How to harvest yeast?

[Mike Newman]

I have recently become intrigued by yeast slurries and how you go about starting the process. I am curious though if it’s worth harvesting slurry from dry yeast? I mostly brew with US-05, but my question relates to Lallemand Belle Saison yeast for future saisons.

I am about to bottle my 1.5 gallon batch of a saison this weekend and wondered if it’s worth saving the slurry for future batches? Also if I do save it, does the same math apply when I comes to the number of yeast cells in my slurry? For instance if I pitched 6.25 grams of Belle Saison, would I theoretically have 54.3% (6.25/11.5) of what typical 5 gallon slurries have?

 

[flars]

Lot of questions. Basically when dry yeast is rehydrated or used for a fermentation it has become liquid yeast. US-05 and WY 1056 are the same yeast strain. Just different packaging.

How many yeast cells per milliliter when it is harvested depends upon how much non yeast material is present. You most likely can estimate 1 billion cells per ml. Very clean harvested yeast could have 4 billion cells per ml.

Harvested yeast from a high gravity fermentation will be stressed. The harvested yeast may need a starter to rebuild healthy cells for the next fermentation.

This is a good starting read.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/simple-yeast-storage-procedure-with-photos.579350/

 

[rhys333]

I have recently become intrigued by yeast slurries and how you go about starting the process. I am curious though if it’s worth harvesting slurry from dry yeast? I mostly brew with US-05, but my question relates to Lallemand Belle Saison yeast for future saisons.

I am about to bottle my 1.5 gallon batch of a saison this weekend and wondered if it’s worth saving the slurry for future batches? Also if I do save it, does the same math apply when I comes to the number of yeast cells in my slurry? For instance if I pitched 6.25 grams of Belle Saison, would I theoretically have 54.3% (6.25/11.5) of what typical 5 gallon slurries have?

Absolutely its worth harvesting from dry yeast. Just like the liquid strains, it can take a generation or two to get acclimated to your brewing system. At that point, you have yeast slurry that often performs better for you than yeast straight from the pack.

I harvested a couple jars of US05 slurry from a brown ale just last night, in fact. I pitched that from the packet and there was a significant 2 day lag time, but I'm willing to bet the harvested slurry will kick off in a few short hours next time I use it.

 

[Mike Newman]

Absolutely its worth harvesting from dry yeast. Just like the liquid strains, it can take a generation or two to get acclimated to your brewing system. At that point, you have yeast slurry that often performs better for you than yeast straight from the pack.

I harvested a couple jars of US05 slurry from a brown ale just last night, in fact. I pitched that from the packet and there was a significant 2 day lag time, but I'm willing to bet the harvested slurry will kick off in a few short hours next time I use it.

First slurry harvest- hoping to use it in 3 weeks!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I have recently become intrigued by yeast slurries and how you go about starting the process. I am curious though if it’s worth harvesting slurry from dry yeast? I mostly brew with US-05, but my question relates to Lallemand Belle Saison yeast for future saisons.

The thing you've got to watch is that most liquid yeasts are a single strain, whereas a number of dry yeasts appear to be blends. Since different yeast reproduce at different rates, the proportions "drift" with each generation and you soon end up with one strain dominating that has very different brewing characteristics to the original blend. Mangrove Jack dry yeasts have a reputation of drifting within a few generations which makes me think most of them must be blends, and it's known that Lallemand put a blend in Nottingham but I'm not aware of anyone investigating Belle Saison.

So give it a go, but be wary of drift - and ultimately it comes down to whether a few bucks/euros/??? for a new packet of yeast is worth it as insurance against stored yeast drifting. I wouldn't sweat too much for the first generation or two, but it's definitely a real problem with some dry yeasts.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I harvest dry yeast if I'm gong to use it soon.

I'm confused about that picture of slurry...is it green?

I washed this Safale US-05 1 time and got this (trub-free):

 

[Mike Newman]

I harvest dry yeast if I'm gong to use it soon.

I'm confused about that picture of slurry...is it green?

I washed this Safale US-05 1 time and got this (trub-free):

View attachment 562637

I definitely just got the trub out and I am washing it individually, hence the green color. Also this came from an IPA that had quite a lot of hops added at flameout, which may have something to do with the appearance as well. I’ll post a pic later today of what it looks like now but it’s definitely closer to what your looks like.

 

[Mike Newman]

I harvest dry yeast if I'm gong to use it soon.

