Getting yeast from a commercial bottle
- Thread starter billk911
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It's just like making a starter but you are using the dregs at the bottom of a bottle. One trick I've found is to use multiple bottles when you make it. I've done huge harvests of yeast with as many as 12 bottles.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/pacman-yeast-starter-video-63855/?highlight=pacman
It's just like making a starter but you are using the dregs at the bottom of a bottle. One trick I've found is to use multiple bottles when you make it. I've done huge harvests of yeast with as many as 12 bottles.
DrawTap88
Well-Known Member
You're also going to want to make sure that Bell's uses the same yeast to bottle condition and don't pasturize their beers before sending out to market. If you do wind up getting the yeast from the bottle, let us know how it turns out.
That was pretty much established here years ago that they DO indeed have the primary source yeast in their bottles. Actually very few breweries, mostly belgian, intentionally disguise their yeast, or go with a totally different yeast strain at bottling. And that's mostly hig grav beers. But Bell's indeed has their houe strain in it Folks have successfully harvest from 2 hearted and iirc Amber.
DrawTap88
Well-Known Member
I did not know that. Thank you, Revvy.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Just take your time stepping up the yeast. You should step up no more than ten times the volume of the prior step, so your first step should be very small. I typically get enough yeast for a 5 gallon batch within about a week. You don't have to, but you may want to think about adding a pinch of yeast nutrient, if you have it, to that first step to make sure the yeast get off to a good start.
Oberon as well. I successfully harvested from 3 bottles into a small 500 ml starter on stir plate and stepped up from there. Not a bad idea to use some yeast nutrient too since those guys in the bottle have been pretty abused compared to your typical smack pack yeast!
