Harvest yeast

[stadtbrau]

I racked a Munich Helles today to a keg for lagering. I put a quart of boiled and cooled water into the fermenter and swirled. I then poured the slurry into two quart jars. Put in fridge and this is what I have...
I am going to pour off the water but what is everyone's opinion on the yeast in there that is in two layers? Do I need to try to isolate one of those?
Thanks

 

[friarsmith]

If you let the jar sit a full day or two in the refrigerator the beige/creamy desirable portion of the yeast will sit between the water and trub and should become more apparent. You could combine the keeper yeast portions from both jars into one if you want. I usually scoop out the good stuff with a sanitized spoon into small 4oz baby food sized or 8oz jars.

Considering the yeast was from a helles and the beer was probably hopped very lightly, you may not see much trub at the bottom of the jar, especially if you got a good cold break after the boil and left that gunk behind in the kettle.

 

[ericbw]

Definitely let it sit longer (cold) to compact more. After a couple of days, you'll see a more clear line between the layers.

If I am motivated enough to take the time, I pour off as much of the liquid as I can, then swirl the rest together and let it sit for 20 minutes (or 30, or an hour) and let the heavier trub settle. Then pour off the cloudy liquid at the top, and the yeast will settle out mostly without as much extra gunk.

And like Friarsmith said, if you then put it in smaller jars, you can pull one out when you need it, and the others stay clean until you use them.

I used to just save the slurry in the fridge, then scoop out a few spoonfuls when I brewed. That's not the best way to avoid infections!

 

[Pratzie]

Def a few non desirables left in there but its not a big deal.

Check out this thread for some advise on that process. I found it very informative when I harvested a few years back.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/yeast-harvesting-novel-approach.html

 

[stadtbrau]

It was a lightly hopped helles and I do get a good cold break that I leave behind in the kettle. I used both jars, poured off the water, poured most of the jar into the fermenter. Not much gunk on the bottom to separate really. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[rabassa]

How long will this be usable?

 

[certaut]

for quite a while if treated right.
I dump on trub quite allot and have had few problems, works very well with the lager I brew
if you wash the yeast you can get quite a few brews from it without off flavors, keyword is wash, there are many articles on washing yeast out there and the only things that are important are sanitize an store properly.
pete

 

[stadtbrau]

How long will this be usable?

If I was going to store it very long I would make a starter from it. I however used it the day after harvesting so I just pitched a large portion into my new batch. I will have to experiment a bit more on pitch rates when brewing lagers but this worked fairly well.

 

[jsiddall]

Definitely make a starter to be sure the yeast is viable when using washed yeast.

I have used washed yeast successfully at 6 months.

I also tried to start some washed yeast that was 1.5 years old (got stuck in the back of the fridge) and it was dead. YMMV.