yeast wrangling

ok so i have some yeast that ive saved from the cake of our last two beers in the fridge. i washed it, seperating it from all the floaties and crap that settles out. Is there anything i need to do to make sure my yeast stays alive? should i add nutrients or anything?

thanks

Just leave it in the fridge until you're ready to use it, then make a starter.

thanks EL p

I concur!

homebrewer_99 said:

I concur!

Click to expand...

damn! i wanted to concur....

anyone got any idea what the refrigerated life is of some yeasties?

most have an expiration date on them, or a manufactered date, w/ 6 month to use. if it's old, make a starter. not sure about dry yeast...

so keeping it refrigerated wont actually extend its shelf life? is there any way to keep it longer? not that i would want to, just curious.

subwyking said:

anyone got any idea what the refrigerated life is of some yeasties?

Click to expand...

The White Labs site says that the "Best Before" date is 4 months after bottling...so I assume that harvested yeast is good for at least 4 months after harvesting. But you've got to assume that a commercial concern like White Labs is going to err on the side of caution, so you can probably get away with 6-12 months, IMHO. The main thing is, do a starter when you use it, and if it's alive and doesn't smell bad, then it's good.

nope. it's like bread. it'll funk up sooner or later....usually sooner.....

i don't know of any way to keep it longer....cryogenic freezingmaybe ? : ^ )

well keeping it refrigerated is best, because the yeast goes dormant in cold temperatures. but i dont know anyone who would just let their yeast stay at room temp. anyway, so its kind of a non-issue. i haven't let yeast stay lnger than a month before re-using it, so i can't say anything from personal experience. i do have some belgian ale yeast that has been in the frig for three months though, and it will be at least a month before it gets used, as i already have the ingredients for my next few batches. we'll see how healthy it is soon i guess.

edit: i did read somewhere about freezing yeast for prolonged keeping. it doesn't seem like agreat idea to me, but it probably works. it was online so google it and maybe you'll be able to find it cause i don't remember where it was.

DeRoux's Broux said:

most have an expiration date on them, or a manufactered date, w/ 6 month to use. if it's old, make a starter. not sure about dry yeast...

Click to expand...

I've used yeast that expired OVER 1 year and had great results!

homebrewer_99 said:

I've used yeast that expired OVER 1 year and had great results!

Click to expand...

better you than me! :cross:

DeRoux's Broux said:

better you than me! :cross:

Click to expand...

Just for that I'll CONCUR again!

homebrewer_99 said:

Just for that I'll CONCUR again!

Click to expand...

...........DOH!

all this concuring.... sheesh.

subwyking said:

all this concuring.... sheesh.

Click to expand...

Did Mohammed really say that about Chuck Norris? I didn't think they were that close?

nah. thats kind of an inside joke. when i was in california learning arabic i had an instructor who would claim anything wise ever said to be a direct quote from the prophet mohammed (peace be upon him) that was just given credit to someone else.

edit: and i know you were just joking

I concur! (DOH!! I knew you were joking!)

Must be a lot like Jesus' Golden Rule: "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you".

Unfortunately, the un(der)educated don't know that Buddah said it 500 years before Christ did. And I am certain someone said it before he did.

Now, let's get back to yeast.......

yeah back to yeast. we transfered the APA last night into a secondary and again saved the cake. the problem is im having a hard time getting it to seperate out. some stuff settles out in the bottom, but it keeps forming a krausen at the top. would it be ok if i took the krausen and the suspended yeast and saved those?

Did you add water to it? It needs to be thinned out first.

Boil up a pot (2 C water), let cool then add to a jug with the yeast cake.

I use 1 gal jugs and a funnel. Sanitized at every use naturally.

Shake, rattle or roll, whatever it is you prefer, to mix it up. Let sit for about 10 mins and it'll start seperating. Rack only the liquid. The cloudy liquid is the yeast in suspension.

It'll seperate more, just keep racking until you don't have any more solids on the bottom.

You could transfer back and forth 4-6 times to get it gink free.

Here's where I usually rack into clear 1/2 liter bottles (flippies) and allow it time to clear up.

The yeast will fall to the bottom and the water will be on top. Depending on what you are going for, you could pour off most of the water, remix then put it into smaller containers, i.e., the plastic tubes the yeast originally came in.

I like to keep mine in the 1/2 liter bottles because I can see the yeast and vent them occasionally.

we didnt have to add much water because there was still some wort/beer mixed in with it. should i thin it out with water more so to help the process along?

Yes. If you remember what I wrote about using a gallon jug to start. After the solids fall out and you're left with cloudy water (yeast in suspension) you will need to refridgerate the jug to make the yeast dormant.

The yeast will fall out. The water on top of the yeast will be slightly off color because of the beer, but it will be clear.

It's here that you can pour off most of the water for seperation into smaller containers. With most of the water gone you need to swirl the yeast back into suspension and pour it into smaller containers. These will be your future starters.

Take a look at your vials in the fridge. There's yeast and some water.

The less water you transfer the more yeast (water to yeast ratio) you can fit into the container. The water will fall out again in that container, but it will act as a barrier.

What is the best way that all of you have found to get the cake out of the bottom of a carboy without contaminating it. I thought I read somewhere that they were able to siphon it out. I tried it with my last brew but was anable to get the autosiphon to even pic up a little

...you could always add the (cooled) sterile water to the primary, swirl/mix, then syphon it out into the jug.

The syphon should still be sanitized because you just got done racking.

is it such a bad idea to just pour it out?

subwyking said:

is it such a bad idea to just pour it out?

Click to expand...

That's what I do...after wiping the mouth of the carboy with a sponge soaked in sanitizer.

I don't even do that when I pour it out. I just look for the thinnest path through the gunk...

thanks for the advice HB99 it worked beautifully. i swapped the fluid around a few times last night put it in the fridge and now i have a healthy looking pale white cake at the bottom (which im assuming is yeast that fell out). so i can pour the most of the liquid out now right?

Wait until the liquid has cleared completely before pouring it off...as long as it's a little hazy there's still yeast suspended in it.

thanks ELp

Right (what ElP said). Leave it alone now.

After all the yeast falls out you want to seal it.

When you want to use it remove it from the fridge and make a starter with it.

Boil up some malt for your starter, let it cool. When you get ready to add it to the yeast pour off most of the water then.

there is about a 3/4 " cake forming at the bottom of the container and its still a little cloudy.... thats a whole lot of yeasties

I, too, concur. You're doing okay; everything posted here is the way I do it, too.

I know of a couple of guys who have frozen their yeast with glycerin (available at most drug stores) to keep it from freezing completely and forming ice crystals, which supposedly can damage the yeast. Never tried it myself, but they've said it works.