Can I re pitch this yeast??

[ThreeStrandsBrewing]

I bottled a saison 4 days ago that I brewed last month. I used Belle Saison yeast (which I love, and have used fresh many times in the past). On bottle day, I collected about 3 pint jars of the sludge/yeast, etc that I racked the beer off of, and would like to reuse the yeast on another batch of saison I plan to brew this week. I've included a picture below. Can I just pitch this jar into my next wort? Should I build it up in a starter the night before? Or, should I just start with fresh yeast. Thanks in advance for the input!View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436834473.582289.jpg

 

[Bellybuster]

that will for sure need a starter. You see that tiny bit of white in there??? thats the yeast, the rest is trub and waste/dead yeast.
that is if the pic is showing actual colour.

 

[Double_D]

Realistically, you could use all three of the options you are considering. I'd suggest reading up on yeast washing and storage. There's lots of good info on here. There's also a small amount of homework that would be suggested regarding pitching rates.

Short answer: RDWHAHB. As long as your sanitation was good you should be fine. Cold crash and decant most of the liquid in the jar and then let is come up to fermenter temp. If you did a good job with bottling your yeast the amount of trub shouldn't be a problem. You'll probably notice a difference in the way your yeast ferments wort over a couple generations though...

*umm..you may want to consider the previous answer. you don't appear to have much yeast.

 

[jtratcliff]

there's plenty of yeast in there... decant most of the liquid, give it swirl and pitch the rest... Use a starter if the yeast was harvested more than 3-4 weeks ago.

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html

 

[Bellybuster]

what quantity are you brewing? Looks to be enough for 5 gallons but Id be making a starter for 10 or more

yeast is white and creamy, trub is tan-ish and more granular. Looks to me like you have a very thin line of yeast there but its actually quite allot if you consider how much comes in a vial

 

[ol-hazza]

Im going to recommend doing a starter as then you can be completely confident you have live yeast.

An unnecessary precaution perhaps but an easy enough one to take.

 

[jtratcliff]

Read Woodlandbrew's experiments that I linked to above.... There's just as much (or more) viable yeast in the "trub" layer as in the "creamy" layer. Dead yeast are also good for live yeast... A lot of yeast nutrient that you buy contains dead yeast.

Pitch it all!

 

[Calder]

there's plenty of yeast in there... decant most of the liquid, give it swirl and pitch the rest... Use a starter if the yeast was harvested more than 3-4 weeks ago.

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html

Read Woodlandbrew's experiments that I linked to above.... There's just as much (or more) viable yeast in the "trub" layer as in the "creamy" layer. Dead yeast are also good for live yeast... A lot of yeast nutrient that you buy contains dead yeast.

Pitch it all!

Yes and yes.

Straight pitch about a quarter to a third of the cake for a similar size and OG batch, and you will be close to a perfect pitch. I follow this advice for up to 2 weeks from harvest (sometimes I go longer - never had a problem).

Ignore viability rates in calculators (I guess I only know Mr Malty), as they are wrong for slurry.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1^ and +1 ^^

Most of us pitch our next batch on 1/3 of a yeast cake. So one of your 3 jars is plenty of yeast for your next 5 gal batch. 1 month old yeast stored in the fridge is pretty vital, don't sweat it. After 3-4 months you'll more likely see a difference and a starter might be in place.

 

[ThreeStrandsBrewing]

Awesome, guys! Thanks!! This is all great advice