Yeast Washing Newby Help Please

Only a beer kit maker at present, trying to improve skills before going all grain, always now rehydrate dry yeast, and have made stepped starters from slants, now want to wash yeast watched a few videos about allowing to Seperate in jar , decant beer off and keep yeast, will I be able to use this directly in a coopers Australian lager kit in a week or so , or does it have to be an identical brew from which the washed yeast originates from,? Thanks .

That's why you wash yeast. You can use it in any beer that requires that yeast.

The rinsing with water and decanting selects low flocculent cells and puts 95% of the viable yeast down the drain.
for details see here:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/yeast-washing-revisited.html

Simply storing the yeast in jars works just fine.
for details see here:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/yeast-storage.html

WoodlandBrew said:

The rinsing with water and decanting selects low flocculent cells and puts 95% of the viable yeast down the drain.
for details see here:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/yeast-washing-revisited.html

Simply storing the yeast in jars works just fine.
for details see here:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/yeast-storage.html

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I've seen you post that a couple times and my curiosity is piqued. So when not washing yeast and just grabbing the slurry, do you just pitch the whole thing, and not make a starter? Seems like it'd be a whole lot easier on both fronts (not washing, and not starting). Also, if you are collecting yeast from a 6%+ ABV batch, how much does it affect it? When you do it that way, you are keeping a lot more trub, obviously. Does that affect how many generations you can get out of it?

A reasonable estimate for cell count is one billion cells per ml of thick settled slurry. ABV is one of the biggest drivers of viability on a slurry. 6% ABV woud reach 50% viability after about a month.
see here for details:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/abv-effects-on-yeast.html

Not a full hijack but... I've been thinking about Washing yeast as well to reuse but how do you accurately how much yeast you have for a pitch? Under pitching or over pitching can both cause issues, and I can't see a way to know how many cells you have in a mason jar...

I may be asking a really dumb question but why would you wash yeast and reuse when it is probably one of the cheapest things to buy when brewing? Don't you run the risk of contaminating your beer?

Just to toss my experience in here, I also just pour the slurry in jars after I empty a fermenter. I only do this on batches I haven't dry hopped. I'll direct pitch about half a jar if its been under 2 weeks. If over two weeks I'll do a 1.5 liter starter with about half a jar for 5 gallons. Starter size and amount pitched should be adjusted with beer gravity. I've used this method numerous times with excellent results.

In beers I brew if I bought all the yeast required for a pitch it would make up half the cost of the beer.

If you are worried about contamination there are ways to actualy wash your yeast (Not water washing)
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/03/acid-washing.html

1 billion cells per ml is a reasonable estimate for thick settled slurries. Although you really don't know unless you do a cell count.
Like this: http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/counting-yeast-cells-to-asses-viability.html

Here are some pictures of yeast for anyone interested:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/02/san-diego-super-yeast-wlp090.html

WoodlandBrew said:

In beers I brew if I bought all the yeast required for a pitch it would make up half the cost of the beer.

If you are worried about contamination there are ways to actualy wash your yeast (Not water washing)
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/03/acid-washing.html

1 billion cells per ml is a reasonable estimate for thick settled slurries. Although you really don't know unless you do a cell count.
Like this: http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/counting-yeast-cells-to-asses-viability.html

Here are some pictures of yeast for anyone interested:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/02/san-diego-super-yeast-wlp090.html

Click to expand...

Is it a specific type of beer you make or is it just the quantity you make? I have only brewed 5 gallon batches and my yeast costs at most 10 dollars and that's if I'm making a high gravity beer. What makes it cost so much for you? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, I'm really interested in learning all about brewing, thanks for the answers.

ThaBrewFather06 said:

Is it a specific type of beer you make or is it just the quantity you make? I have only brewed 5 gallon batches and my yeast costs at most 10 dollars and that's if I'm making a high gravity beer. What makes it cost so much for you? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, I'm really interested in learning all about brewing, thanks for the answers.

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Dry yeast is ~$4 a pack, liquid is ~$8-10 a vial. My batches (5 gal) are generally $20-$30 total, doing all-grain. My batch I do Saturday will only be ~$12.

ThaBrewFather06 said:

Is it a specific type of beer you make or is it just the quantity you make? I have only brewed 5 gallon batches and my yeast costs at most 10 dollars and that's if I'm making a high gravity beer. What makes it cost so much for you? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, I'm really interested in learning all about brewing, thanks for the answers.

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I buy grain and hops in relative bulk (numerous 50lb. bags of grain every 6 months and hops by the pound). 9g batches cost me under $20 at times, depending on the recipe. Yeast would cost me nearly $10 from LHBS unless using dry, plus there's the trip there, making a starter (cost of DME, time spent). Repitching only requires me setting the jar out at room temp during the brew, then shaking it up and dumping it in.

Ok I understand I brew with grain and extract and my batches usually cost 50$ or more including the yeast. But I only buy what I need for the batch I'm brewing so its a little more expensive but I like knowing its fresh and my LHBS is only 15 min from my house or 5 min from my work so it's no biggie to ride over there.

ThaBrewFather06 said:

Is it a specific type of beer you make or is it just the quantity you make? I have only brewed 5 gallon batches and my yeast costs at most 10 dollars and that's if I'm making a high gravity beer. What makes it cost so much for you? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, I'm really interested in learning all about brewing, thanks for the answers.

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It looks like the question was answered, but don't want you to think I'm ignoring the question. The most recent recipe I priced out was a lager which requires double the cell count of an ale. If I was spending $8 for every 100 billion cells it adds up pretty quick. The same money would buy 4 pounds of base malt which would be about 100 gravity points. For an Ale that would take 60 billion cells to inoculate, and for a lager it would take 120 billion cells.