Bottle harvesting--wort into the bottle?

[hasenman]

I will be attempting my first bottle harvest and have read lots of things about it..perhaps too much!

I've read one article that says wort can be poured directly into the bottle for the first step-up (I think a BYO article). I haven't seen this anywhere else but am considering doing it considering my limited 'lab'--I only have a 500ml pyrex and a 2L flask.

So, considering that I'll have to step-up a few times throughout the process, I figured that I could use the bottle as my first 2-3 steps.

My anticipated process:
1.) make a 500ml 1.020 wort with DME and stir to aerate.

2.) add 5ml to each of the Rochefort bottles I will be harvesting from, hand stirring for the next 2-3 days (? not sure how long because of the concentration and I don't have a stir plate). After adding this small amount of wort, I was thinking of saving the 490ml leftover in a couple of sanitized bottles for step-up additions later in the week. (possible to do this without too much infection risk??)

3.) use the leftover wort to step up inside the bottle over the next week. I plan to add 25ml after 2-3 days of the first 5ml addition, then add 200ml after a few more days to get about 230ml of wort in the bottle by the end of the week. I plan on re-capping the chilled wort from the first day for these 2 step ups (concerned about the sanitation).

4.) Make a fresh 1-1.5L 1.040 DME wort in the flask and pitch (decant?) the yeast from the 2 bottles if both are viable and don't smell off. If one smells off, I will just make a 1L starter and pitch only one bottle.

Well, please chime in with any advice! Much appreciated...

 

[bionut]

Why don't you make only one starter with the yeast from two, or how many bottles you will have? You can use one of the bottles for the first steps, just sanitize the opening very well, your wort may touch it when you pour it in the bottle.
For the first step you can use up to 50 ml probably, 5 ml is to little for the amount of yeast in a bottle. I use 5ml or more when i inoculate from a slant. No need for 3 days of fermenting, after 24-48 hours (or when you see yeast activity) you can add another 250 ml of wort on top of it for the second step. After another 24-48 hour you can step to 1 liter starter.
After the fermenting is done just decant the starter in the fridge and use your yeast slurry in a batch o beer. Don't forget to taste the discarded beer from the starter before you pitch the slurry to a batch of beer. It's your only chance to detect a possible infection before ruining a full batch.

I did this with the yeast from a bottle of Westmalle, i got some intersting results

Don't forget, relax and have fun doing this, of RDWHAHB.

 

[hasenman]

Thanks bionut! Was hoping to hear that I could go a bit higher on the first step. I think I'll add the second bottle of Rochefort into one.

Have you ever saved extra wort in an bottle or something? I'm thinking I can just boil enough wort for the first two steps and save 2-300ml in a sanitized bottle. Is this a step I should avoid to reduce contamination possibilities?

Guess, I should stop guessing about shortcuts and just do it the safest way possible.

 

[bionut]

You can keep the wort in a bottle, but i would boil it again before adding it to the starter. When i brew i keep about a liter in soda bottles and store them in the freezer. This way i don't have to buy extract for making starters.