Is it yeast?

[rmr9]

I harvested yeast from the cake of my Munich helles yesterday - first time harvesting from a cake. I’ve harvested from overbuilt starters in the past but never the actual yeast cake. So…in the picture is any of this yeast? Just that thin white strip in the far right? The whole thing in all of them? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[day_trippr]

There is yeast in all three jars. The white band you referred to on the right is just a tiny bit of the yeast in that picture.

There are "yeast washing" techniques that could refine the trub/yeast blend but at some risk of contamination. Most folks just pitch a quarter or third of the mixed "cake" for the next same-size batch...

Cheers!

 

[rmr9]

Maybe it’ll stratify a bit better over the next day or two.

If I were to brew another batch in a week or so, would you suggest pitching the slurry from one jar or use all three?

 

[day_trippr]

It will compact over time. Not sure that helps in this case.

I would decant most of the beer - reserving a few hundred ml - then mix the remaining solids together, using the reserved liquid to rinse out the last of the two donating jars. If the aggregated result represents all of the yeasty trub from a batch, use a third of that in a same size batch...

Cheers!

 

[rmr9]

The larger flanking jars are from the liquid above what settled in my container after I added water to the cake and swirled. Middle one is about 1/2 of the remaining thicker stuff that settled in the container. So I would say maybe a bit over half the overall cake is in the jars.

 

[rmr9]

Slightly related to the topic but I suppose I can hijack my own thread. I plan to use this slurry for my next batch and then pitch a big doppelbock onto the entire cake after. For this next batch I was thinking to do a moderately hopped pilsner with about 15% rye malt. Will I encounter drastic carryover from the rye pilsner to the doppelbock? My gut says no but I haven’t brewed with rye in like a decade.

 

[VikeMan]

I plan to use this slurry for my next batch and then pitch a big doppelbock onto the entire cake after. For this next batch I was thinking to do a moderately hopped pilsner with about 15% rye malt. Will I encounter drastic carryover from the rye pilsner to the doppelbock? My gut says no but I haven’t brewed with rye in like a decade.

I seriously doubt you'd be able to detect any rye malt character coming along for the ride in the finished doppelbock.

 

[rmr9]

I seriously doubt you'd be able to detect any rye malt character coming along for the ride in the finished doppelbock.

Thanks for the confirmation! I figure 15% rye, rest barke pilsner and 30 ibus of Tettnanger, all three jars of slurry from above. I’m banking on that being plenty of yeast.

 

[rmr9]

Follow up question…so I kegged this last beer and collected above yeast on 12/12. I had intended to brew in early January but wasn’t able to. I likely will be able to brew early February. My plan was to pitch all 3 jars into a 1.050ish pils-ish beer with rye. Am I good to just use all 3 jars as is or should I wake them up with a 1-2 liter starter?

In case it matters: my goal is to brew this batch then pitch a doppelbock onto the resulting cake.

 

[rmr9]

The jars contain maybe half the cake from the previous batch

 

[rmr9]

One more follow up question. The 2 large jars seen above have totally clear beer/water above them but the third small jar is still a bit cloudy. The small jar was filled last, so I wonder if the cloudiness is a factor of that, or if it’s somehow contaminated and should be tossed.

 

[day_trippr]

It may have received more trub% than the first two jars.
Compare the smells of the three jars. If the third one just smells like yeast like the other two it's no sketchier

Cheers!

 

[rmr9]

Thanks for the confirmation! Good old smell test for the win!

 

[day_trippr]

"The nose knows". Or something

 

[rmr9]

"The nose knows". Or something

Finally got around to it today, the cloudy jar smelled a bit off, almost sour while the other 2 smelled like my helles. Trusted the nose and went with the clear 2

 

[rmr9]

Hopefully it was enough yeast between the other 2 jars. Added a tsp of yeast nutrient and pure oxygen to give it a strong base.

As a follow up to the rye before doppelbock…not sure I’ll brew a rye again. All the protein that coagulated in the wort clogged my Brewzilla ball valve. Never had that happen before. Ended up dumping the last gallon with a lot of goop into the fermenter. Hopefully I don’t end up with too much trub in the yeast cake. My hope is to pour the doppelbock right on top next month. Would be a real bummer if the anvil bucket spigot got covered.

 

[day_trippr]

Brewing with significant quantities of malted rye begs for a beta-glucan rest (optimal range: 35-45°C/95-113°F). This rest activates the beta glucanase enzyme that breaks down gluey beta-glucans and improves lautering. You could also add a peptidase rest (35–53 °C/113–128 °F), and/or a proteinase rest (50–59 °C/122–138 °F), but I'd definitely do a 15-20 minute beta-glucan rest...

Cheers!

 

[rmr9]

Brewing with significant quantities of malted rye begs for a beta-glucan rest (optimal range: 35-45°C/95-113°F). This rest activates the beta glucanase enzyme that breaks down gluey beta-glucans and improves lautering. You could also add a peptidase rest (35–53 °C/113–128 °F), and/or a proteinase rest (50–59 °C/122–138 °F), but I'd definitely do a 15-20 minute beta-glucan rest...

Cheers!

I had contemplated the beta glucan rest but thought I was safe at a little over 15%. Lesson learned!

 

[day_trippr]

Yeah, that is on the low side of where I'd start worrying. Maybe it was a combination of malt characteristics that made that batch tough...

Cheers!

 

[rmr9]

Maybe just the luck of the draw. I could’ve done a better job skimming off the hot break but I’m not sure that would’ve made much difference. As long as it turns out as a good rye lager and I can pitch on the cake, I’ll take that as a win