Pitching Unwashed Saved Yeast Cake

I kegged my saison last weekend and saved the yeast cake on a whim in case I had time to wash it. Its been in the fridge since last weekend and the yeast has settled and is covered with a layer of beer. I have not washed it as of yet as I planned to use a different yeast for this brew. The starter is still going, but has not kicked up yet and I have to brew today. I was thinking of letting the starter continue and just instead pitch what I have in the unwashed yeast cake from my last saison.

I know its not the perfect scenario, but is there any issue in just draining the top layer of beer and pitching the yeast cake that has settled on the bottom?

Thanks

 

Not at all. Some actually advocate it.

The whole yeast cake is an overpitch... use about 1/4 of the yeast.

 

I will brew a British mild about 3.5 % ABV then use the cake for a bigger porter

about 6.5 -7 % ABV this has worked well for me

all the best

S_M

 

You will probably see better attenuation and floccuation from reusing yeast. I've decided when I want to brew a same batch within a month or two I wil pitch yeast from a previous batch without making a starter. It is an excellent practice.

 

I always save a bomber full of unwashed yeast from the cake to pitch into a future batch. Haven't had any issues so far and have had healthy fermentations from the repitches.

 

Yeast doesn't have to be washed to be reused. It is healthiest under beer anyway.

 

As far as I know ... commercial breweries move their yeast into a brink and re-pitch.

 

I keep mine in a couple of 2 quart mason jars, under beer. I split one out a couple of days before brewing.

 

Assuming that it's a normal gravity saison, grab 25-30% of that cake with a sanitized spoon and pitch away.

 

Will that also work if there are some hops in there (dry hopping)?

 

Yes. You might get a small dry hop aroma but you'd have to test it to find out.

 

So I just did this - made a (2) gallon batch and saved the slurry for an 11% (hopefully) Porter. The starter beer left me with about a full liter of just yeast not including the small amount of beer on top.
So I need an opinion - what would you do ---
Any of the calculators say that I'm a little short on cell count. Would you make a starter from this or a portion of it?
The porter should OG at 1.070 - 1.080 BUT I will secondary with 1/2 a gallon of maple syrup which should boost the OG to around 1.110

 

you should have more then enough yeast, as far as the secondary by that time

I would think there will be more then enough yeast in suspension

to chew thru your maple syrup

all the best

S_M

 

Plenty of yeast for the job. When did you bottle the 2 gal batch? As long as it's within a month I would just decant most of the beer on top, swirl the yeast a bit and pitch. If it's over a month, you may want to do a tiny starter... just enough to get them back in the eating mood.

 

When you guys say pitch ~1/4 (for example) of the cake into the new batch, do you mean 1/4 of the entire yeast cake, or 1/4 of the cake that settled in a jar? I.e. if my batch yielded me four jars of slurry, would I just pitch one jar (1/4 of entire cake) into the next batch, or one quarter of a jar (1/16 entire cake)?

I'm assuming you mean 1/4 the entire cake. I know you should use a pitch rate calculator to come up with the proper amount depending on OG, volume, viability, etc., but I'm just trying to get an idea.

 

3/30 so 11 days ago.

 

1/4 of the cake.

 

1/4 of the entire yeast cake is what I do.

 

Check Mr Malty for slurry pitching rates. I store in mason jars that have ml marked on the side. Easy to pitch what is needed.