harvesting yeast questions

Ok i just finished my home made stir plate and now i am researching the process of harvesting, washing, storing yeast.

I understand the process of bottle harvesting. Now i have read that this works but one needs to make sure that the beer was bottled carbonated with the yeast that was used for primary fermentation if you are going to get the yeast you wanted.
When i read about yeast washing from the cake in a primary it was stated (on HBT) that you don't want to harvest from the secondary yeast cake due to the condition of the yeast. The primary cake will have healthier yeast (better flocculation and attenuation).

So i guess my question is harvesting yeast from a bottle is one step further from secondary yeast cake harvesting. Is this only done when a certain yeast strain can not be purchased?
I have been using liquid yeast a lot and just now started to harvest yeast. So would it be worth the money to try to harvest the different strains of yeast i have in my bottled beer currently or should i just start saving the liquid strains only from future primary cakes.

if you have a few bombers of your old stuff, you could try it, depending on how much sediment is in the bottom of the bottle.

Personally I'd just farm some the next time you buy a batch.
The yeasts you can get in dry form for $1.50 aren't worth saving to me. It's easier to store 5 packets of Saf 05 than it is to store 5 mason jars of WL Cal Ale...

If you did bottle with one of the premium/limited edition yeasts, it might be worth saving.

B

It's never a bad idea to save any yeast you want.

It also saves you money for the next batch.

I think what you read pertains to harvesting from commercial beer bottles. Many companies use a different yeast all together to bottle condition than they use for the bulk of fermentation.

While it is true that some people prefer to harvest yeast only from primary, but at the same time there are those who prefer to harvest for secondary - they see yeast that could better survive the high alcohol, low sugar environment and the trub in secondary is "cleaner."

So long story short: you can harvest yeast just fine from your own bottles (although it might not be worth the hassle to step up from such a small amount as bad coffee mentioned). You can also harvest from commercial bottles, but just make sure it is not a special bottling strain (ask around here for info on specific beers, somebody will know)

One criticism I have heard form harvesting yeast from secondary is that while they may be the more alcohol tolerant yeast, they are also the less flocculant. Perpetuating these may continue that trend of generationally advancing this less desirable trait.

I agree with you MN that the yeast coming out of the secondary may be less flocculant. I guess that's just a catch 22. The yeast may be able to handle alcohol better in the secondary as compared with the primary though. I personally always wash yeast from the primary, but I don't think it would hurt to do it from the secondary as well. There's always ways to get around less flocculant yeast such as using finings or cold crashing in the secondary.