Washing yeast, starters, pre-made wort, all kinds of yeast Q's

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98EXL

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I've got more questions that I've been trying to find here, but so far no good. I've been using my stir plate (which is beast, thanks for all of those endorsers of it) and I took some of my Wyeast 1332 that I have for a IPA I'm making any day now. Now I made some wort (pint of water, half cup of DME) and now have added 3 rounds of it, before the third I filled two 12 ounce bottles and stuck them in the fridge. By this point I am ecstatic! Not only did I make a starter, but I even have 2 extra bottles of yeast to make more IPA goodness later. So on to question number 1:

Why in my 1332 Wyeast, is there a sweet (and I mean sweet) layer of light colored (the usual) yeast in the bottom, with a smaller darker layer on top? Any ideas?

Next on my list is the topic of washing yeast. I washed my Hefe yeast, after a vigorous fermentation, and I got very little yeast. I expected so much, and I got so little. I was actually surprised but are there any tips to get more yeast out of a washing? I'll probably make more wort to propagate more of the Hefe yeast before I really store it...but I didn't get much

And for my last question, is there a easy way to make a huge batch of wort for starters up and freeze it or something? DME is so messy IMO, and I'd rather make a big batch, put them into freezer bags, and freeze.
 
98EXL said:
I've got more questions that I've been trying to find here, but so far no good. I've been using my stir plate (which is beast, thanks for all of those endorsers of it) and I took some of my Wyeast 1332 that I have for a IPA I'm making any day now. Now I made some wort (pint of water, half cup of DME) and now have added 3 rounds of it, before the third I filled two 12 ounce bottles and stuck them in the fridge. By this point I am ecstatic! Not only did I make a starter, but I even have 2 extra bottles of yeast to make more IPA goodness later. So on to question number 1:

Why in my 1332 Wyeast, is there a sweet (and I mean sweet) layer of light colored (the usual) yeast in the bottom, with a smaller darker layer on top? Any ideas?

Next on my list is the topic of washing yeast. I washed my Hefe yeast, after a vigorous fermentation, and I got very little yeast. I expected so much, and I got so little. I was actually surprised but are there any tips to get more yeast out of a washing? I'll probably make more wort to propagate more of the Hefe yeast before I really store it...but I didn't get much

And for my last question, is there a easy way to make a huge batch of wort for starters up and freeze it or something? DME is so messy IMO, and I'd rather make a big batch, put them into freezer bags, and freeze.

I'll speak to the last one. I think you could freeze the dme-wort for starters if you wanted to...but I wouldn't count on unabated sanitation. You'd still have to boil the wort again once it was thawed, just to make sure it was sanitized.
 
I'm not sure why you did not get much yeast. Maybe you waited to long before transfering to the next jar?
I washed my Hefe yeast (WLP300) and have a little more then 2 cups of yeast out of it.
With a Small starter I can get maybe 10 more brews just from that. With a big starter, maybe more.
 
About the HW yeast...you MAY have tossed out more of it than trub.

HW yeast is not creamy white ike with other yeasts. It is dark. ;)

If the thin layer on top gets to looking like lake scum then you have an infection in there. Toss it.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
About the HW yeast...you MAY have tossed out more of it than trub.

HW yeast is not creamy white ike with other yeasts. It is dark. ;)

If the thin layer on top gets to looking like lake scum then you have an infection in there. Toss it.


wait, that is kinda a contradiction.....Hefe yeast is dark, but if it looks like lake scum it's infected? Now I'm confused
 
98EXL said:
wait, that is kinda a contradiction.....Hefe yeast is dark, but if it looks like lake scum it's infected? Now I'm confused
No, I'm talking about a layer on top of the yeast that, it's kind of difficult to explain..., there's ANOTHER loose darker layer on top of the yeast. It reminds me of plant-life coming off the bottom of a lake. :confused: :eek:
 
maybe I will take a nice macro shot of it later tonight for you
 
well, I will take some pics tonight....I'm worried about the sanitation now.....but I'm so good about that. The other thing that I forgot to ask is I had vodka suckback into my starter...is that bad?
 
Vodka is never 'bad' I got concerned when I had the stirplate rockin' and somehow I got a small suckback
 
homebrewer_99 said:
No, I'm talking about a layer on top of the yeast that, it's kind of difficult to explain..., there's ANOTHER loose darker layer on top of the yeast. It reminds me of plant-life coming off the bottom of a lake. :confused: :eek:


1052723888_567ff13461.jpg


that was split out of my starter.....that is the two tone I was talking about

1052722194_0daf87f062.jpg


that was washed from the hefe
 
Hmmm, I haven't seen that before. Some of my HW yeast gets a thin creamier colored layer on top of the yeast, but even that's not what I was referring to.

I think it's probably just a layer of lighter proteins and nothing to worry about. ;)
 
oh good, I was so proud of all of the yeast I now have in my fridge
 
I can't figure out how to upload an image. I got a pic of my harvested yeast and I'd like someone to tell me which layer is which. Why doesn't it just let you browse and upload an image?
 
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