Washed yeast storage (jars/bottles)

Just wondering if the type of glass you store the yeast in will impact how long it will remain viable. Such as if you store in clear glass you get X months. But if you store in amber/brown glass you get Y months. I cleaned out a bunch of brown glass (vitamin) bottles yesterday, that I plan to sanitize and use to store my washed yeast in. Once I've figured out how much volume each one holds that is. I plan on labeling each bottle with what strain is in it, plus which generation it is, and then keeping in the cooler part of the fridge.

If the brown glass will be better, then I'll also have family members save their bottles for me, so that I can get a good sized stockpile going. The will be easier to store in the fridge, that's for certain (due to a more compact size)...

It shouldn't really matter a whole lot unless your fridge is open allowing UV light into it. I use clear mason jars, but they are in my keezer which is shut 99.99% of the time, and even when it is open it is in my garage with the garage door shut. The only down side to a brown bottle is if the bottle isn't very see through it could be hard to make sure you have a good yeast sample in the bottom of the bottle. But there shouldn't be anything barring you from using it as long as they seal and are air tight.

cheers

I'm going to start using specimen collection cups my wife can bring home from the hospital (she's a nurse). They are certified sterile and sealed. Just another idea.....

I never did it, but I think baby bottles would be a good idea. They come with microwave sterilization directions and they even almost have an airlock ;-)

I am using clear glass jars to get the yeast isolated from the trub, and such... Just planning for the long term storage is all. I have one jar that has a little darker layer in the bottom, which is probably trub, that I need to pour off of. I'm planning on using that segment first (this weekend)... I was thinking of putting the other two jars worth of yeasties into smaller jars (the brown glass ones I have on hand) for storage. I'll be heading out to BBB to see if they have anything that will do the job too... My only concern is that the caps for the brown jars have the cardboard inserts in them... I'm sure I can remove those, but I'd be a little concerned about them being air tight. I plan to test a couple to see how well they seal with that removed. If they are good, then I'll plan to use them as needed.

I also have a couple of glass spice jars that I've cleaned out that could be used. Great size for storing, since they are smaller.

I'm planning on only having 2-4 containers of yeast from each havest. How long should I expect the yeast (from the original harvest) to remain viable? Should I use each one before X months so that I can reset the clock for the harvest from that batch? I like the idea of having a great many brews from just the single, original, yeast purchase. Knocks $8 off of the cost of each batch that way.

petep1980 said:

I never did it, but I think baby bottles would be a good idea. They come with microwave sterilization directions and they even almost have an airlock ;-)

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No babies at this location, and everyone I currently know (family included) isn't buying baby food at present... At least none that I'm on good terms with.

Oh man baby food jars are a great idea, I have a 2 week old daughter too... I need to remember this when we get to gerber!

Bottenbrew said:

Oh man baby food jars are a great idea, I have a 2 week old daughter too... I need to remember this when we get to gerber!

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Stock up now...

A good number of the jars I have are about the same size (maybe a hair smaller) than what I recall baby food jars being. A few are larger. I might just go and get more empty spice jars and use those.

I recommend clear glass so you can observe changes in the yeast and see to what degree it has separated into sediment/yeast/water layers. In my broad experience of rinsing and reusing yeast all of one time I found this useful.

Chris

Bottenbrew said:

Oh man baby food jars are a great idea, I have a 2 week old daughter too... I need to remember this when we get to gerber!

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I'm talking the things babies suck on with the nipples, not baby food jars. They are plastic, food grade, equipped with a vent. And you can easily sterilize them in the microwave. They have sets that come with bags you can steam them in.

petep1980 said:

I'm talking the things babies suck on with the nipples

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Glad you added the rest.. I was going in an entirely different direction with this.

ChrisNH said:

Glad you added the rest.. I was going in an entirely different direction with this.

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Yeast infections in that case are much worse than what we're used to.

*rim shot*

petep1980 said:

I'm talking the things babies suck on with the nipples, not baby food jars. They are plastic, food grade, equipped with a vent. And you can easily sterilize them in the microwave. They have sets that come with bags you can steam them in.

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Those will all be in use for a while, totally stealing them when she moves onto solid foods.

petep1980 said:

I'm talking the things babies suck on with the nipples, not baby food jars. They are plastic, food grade, equipped with a vent. And you can easily sterilize them in the microwave. They have sets that come with bags you can steam them in.

Click to expand...

ChrisNH said:

Glad you added the rest.. I was going in an entirely different direction with this.

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Glad to hear that I was not the only one...