Starters - Call me crazy

[djonesax]

I get these wild ideas sometimes

I try to save my yeast as often as I can since its a fairly expensive single ingredient. I will usually transfer new wort into a just emptied fermenter or wash and save it before cleaning the fermenter.

Has anyone tried just making a massive starter and once it gets going good, transferr it into many sterilized pint jars for use later? That seems like it would be easier than washing and a little safer than pitching into the same fermenter?

I was also wondering about just brewing an 11 gallon batch versus 10 and racking off a gallon during active fermentation for use later?

Thoughts?

David

 

[kh54s10]

I have read that many do it that way.

I make a starter larger than I need then make four vials for freezing. 5 ml yeast, 5 ml glycerin, and 10 ml water. If I made 4 new ones at each use I could do 256 batches from one original purchase. I have 13 varieties in my bank and have successfully used yeast stored for about 2 years.

 

[Powhatan]

^^^I've done the same as above. Made a larger starter than needed, and pitched part and put the rest in vials. It's worked well so far.

 

[WI_Wino]

I have read that many do it that way.

I make a starter larger than I need then make four vials for freezing. 5 ml yeast, 5 ml glycerin, and 10 ml water. If I made 4 new ones at each use I could do 256 batches from one original purchase. I have 13 varieties in my bank and have successfully used yeast stored for about 2 years.

Do you have to do multi-step starters from the frozen yeast? Or have you had success pitching the frozen yeast directly into a ~2 L starter?

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I get these wild ideas sometimes

I try to save my yeast as often as I can since its a fairly expensive single ingredient. I will usually transfer new wort into a just emptied fermenter or wash and save it before cleaning the fermenter.

Has anyone tried just making a massive starter and once it gets going good, transferr it into many sterilized pint jars for use later? That seems like it would be easier than washing and a little safer than pitching into the same fermenter?

I was also wondering about just brewing an 11 gallon batch versus 10 and racking off a gallon during active fermentation for use later?

Thoughts?

David

You can do it this way, just be careful about what you put it into. When I first started using liquid yeast I bottled a heap at high krausen. At about 3 am the next morning they started exploding, and I found glass shards embedded in the fridge door.

If you want to do it that way, when the starter is really active, pitch some into your current beer, then let the rest of the starter finish fermenting, then bottle. I use PET now, so much easier and if it does happen to swell up, just crack the lid.

 

[user 141939]

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




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[Gnomebrewer]

I generally just reuse yeast-slurry (unwashed) and don't make a starter (as long as it is being reused inside about a fortnight of harvesting). Some people worry about hot and cold break in the slurry, but you have that in a starter anyway. Making a big starter and splitting it is also good, but I just think of a single batch as a 'big' starter.

I do make starters for fresh packets/vials of yeast or if the slurry is old.

 

[djonesax]

Thanks, Im thinking the next starter I do, I'll make a large one and split it into maybe 4 quart jars. That way, when I'm ready to use them later, I can add some boiled and cooled DME to the jars and pitch that as my starter.

David