Yeast harvest

[sieglere]

So I'm going to harvest my own yeast for the first time today. I'm up on the general how to, but any useful advice from people who've done this a bunch of times?

 

[Golddiggie]

Be patient. Let it settle out as it needs to before you go to the next step. Also, be SURE you can see the different layers present. You need to capture just the yeast, not the trub and junk.

 

[Jsbeckton]

Make a starter with it when you use it again and make sure it smells good. I lost a batch that I pitched old yeast into because I thought it was borderline. When in doubt, throw it out. I have had successful batches using yeast that was up to three month old since harvesting.

 

[Golddiggie]

ALWAYS make a starter when using any liquid yeast. Be that from a packet, vial, or slurry you collected. With harvesting, you need to be SURE you are actually pitching yeast into the new brew. Without a starter, you don't know what you've got. Different strains will look differently when you're harvesting them. Some have a bigger color shift from the trub, where others are less obvious.