Washing question

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Abrayton

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I attempted to wash my first batch of yeast. The attached picture is the end result. My question is, when I go to reuse the yeast and make a starter, how do I know how much yeast I am starting with per jar?

IMG_1742.jpg
 
Washing yeast isn't necessary. Just decant or not,swirl it up and dump it in. I think the calculators for reused yeast go by slurry. For what its worth My average yeast cake is 2 of those center jars filled to the top.I use one full jar for 5 gallons always and never have a problem.Its a simple method that works everytime. No calculators,no washing,no starters and no aeration half the time....simple works
I also suck up every ounce of cold break from the BK into fermenter.So my jars have a lot of trub in them
 
Are all those jars from the same batch, looks like it. If so I would add it all up volume wise and use half for one 5 gallon batch. Dividing by 3 and using 1/3 total yeast cake works for many people also. Yeast amount on a homebrew level is no exact science, more of an estimate.
 
It depends...If you use them right away the typical rule of thumb is use half of your slurry from a previous batch for a batch the same size. If you are storing these long term, you will want to take one, step it up gradually to make a starter. The usual starter is 2L starter per 5G batch.

It does not look like your yeast is "washed" per se. In most of the jars it looks like there is a dark/greenish layer on the bottom. That is the hop matter and such that you are trying to get rid of. If you want to wash it, you want to stir up the jar, wait about 10 min for the trub stuff to settle. Pour off the milky liquid and keep that, while dumping your trub matter. Cold crash the milky liquid and the yeast will drop out.

Washing isn't really necessary but that is what you should do if you really want it washed.
 
note: do not seal the lids. leave them loose so it will not build pressuer. AND tell others the lids are loose to avoid spills by loved ones.
 
There was a kick starter last year for lids that would vent. If I recall they were pretty cheap. I have a few but never used them, though. At remember the name... will try to find it.
 
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