Using slurry as yeast for pitching ADVICE?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JKHomebrew

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
93
Reaction score
1
Location
Rochester New York
I am trying not to ask to many questions that have allready been answered but after a quite a few batches and allot of reading I think I remember somebody saying that you can pitch slurey from a batch as the starter yeast in your next batch?

How is this done?

I am bottling a batch of IPA I brewed 2 weeks ago on Weds, I used a starter made with Wyeast American Ale liquid yeast, I was going to brew another batch on that day as well,

Can I use the slurey from the bottom and pitch it in the new batch? I am going to make an amber ale for kegging
 
You could just dump the new wort directly into the yeast cake of that IPA and watch it take off in no time! I would definitely suggest a blow off tube though. I love doing that, there's no lag time and you know there will be plenty of yeast to get the job done right!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
the easiest thing to do is just pour your chilled amber ale wort into the fermenter after you rack your pale ale out of it. So, rack pale ale leaving yeast sediment, put the airlock back on until you're ready with the amber, then fill the same yeasty carboy with pale ale.

This could be overpitching but I have done it with good results as many others have.

A 'better' way to do it would be to rack amber, drain yeast and trub from bottom into sterilized container, go to mrmalty.com and calculate the volume of slurry you need, measure it out in sanitzed container and pitch that amount only.
 
I've done it a couple of times, pitching with about 1/3 - 1/2 of the slurry from the primary and they take off right quick.
 
What is the limit of times that you can do this before the yeast get over stressed?
If you plan on doing this a few times to stock up, is it better to measure out the slurry or just keep pitching on what is left?

It seems like the more expensive the yeast is, the more this makes sense.
 
I usually buy 1 vial (generation 1), wash the yeast after fermentation and get a minimum of 5 vials (generation 2) from that (that makes 6 uses).

From those 5 vials you can get another 5 vials (generation 3) (that makes 31 uses). This comes out to $.25 based upon a $8 vial.

From those 5 you can get 5 more from each (generation 4).

That makes 125 plus the 31 for a total of 156 batches. This equates to $.5 per usage. So, who said liquid yeast costs too much to use?

If you want to go that way.:D

These quantities are minimum amounts where the vials are 3/4 yeast, not a teaspoon amount like the original purchase. You can definitely save larger volumes than a vial.

Me? I keep a minimum of 40 vials on-hand in my fridge, but I probably have closer to 60-70 vials right now. :D
 
Guys thaks for the help, i have never washed yeast and I guess it's time to learn, sounds like it will be nice to have a bunch of yeast in the fridge.

Thanks again,

Oh is there a sticky on the yeast washing? I will try and find something
 
Wow! what a timely thread, I was just going to ask the same question!! Any problems using the yeast cake from an IPA to make a porter. I used wyeast ringwood for the IPA. Thanks.
 
Wow! what a timely thread, I was just going to ask the same question!! Any problems using the yeast cake from an IPA to make a porter. I used wyeast ringwood for the IPA. Thanks.
The thing with tossing wort on slurry is you want to make sure the previous beer brewed will not affect the new one. It is easier to go from a light beer to a darker one, but not the other way around.

If you washed the yeast it would not matter. ;)
 
So will putting a porter on my IPA yeast cake be ok?? It is obviously a darker beer so that should be okay. But what about any hop residue or even the type of yeast used previously, anything I should know before I do this? thanks.
 
I was told I could use the slurry to bake bread, so I kept it and put it in the fridge. I never did find a recipe for bread using slurry, so now I'm wondering if it is even still good. Anyone know how long it will live in the fridge?
 
Back
Top