative impact on the yeast harvest? when is it not good to harvest yeast?
 
ABVIBUSRM said:
Can you harvest from beers that had simple sugars? Would that have a negative impact on the yeast harvest? when is it not good to harvest yeast?
Click to expand...


All beer has simple and complex sugars, varying in ratio between the two with different styles. I think what you're meaning is a beer with more simple than complex sugars? Either way, wash away!!! Doesn't affect the quality of yeast harvested from washing... At least not to my knowledge.


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I tried "washing" today for the first time and seemed to get it right (it was very simple). However, the yeast I am retaining came out of an IPA to which I added a few pepper tincture variants to in secondary. I am curious as to if the Anaheim, Jalapeño, Serrano, and Habanero HEAT may pass on through to the next batch when repitched. Do yeast retain flavor from styles of beer in which they were used?

Even though washing yeast doesn't omit 100% of the beer in which it was previously in, I would guess it's diluted significantly enough to have little to no effect. Input and personal experience is appreciated!
 
I just wanted to share my success at yeast washing. The kolsch yeast (Wyeast 2565) that I harvested from a yeastcake & washed on a whim 3 months ago went nuts in the starter and spilled down the side overnight. Hooray for experiments! This is 7 hours after pitching:

1415792037367.jpg
 
So I'm going to attempt to harvest the yeast off the 10 Gallon pale ale I brewed 10 days ago using Danstar Nottingham yeast. How do I know how much yeast to pitch into the next 10 gallons I brew?
 
I started the yeast washing process last night and then wasn't able to get to it in time to decant the second time and everything settled out. I shook it up to mix it all together again and it's starting to settle out again. Going to decant it soon. I also didn't boil the jars I just washed them and sanitized them. Has this turned into a lost cause?
 
eelgerg said:
This is the jar after resting for 2 days. Is the yeast the small layer on the top of the trub?
View attachment 240870

Should I decant the wort/water, and yeast as much as possible or is it ok to store like this?

I will likely just buy a packet of S-04 yeast again instead of risking using this for my next 5-gal brew day
Click to expand...

Looks good! Jus store it like that, and when u wish to use it, decant the liquid off the top, pour the slurry in a starter and away u go!
 
this is a great stickie! it's encouraged me to do this with my own yeast!

question though:
i've seen recommendations of putting about 100ml in each jar and then doing a starter, which should give me about enough for one batch (depending upon viability of course). so i was wondering if i just split it into 200ml each jar, would i still need a starter?
or let's say i just take the whole amount of yeast from one batch and put it in one jar, could i then just pour that yeast slurry into one batch without a starter?
i was thinking of also using a small amount of this saved yeast for some soda i'm brewing, can i just take that small amount and throw it one without a starter?

basically i'm wondering if this yeast is ready to go, or if it needs the step of a starter in order to become healthier.
 
joshesmusica said:
this is a great stickie! it's encouraged me to do this with my own yeast!

question though:
i've seen recommendations of putting about 100ml in each jar and then doing a starter, which should give me about enough for one batch (depending upon viability of course). so i was wondering if i just split it into 200ml each jar, would i still need a starter?
or let's say i just take the whole amount of yeast from one batch and put it in one jar, could i then just pour that yeast slurry into one batch without a starter?
i was thinking of also using a small amount of this saved yeast for some soda i'm brewing, can i just take that small amount and throw it one without a starter?

basically i'm wondering if this yeast is ready to go, or if it needs the step of a starter in order to become healthier.
Click to expand...

As an experiment, I pitched 2 jars (of a total of 4 washed from a batch) of Nottingham into a hard cider because it had been washed 2 months prior. No starter. I had absolutely zero activity. Lesson learned. I will always do a starter, prob 1 L for 1.050 or less, or 2 L for over 1.050. Time puts the yeast to sleep. Also, I talked to a wyeast rep, and he strongly recommended putting 1/4 tsp DAP in the final wash before putting it in the pints jars. He felt strongly that the yeast would be healthier.
 
do you need to use some kind of wort for a starter? can you just use sugar?

also if i was just wanting to use a tiny bit for some soda i'm making, would i need to use a starter? or could i just put it in some warmer water?
 
joshesmusica said:
do you need to use some kind of wort for a starter? can you just use sugar?

also if i was just wanting to use a tiny bit for some soda i'm making, would i need to use a starter? or could i just put it in some warmer water?
Click to expand...


Wort, typically in the 1.040 range is most common, and that is often made from light DME. Approx 1 L (1qt works jus fine). It will produce a slurry sufficient for a 5 gallon batch of up to 1.060 beer. For a 10 gallon batch of up to 1.060, or a 5 gallon batch > 1.060, make a 2 L (2 qt) starter. Wort has nutrition that the yeast needs that plain sugar cant supply. Having said that, I have made a starter by adding the washed yeast to 1 L of apple cider with a pinch of DAP to prepare it for a hard cider. So making a starter for a hard soda (root beer Im guessing?), why not try making a starter with 1 L of soda medium and a pinch of DAP? That prob wud work
 
joshesmusica said:
do you need to use some kind of wort for a starter? can you just use sugar?

also if i was just wanting to use a tiny bit for some soda i'm making, would i need to use a starter? or could i just put it in some warmer water?
Click to expand...


Wort, typically in the 1.040 range is most common, and that is often made from light DME. Approx 1 L (1qt works jus fine). It will produce a slurry sufficient for a 5 gallon batch of up to 1.060 beer. For a 10 gallon batch of up to 1.060, or a 5 gallon batch > 1.060, make a 2 L (2 qt) starter. Wort has nutrition that the yeast needs that plain sugar cant supply. Having said that, I have made a starter by adding the washed yeast to 1 L of apple cider with a pinch of DAP to prepare it for a hard cider. So making a starter for a hard soda (root beer Im guessing?), why not try making a starter with 1 L of soda medium and a pinch of DAP? That prob wud work
 
Diammonium Phosphate. It's a component in many yeast nutrients. Generally used by itself for wines or fruits that are low in nitrogen, such as meads and wine grapes with a low YAN level.
 
You are fine, the starter looks normal (as in not infected). I can't tell the amount of yeast you have (sediment at the bottom of the flask), but I believe you will be fine.

Depending on the size of the starter (1, 2 or 3+ L) you may want to cold crash it and decant most of the spent beer portion of your starter. I then throw my starters back on the stirplate to re-suspend the yeast before pitching.

Best of luck!
 
So I didn't do this according to the OP but my steps were a result of because of time crunch. I needed the fermenter space today so I transferred of this pretty damn clean Wyeast 1968 yeast cake and emptied the sludgy cake into 2 different sanitized mason jars until I could get to them later to wash and re harvest. When I finally got to it tonight I emptied both into the below sanitized glass pitcher and washed with a good amount of distilled water.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1420336746.282573.jpg

What part of this picture am I looking to pour into jars to keep? It's been 20 minutes now
 
It's a pretty solid three layers but that middle one is still settling down and turning into that bottom part. I fear there is a LOT of good yeast in there though based on how awesome this yeast cake was.
 
Well, I washed a Kölsch yeast, Wyeast 2565, in late January 2014. I ended up with the expected 4 pint jars and used 1 for a batch of Kölsch in February. Last night, 11 months later, I decanted the liquid and poured the yeast slurry of the other 3 jars into a 2000 ml flask with a quart of 1.040 wort. Its on a stir plate. 24 hours later, I have 3/4 " of krausen and continous bubbler activity. I will either 1) cold crash, decant and pitch this starter, or 2) cold crash, decant, add 2 quarts of wort and run that starter, cold crash, decant, and pitch. Thoughts anyone?
 

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