Harvesting yeast off of a starter

[philly224]

I just came across this article:

http://brulosophy.com/methods/yeast-harvesting/

And wanted to see what people thought about it. I know a lot of people wash/harvest yeast after fermentation but this method seems way easier and good way to save some money on yeast. Does anyone here do this regularly? If so how has it been working out for you?

 

[flars]

That's the way I do it. Brewunited calculator will show the percentage of the starter wort to pitch and the percentage to save/harvest. I decant the flask volume until the remaining volume will give me the same percentages to harvest and pitch after pouring off 385 ml to fill a pint jar. Filling the pint jar to near the brim reduces air in the head space. May store a little while longer with less oxidation.

 

[philly224]

That's the way I do it. Brewunited calculator will show the percentage of the starter wort to pitch and the percentage to save/harvest. I decant the flask volume until the remaining volume will give me the same percentages to harvest and pitch after pouring off 385 ml to fill a pint jar.

Awesome, how long do you typically store it in the fridge? When you go to use that yeast and make a starter can you over build it and harvest again?

 

[flars]

I'll sometimes have year old yeast in the frig. My frig is set to 34°F. Sometimes I will revive an old yeast in a 1.010 wort if the color looks good. Usually only keep yeast up to six months unless it is a special strain. I over build the previously harvested to have yeast on hand that has not gone through the stresses of a fermentation.

Some times I just make a new starter with older yeast to refresh it if I don't plan to brew with it too soon.

 

[sundog14]

This method seems quite viable. I don;t think he/she mentions it, but my take is that an "extra large" starter is made and then divided between one being a starter and one being the harvested/saved sample.
My method is somewhat different but has been very effective and relatively easy for me. I do my primary fermentation a 12 gallon SS kettle. I remove the "gunk" on top of the krausen and harvest the clean krausen.This allows for easy top-cropping and the top-cropping allows the yeast to "breathe easier". I have stored samples this way for up to 5 months. That one took a little longer the get going but made a fine beer.
I do have another question. When I make my starter, I see the bubbles of CO2 rising, but I also see some "debris" dropping from the surface. Is this the yeast cells flocculating?
Cheers, Tom

 

[VTX1300]

I have been over building starters for almost 9 months. I use WLP001 in most of my batches and have not bought yeast in that time. I feel its a much cleaner method than harvesting. I just fermented an IPA on a starter that I believe is about generation #8 with no noticeable difference from when I bought fresh yeast every time.

 

[Sbe2]

I use this method. I just revived 1056 that I stored in September. I always smell the starter before pitching reason being I tried to start 1318 afrer being stored after six months and it smelled like a dirty diaper. In which case I have packets yeast on hand.

 

[cabron99]

Been doing it this way for years. Usually revive or use after 4-5 months, but have had good results up to 10-12. I don't like to wait that long and try to revive at 3. Haven't kept track of the generations very well. Probably 6-8 and replace. I really should be counting better.

pao

 

[teesherv]

Yep! This is the way I typically harvest/keep yeast. If I need 1500mL of starter, I build 2000mL and keep 500 after in a small jar for next time. That 500mL jar gets built off of a couple of times (4-5) before I start over with fresh yeast. Usually gets used within 6 months at the longest.

 

[Konadog]

I've been overbuilding starters for 2 years now. The oldest one I've revived is 5 months, and I replace them after 6 to 10 rebuilds. Things I keep track of is the original yeast date, the rebuild date, and how many times I have used it.

 

[philly224]

Thanks everyone! Definitely going to try this!

 

[Cevan65]

I brew 3 gallon at a time. I'll get at least 10 batches out of one smack pack.

 

[jpakstis]

I follow that same procedure; its great! I usually make a 1.5 L starter, decant enough to fill an 8 ounce mason jar we have and use the rest for the next batch. I've used the same overbuilt strain of US-05 for close to 18 months and I haven't noticed any issues with it.

 

[Ryan_O]

I also started harvesting yeast based on the Brulosophy article. Have had great luck with so far, 10 generations of WLP001 is the furthest I've gone with no notable off-flavors. I usually make a 2L starter like normal and then the night before brew day I pour half of the starter into a sanitized quart-sized mason jar and then put both the flask and mason jar in the fridge. Pull the mason jar out and create another 2L starter when ready. One thing that's noted in the Brulosophy article that I think is worth noting is to put the mason jar lid on but do not tighten for a few days. This will allow any additional gases to escape. The first time I harvested I tightened the lid immediately and the next morning it was bent.