Beer Yeast Question.

[bretrichter]

Dear Brewers,

I have a question about Beer Yeast.

I have been doing alot of research, and since you place your brewed beer into the bottle, and then add primer to the beer to make the yeast make some carbonation to the bottles,

I was wondering if I were to purchase beer at the liquer store, lets say Blue Moon, is there still yeast in these beers?

If so, Would I be able to take that beer and get the yeast out of it?

 

[sean6247]

Some beers have yeast in the bottles and some don't. Chimay and SNPA are bottle coditioned and have yeast in the bottle.

Most beers are filtered or pastuerized and do not have yeast in the bottles.

 

[lumpher]

most beers do not, and those that do have yeast in the bottle are almost always a different yeast to keep us brewers from getting a hold of their real yeast. even if there is yeast/sediment on the bottom of the bottle, don't expect the clone to taste like the real thing, as it's probably a cheaper, different yeast.

 

[bretrichter]

Also, I bought a brewing kit for 5 gallons.

But thats just way too much beer for me at once...id like to make small batches, that way it gives me more of a chance to make changes.

If i cut the recipe down correctly, I will have alot of extra malt extract left over...If i place it in the fridge till my next batch, will it be just as good?

 

[lumpher]

dry malt? keep it dry and cool. liquid malt? keep it sealed as best you can, and cool

 

[bretrichter]

Yes liquid malt....ok thanks.

Also, to save money, i would like to just keep the yeast for a couple of batches.
my understanding is that when the beer is ready to leave the fermenter, the majority of the yeast drops to the bottem.

Is this yeast still alive? this is the yeast I am able to collect, place in the fridge and re-use...correct?

 

[mattmcl]

IMHO, you should brew it all up. Most brewers find it hard to keep pace. Smaller batches are much harder to control for consistency too.

 

[mattmcl]

Correct on the yeast. Search this board for "yeast washing illustrated" for a complete walkthrough.

 

[lumpher]

Also, to save money, i would like to just keep the yeast for a couple of batches.
my understanding is that when the beer is ready to leave the fermenter, the majority of the yeast drops to the bottem.

Is this yeast still alive? this is the yeast I am able to collect, place in the fridge and re-use...correct?

look into yeast washing. you can't just scoop up the sludge, pour it into a jar, and use it later. there are stickys on this site on washing yeast in great detail

check out this awesome writeup:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Washing_yeast