Combo priming and reusing yeast

I've been going it alone for years with my hobby and finally decided to seek advice from someone from whom I am not currently buying products. I've had good success with my basic extract or PM brews before and have fallen in love with a Wit-like brew. After some time off, I've decided to make use of my newly acquired extra space by brewing several batches in close succession which allows me to purchase more bulk than I have in the past. This leads to a couple questions:

1. I have typically just grabbed a KreamyX for carbing each batch but am really interested in using leftover lme and sugar combo for these batches to exert greater control over the carbonation type and level. I keep finding plenty of advice on using exclusively one or the other, but nothing referencing appropriate combinations. If I'm aiming for 3.0-3.5 volumes @ 75°F, I get that I would need either ~11.5oz lme or ~8oz dextrose. Logic would dictate that I could use proportions of each to determine the intended combination but I've also found that, due to the variance in fermentability, this might not be accurate. Any advice on how to combine? Otherwise, I'm going with 8oz lme + 3oz dextrose.

2. I've typically used dry yeasts and primary fermentation for ~10 days before bottling. My intent this time is to use Wyeast 3944, make a starter, primary for ~7 days, then secondary for ~7 days before bottling. I will add new wort on top of the yeast upon racking. I've been told by my hbs that this should work fine as it's effectively the same beer. I've also seen threads recommending against this for a variety of reasons. Any suggestions for me on this?

You guys have answered a number of my other questions in other threads and I'm really grateful for the help you've already given me without even meaning to!

if you have two fermenters, use mrmalty.com to calculate how much slurry to pitch. Sanitize a measuring cup and scoop out what you need. You could also scoop it into a sanitized bowl and clean your fermenter for your new beer.

Personally, I would primary longer before bottling. Forget the secondary and just wait longer in the primary.

read on yeast harvesting. I personally do not even wash my yeast. I scoop it into mason jars and refrigerate until next use.

Does that make sense?

Ok, I think what you're saying is to primary for ~14 days then grab the yeast from the bottom, sanitize both buckets, make two worts, measure the amount of yeast slurry needed according to mrmalty, and pitch that into each fermenter. I can do that.

Why would I specifically want to NOT secondary, though? I always end up with a significant difference in the amount of accumulation on the bottom of my bottles between long-primary and racking. Will my flavor really be substantially improved by remaining in primary the whole time?

Thanks for the site and advice!

Well... I am in the less work for the same quality (maybe better) = better.

I use a 3 to 4 week (ot less depending on the style and simplicity of the recipe) primary then into kegs or bottles. I only secondary if I am trying to clarify (never happened), age something big (not my thing), or drop a beer on fruit (maybe someday). The theory is that the yeast cleans up after itself in the primary. The autolysis monster does not present on the homebrew scale.

I would encourage you to compare the two with tasting notes.

But yeah, you got the yeast harvest correct. Yeast loves sugar. It wants to make beer for you. Maximize that available time.

And welcome to HBT... there are a world of varying opinions on here. I have learned a world both on here and by how being on here pushed me to learn more.

"Yeast" by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff will answer a lot of your questions. I believe they suggest harvesting the yeast very shortly after primary fermentation has completed and then rinsing it before use. Basically you add sterilized water to the slurry in a tall cylinder similar to a hydrometer test tube, wait ten to fifteen minutes, then keep only the middle layer.

They suggest not just transferring onto a yeast cake, and only reusing yeast from lower gravity beers (below 1.060 or something).

They also advocate longer primaries; the concern of yeast autolysis doesn't really apply in normal homebrew setups within a reasonable amount of time. The idea that a secondary clarifies beer more doesn't really make sense either when you think about it - time makes stuff fall out of suspension and form a tight layer, transferring early will mix a lot of that back up before it's compacted.

Sorry I don't know more specifics right now. If you want me to verify specifics or cite something let me know

I found that if you secondary a wit beer, you lose most of the cloudiness so its not really a traditional wit.

If that matters, skip secondary and do a 2-3 week primary, then bottle.