I'm confused about that picture of slurry...is it green?

I washed this Safale US-05 1 time and got this (trub-free):

[

 

[homebrewer_99]

I definitely just got the trub out and I am washing it individually, hence the green color. Also this came from an IPA that had quite a lot of hops added at flameout, which may have something to do with the appearance as well. I’ll post a pic later today of what it looks like now but it’s definitely closer to what your looks like.

OK, I thought it was hops.

I've been using a nylon net (same one since 1994) over my primary bucket to catch the hops from the brew pot, while most of the break material stays whirlpooled in the pot.

The end result is my wort enters the primary clean AND by pouring it through the net it gets aerated at the same time.

 

[Mike Newman]

Solid advice. I have been looking into ways to clean up my hops issue. Thanks for the tip

 

[homebrewer_99]

Solid advice. I have been looking into ways to clean up my hops issue. Thanks for the tip

See the picture I added above...

 

[Jayjay1976]

I brewed up a 2.5 liter starter a few days ago from a small 4oz jar of slurry I harvested back in early December, then I pitched half of it into a batch of wort and the rest will go into jars. Should I wash the yeast before storing it? I've noticed that tightly closed jars of slurry continue to bubble a bit forcing junk out of the jars which I fear might cause them to become infected. I kinda think I should wash it but I'm also worried about adding to the risk of infection from the additional handling, also not having a layer of hopped/alcoholic beer over the yeast to protect it from the baddies.

 

[Mike Newman]

See the picture I added above...

How many uses before you have to replace the nylon

 

[homebrewer_99]

How many uses before you have to replace the nylon

LOL! Not really sure about an exact number count, but that nylon in the picture came with my first kit back in August 1994. The elastic is shot and there is some wear on the edges, but other than that it's all good.

If you are in need of some inexpensive nylon bags go to Menard's and by 5 gallon paint strainers. 3 in a bag for under $3.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I brewed up a 2.5 liter starter a few days ago from a small 4oz jar of slurry I harvested back in early December, then I pitched half of it into a batch of wort and the rest will go into jars. Should I wash the yeast before storing it? I've noticed that tightly closed jars of slurry continue to bubble a bit forcing junk out of the jars which I fear might cause them to become infected. I kinda think I should wash it but I'm also worried about adding to the risk of infection from the additional handling, also not having a layer of hopped/alcoholic beer over the yeast to protect it from the baddies.

The problem with bottling slurry is you have active beer still producing CO2. If the jar is sealed it could explode.

When you wash yeast you are basically watering down the beer and deactivating it to a negligible level.

If you are pretty good about sanitation you shouldn't have any worries.

Here's what I do: Boil and cool 1/2 gal of water. Pour it on your slurry, swirl the yeast cake off the bottom, pour it into a sanitized gallon jug through a sanitized funnel, cover the jug opening with a piece of sanitized foil and walk away. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Most of the nasties will drop to the bottom by then. If you see a thin line of water clearing at the top all the better. Take a 2nd sanitized jug and your re-sanitized funnel and SLOWLY POUR only the cloudy liquid into jug #2. Don't try to get greedy and get all of the yeast out of jug #1. Stop before you transfer any of the sludge at the bottom. The second jug can be foiled and place in the fridge to help it fall out of suspension. In the morning you can transfer it to smaller containers. I pour off about 75% of the liquid at this point. Then swirl the yeast back into suspension. It can then be divided into smaller sanitized jars for your next batches. Be sure to label the date, the batch #/name it came from (was used in) and the type of yeast it is. It'll stay good for at least a couple of weeks.

 

[Mike Newman]

Here is the updated mason jars. Left- IIPA, Right-NEIPA. I am wondering how much is yeast and how much is still sediment. If you zoom in the layers look different colors...

View attachment 562850

 

[homebrewer_99]

Here is the updated mason jars. Left- IIPA, Right-NEIPA. I am wondering how much is yeast and how much is still sediment. If you zoom in the layers look different colors...

View attachment 562850

I don't have permission...but the yeast would be the creamy tan layer. If anything else is in there then it's not correctly washed.

 

[Redpappy]

How many times can you re use yeast ( generations). I will be on third generation for my SMaSH that I will be brewing today or tomorrow.

I have read that some people think it’s a waste of time to harvest dry yeast because it’s $3.00 a pack. As for me, I just started doing it to get practice so that when I start getting liquid yeast ( cost more) I will be able to harvest it with out any issues/doubts. I am also starting with my 1gal SMaSH beers, that way if I do goof, it won’t hurt so bad.

