Washing yeast

I attempted to wash my yeast for our second batch, the problem was the trub never settled out of the yeast, I filled a mason jar full and after over an hour it looked the same.

We ended up just pitching the entire jar into the wort and had bubbles within an hour.

Is there anything wrong with pitching trub and all into the new primary? What did I do wrong with the washing?

are you brewing a similar style beer?

sirsloop said:

are you brewing a similar style beer?

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The yeast is from a stong scotch going into a pumpkin oatmeal stout.

No problem. Many here will put a batch directly onto the slurry of a primary. Typically you'd be putting a darker beer onto the slurry which is basically what you did; or close to it anyway. You're fine.

Typically I only wash yeast when I'm going to store it.

I had the same thing happen on my first attempt at yeast washing. I think the problem was that I had so much trub that it could not settle out. I have taken steps since then to reduce the amount of trub I get in the fermenter.

My last attempt to wash my yeast was much more successful. There was not a lot of trub, and after about 20 minutes there was a distinct separation of the layers in the mason jar. I decanted off the yeast and washed again. Again, there was a distinct separation of layers. Decanted off the yeast and stored.

John

I have yet to try dumping a new batch onto the yeast cake. When you do this, do you remove the trub and sanitize the container, or do you just dump it right after you transfer the wort, and not sanitize?

I often just pour some of the sludge from a previous batch into a sanatized jar then pitch it into a new beer. It always turns out great.

jerly said:

I have yet to try dumping a new batch onto the yeast cake. When you do this, do you remove the trub and sanitize the container, or do you just dump it right after you transfer the wort, and not sanitize?

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Dump it in. It'll ferment very quickly; probably in 2-3 days and it's "usually" ready for the secondary.

jerly said:

I have yet to try dumping a new batch onto the yeast cake. When you do this, do you remove the trub and sanitize the container, or do you just dump it right after you transfer the wort, and not sanitize?

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You can do it both ways. Some people don't like the idea of putting new wort into a "dirty" fermenter. The fact is though, that if the "dirty" fermenter was not still sanitary, your last batch would have been contaminated.

I have pitched several batches directly onto the yeast cake of a previous batch without doing anything. They all were very fast starters, and I have had very complete fermentations. I have an Imperial Stout (OG 1.090) fermenting right now on the yeast cake of a Creme Stout (OG 1.060) that I racked into a secondary.

There are some things to consider though. You would not want to pitch a lighter batch onto the yeast cake of a darker batch. You would not want to pitch a lower gravity batch on the yeast cake of a higher gravity batch. The yeast strain would also need to be considered as well. You probably would not want to pitch a stout onto the yeast cake of a hefe-weizen etc...

Oh, I almost forgot, be sure and use a blow off tube!!!


John