First time harvesting yeast. want to use it in 10 gallon batch w/ 2 liter starter

[HObrew]

SO i have one mason jar of 2nd generation wyeast london III 1318. Actually once its cold crashed it only comes to about a few mm of yeast cake. Dont know If i washed out most of the yeast.

I plan on doing two 5.5 gallon batches in one day.

It seems that even if I were to use a fresh vial and step it up 3 times in my 2L flask. I would not have enough yeast fir a 5.5 gallon batch.

Can I use my 2L flask to start half of this mason jar and then transfer it to another container and then start an identical starter with the other half? Will this yield more than if I stepped up a yeast starter? It seems as though the returns diminish with starting.

What if I took one packet of new yeast and split that into two starters?

I have a stir plate

Apologies if I have it completely wrong. My understanding of yeast reproduction is not advanced.

 

[Kent88]

I bet you can make this work.

How long has the yeast been in the mason jar? Have you estimated how many cell you have and how many you'll need? How strong of wort are you planning to add this to? How soon do you need to have the yeast ready, are you up against a deadline?

 

[HObrew]

I bet you can make this work.

How long has the yeast been in the mason jar? Have you estimated how many cell you have and how many you'll need? How strong of wort are you planning to add this to? How soon do you need to have the yeast ready, are you up against a deadline?

Its been in the mason jar since last wednesday. I have no idea how many cells but it was only that tiny amount of yeast cake in the carboy so I definitely washed away alot of valuable yeast. I am aiming for 1.070 OG. I need the yeast ready by sunday. No deadline. Just want to have more of this beer in circulation so I can stop kicking kegs of green beer haha

May just start new yeast and try again. but the question still stands because I would prefer to split a packet of new yeast instead of buying 2 packs

 

[Kjay]

If you are going to spend five bucks on dry then why not buy a vial of liquid yeast culture that is similar to the yeast you are using. Make a starter from that then harvest that. That way you have a bunch of happy yeast.

Not to steer you away from your current plan, just a suggestion if you are going to buy new yeast.

 

[RedlegEd]

SO i have one mason jar of 2nd generation wyeast london III 1318. Actually once its cold crashed it only comes to about a few mm of yeast cake. Dont know If i washed out most of the yeast.

I plan on doing two 5.5 gallon batches in one day.

It seems that even if I were to use a fresh vial and step it up 3 times in my 2L flask. I would not have enough yeast fir a 5.5 gallon batch.

Can I use my 2L flask to start half of this mason jar and then transfer it to another container and then start an identical starter with the other half? Will this yield more than if I stepped up a yeast starter? It seems as though the returns diminish with starting.
What if I took one packet of new yeast and split that into two starters?
I have a stir plate
Apologies if I have it completely wrong. My understanding of yeast reproduction is not advanced.

Hi. Here's what I would do were it me. Since it's only a week old, I would make a 1.5L starter at 1.035, decant as much beer/water as possible off the mason jar yeast, and pitch it in the starter wort. If you already have another fresh vial of the same yeast, pitch that too. After about 24 - 36 hours, cold crash that starter, decant, and refill to 2L with fresh 1.035-1.040 wort. Run on stir plate for another 24 - 36 hours. Cold crash, decant, and split the resultant slurry into thirds. Pitch two of the thirds into your two beers, and harvest (save) the remaining third for future use. It may have a little lag starting off, but should be fine. BTW, next time, don't wash, just save the slurry (even with the trub.) It's a heck of a lot easier and the results are about the same. Good luck! Ed

 

[HObrew]

If you are going to spend five bucks on dry then why not buy a vial of liquid yeast culture that is similar to the yeast you are using. Make a starter from that then harvest that. That way you have a bunch of happy yeast.

Not to steer you away from your current plan, just a suggestion if you are going to buy new yeast.

I may be doing that but wyeast 1318 is liquid yeast not dry.

Hi. Here's what I would do were it me. Since it's only a week old, I would make a 1.5L starter at 1.035, decant as much beer/water as possible off the mason jar yeast, and pitch it in the starter wort. If you already have another fresh vial of the same yeast, pitch that too. After about 24 - 36 hours, cold crash that starter, decant, and refill to 2L with fresh 1.035-1.040 wort. Run on stir plate for another 24 - 36 hours. Cold crash, decant, and split the resultant slurry into thirds. Pitch two of the thirds into your two beers, and harvest (save) the remaining third for future use. It may have a little lag starting off, but should be fine. BTW, next time, don't wash, just save the slurry (even with the trub.) It's a heck of a lot easier and the results are about the same. Good luck! Ed

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely save the slurry next time!

 

[Jtk78]

Did you top crop the yeast or harvest it after you transfered it? I just top cropped 1318 and got over 100ml of clean settled yeast.

 

[HObrew]

Did you top crop the yeast or harvest it after you transfered it? I just top cropped 1318 and got over 100ml of clean settled yeast.

Got the stuff from the bottom. Ill have to look up what top cropping is.

 

[Kjay]

Hey sorry I read the "packet" part of your post and forgot you mentioned you were using a wyeast product. I associated packet with dry yeast. Good luck with your yeast challenge.