How many generations of yeast??

[The Pol]

Question.. if a yeast vial is good for say... 3 generations, what about when you make starters? I used my WLP300 for a starter, then a brew, then saved it... made another starter and another brew... technically that is 4 reproductive cycles right? So does that count for my 3 generations and then some? Good question eh?

My heffe has very little banana or clove... actually pretty clean tasting this time around.

Pol

 

[Catfish]

Some of the yeast degredation would come from the beer itself, hops and alcohol. Conditions like higher heat might favor the less ideal beer brewing yeast characteristics. You should be able to go far more than three generations if you treat your yeast well. Rinsing your yeast after brewing, doing starters and using yeast nutrients should keep your yeasties happy. It will not neccessarily prevent undesireable mutations, though.

 

[jammer]

I've done 4 batches with the same starter. Each time, i split the starter a couple days before i brew. Add some wort to each half. pitch half of it and leave the other half for the next week. no problems or change in taste.

 

[Beerrific]

Question.. if a yeast vial is good for say... 3 generations, what about when you make starters? I used my WLP300 for a starter, then a brew, then saved it... made another starter and another brew... technically that is 4 reproductive cycles right? So does that count for my 3 generations and then some? Good question eh?

My heffe has very little banana or clove... actually pretty clean tasting this time around.

Pol

Have you ever listened to the Jamil Show on TBN (Podcast)? I was listening to the one about Bavarian Weizens and he said the weizen yeast have a very short usable life. He said that he would use it twice or so and that's it, and that he would only re-pitch on the previous yeast cake. I believe he even said that they would last a couple weeks at most in the fridge.

Interesting.

 

[The Pol]

Okay, obviously WLP300 is a Heffe yeast... I washed it, stored it cold, about 45 degrees, and made starters. The fermentation temps on this batch were the exact same as the last (JC temp controller) but there is a noticeable omission of the banana and clove flavors that were so pronounced in the previous batch. I am beginning to think that between 2 starters and 2 brews... my yeast are all inbred! ha ha BUT, I will admit, it is a good tasting beer just the same. 77% attenuation, FG 1.011 and 51 12oz bottles! I just made my Helles Lager starter today too, giving that a week to ferment out. Peace!

Pol

 

[jammer]

how much yeast did you pitch and what temps did you experience? those two factors will effect your clove/bannana profile the most.

pitch less yeast for more bannana and ferment hotter for more clove i believe, i may be wrong though.

 

[Beerrific]

Okay, obviously WLP300 is a Heffe yeast... I washed it, stored it cold, about 45 degrees, and made starters. The fermentation temps on this batch were the exact same as the last (JC temp controller) but there is a noticeable omission of the banana and clove flavors that were so pronounced in the previous batch. I am beginning to think that between 2 starters and 2 brews... my yeast are all inbred! ha ha BUT, I will admit, it is a good tasting beer just the same. 77% attenuation, FG 1.011 and 51 12oz bottles! I just made my Helles Lager starter today too, giving that a week to ferment out. Peace!

Pol

Yeah, when he was saying all this he was talking about WLP300, that is what he uses.

I highly suggest listening to it, very interesting ideas on pitching and fermentation temps.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

When talking about yeast harvesting, it's more correct to talk about "re-uses" rather than "generations." The yeast go through a few generations in just one batch of beer. That's why the mutation rate becomes high after only a few "re-uses."

As a rule of thumb, most folks re-use yeast 3 times, then discard it.

 

[The Pol]

Temps... 72F... pitch rate, 1L starter... same for both brews, completely different flavor profiles.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've used 4th gen of WLP351 without any problems...and it's over 1 year old now...

 

[The Pol]

That is swell, so why did my yeast act so different?? Any professionals have any idea....?