 

[Mike Newman]

How many times can you re use yeast ( generations). I will be on third generation for my SMaSH that I will be brewing today or tomorrow.

I have read that some people think it’s a waste of time to harvest dry yeast because it’s $3.00 a pack. As for me, I just started doing it to get practice so that when I start getting liquid yeast ( cost more) I will be able to harvest it with out any issues/doubts. I am also starting with my 1gal SMaSH beers, that way if I do goof, it won’t hurt so bad.

This was my line of thinking as well. I wanted to used the dry yeast in my 1.25 gallon batches as a sort of “pre-season”, then when I use liquid yeast in my 5 gallon batches I will have no doubts.

 

[Mike Newman]

I don't have permission...but the yeast would be the creamy tan layer. If anything else is in there then it's not correctly washed.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I have read that some people think it’s a waste of time to harvest dry yeast because it’s $3.00 a pack. As for me, I just started doing it to get practice so that when I start getting liquid yeast ( cost more) I will be able to harvest it with out any issues/doubts. I am also starting with my 1gal SMaSH beers, that way if I do goof, it won’t hurt so bad.

The problem with dry yeast is that a lot of them are blends, and the mix of the blend drifts when you repitch until it stops performing like the original. Nottingham is the classic example, but apparently Mangrove Jacks drift pretty quickly, and even US-05 is a mix of different flocculation mutants.

So with those kinds of dry yeasts you might only manage 3-4 generations before the brewing performance is nothing like the original, it depends on the yeast.

With single strains it varies a bit depending on the strain, but most commercial breweries tend to use them for 8-10 generations. Although some British family brewers have been repitching their multistrain for 100 years or more!

 

[homebrewer_99]

[QUOTE="Mike Newman, post: 8255103[/QUOTE]

Maybe it's the back lighting, but all I see is either green or a silhouette...

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have read that some people think it’s a waste of time to harvest dry yeast because it’s $3.00 a pack.

I'd be interested in knowing where you get yeast for $3... The cheapest I can get is $4.

 

[Mike Newman]

[QUOTE="Mike Newman, post: 8255103

Maybe it's the back lighting, but all I see is either green or a silhouette...[/QUOTE]

 

[rodwha]

OK, I thought it was hops.

I've been using a nylon net (same one since 1994) over my primary bucket to catch the hops from the brew pot, while most of the break material stays whirlpooled in the pot.

The end result is my wort enters the primary clean AND by pouring it through the net it gets aerated at the same time.

I’ve tried that using an older BIAB bag but it catches so much so quickly it just doesn’t work as it clogs.

 

[rodwha]

I used WLP 001 for a long time keeping various jars working. I lost track of how many times it was used and was moving anyway so I dumped them all and used US-05. Despite claiming to be the same strain I got the slightly higher attenuation that my later used WLP 001 was getting but got a tighter floc, which I truly appreciated. I had begun saving my US-05 instead.

What I was shown several years back was to wash the yeast and after that make a 1.5 sized (I do 1.5 quarts instead of typical liter) starter and save the 0.5 qt in the jar for next time. Without the various types of beer and strength and trub it’s thought to morph more slowly.

I’ve also been aerating it with a whisk instead of the shake the hell out of it routine and just dump it all into the fermentor accounting for the DME and extra quart. I like simple but also feel that energized yeast that are active are ready to pounce more quickly than chilled yeast that flocced. And then there’s the fact I don’t have all of the jugs to clean up afterwards and that time can be spent drinking a beer or sniffing the airlock.

 

[rhys333]

I’ve tried that using an older BIAB bag but it catches so much so quickly it just doesn’t work as it clogs.

I just use a fine-mesh stainless steel strainer to separate hops and trub from the wort on its way to the fermentor. Works a treat.

 

[z-bob]

I have started fermenting in a bucket for a week and then transfer to a plastic (usually) carboy to finish. I top-crop some yeasts from the bucket. With others (or if I missed the window for harvesting in the bucket) I collect all the trub from the carboy at bottling time -- and I don't wash it, just store it in the fridge in Mason jars with the lids not too tight. The topcropped yeast is better, but they both work.

 

[rodwha]

I just use a fine-mesh stainless steel strainer to separate hops and trub from the wort on its way to the fermentor. Works a treat.

I’m going to have to try that. Sure would help during the siphon. Thanks!