Pour new batch onto old yeast or wash it first?

What do y'all think?

My pale ale is about to go into the 2ndary. I will have a new batch of wort ready to go at the same time that requires the same yeast strand. Should I dump the new wort onto the one inch layer of yeast and trub leftover from by last batch or should I wash the yeast, then make a new starter and use this in my next batch instead?

I wonder if the trub from my last batch will cause problems with the new batch? Thanks for any feedback

If you do just dump it then let me know, i have seen other do this, but i have yet to see someone say not to do this, but either way i have been thinking about doing this myself.

I always try to schedule my beers so I can pitch on top of the prior yeast cake for at least two batches. Saves money and one less fermenter to clean.

The only issue you would have is over pitching.If you wash it the same day you don't need a starter and you would have plenty left over for future brews.

Over pitching isn't really going to kill you though unless you're doing a much smaller beer. The ultimate trub will be insane, but that's no biggie either.

Go ahead, it's easy, and you can skip a starter.

My 1st brew was a pale ale at 1.053. The next one though will be about 1.100. The yeast we're talking about is White Labs California Ale Yeast.

Sounds like can just wash it and immediatly dump it into the next brew (same day) without making a starter.

Joos said:

The only issue you would have is over pitching.If you wash it the same day you don't need a starter and you would have plenty left over for future brews.

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Isn't overpitching really only an issue when we're looking at beer styles that get a lot of their flavor from the yeast growth stage, like Belgians?

I've done this once, and the beer ended up having autolysis issues, I brewed a 12 gallon batch and split the batch, one getting a different yeast strain (WL001) and the other was pitched directly on top of the yeast cake (WL575) of the batch I just racked. I could be it was a Belgian yeast, but the beer was slick on my tongue, and a bit funky, while the 001 fermented beer was quite clean and had no slick feel, as well the beer from where the yeast cake came from also had no such taste or feel.

From then on I always rinse my yeast before re-pitching.

just my 2¢

Technically, it's better to wash the yeast and pitch the appropriate amount of slurry. That's what I would do if I were you. Plenty of people pitch on their old cakes with success, though.

I've been washing the yeast cakes, and splitting the washed yeast into four or five canning jars, half pint size. It provides half pints of saved yeast for future batches, and I dump a couple of half pints of fresh, washed yeast right back into the clean carboy for the next batch usually that same day.

The advantages are fresh washed yeast, clean carboy, and extra yeast starters for future batches.

Good Luck.

i washed some wlp001 i used in a blonde ale on sunday. later that day i pitched one of the containers straight into a batch of Am. Brown wort. i must say that i was surprised at how rapid fermentation onset was (less than 12 hrs). i guess because the yeast was relatively fresh and didnt have a chance to lie dormant, the sample must've been very viable.

this was my first time reusing "harvested" yeast from a previous batch onto a later batch, and i must say that i am very impressed so far.

SO, i say wash yeast instead of pitching on the cake. You get cleaner yeast and you get multiple samples of it. Its a beautiful thing!

just my $.02

I usually dump part of the trub into a sanitized jar and refrigerate until my new wort is ready to go into a clean and sanitized fermenter. Then I pitch some of the refrigerated slurry.