Continues starters to reuse yeast for a year

[ElChangoGuero]

Ive been thinking about a way to properly store the same yeast without having to mix it with different types of beer, what i am going to try is to buy a clean yeast pack and oversize a starter so i have enough cells for my beer and have 100 billion cells left so i can store in the fridge with the same 1.040 worth.

I would say it would be storing these maybe 1 or maybe 2 months before i use them again, now when the cell count goes down from 100 billion to 50 billion (in around 17 days according to Mr. Malty) i would do a starter to step it up to 100 billion cells again.

The problem im thinking about, and i dont know if im right or wrong, but i would think that i would need to track the age of the new and old cells, like in the previous example 50 would be NEW and 50 would be OLD, if thats the case, what happens when there is 5-10 generations that you need to keep track of? would it really be a close approximation?

And another issue ive heard is that the 1st generation of yeast isnt really that great most of the time, so you really want the 2nd one that is trained for your beer.

Hope to see what you guys have to say, cheers!

 

[broadbill]

I think you are overthinking the second part. Good idea about overbuilding a starter and saving back some. I don't think you need to build viability curves and refresh the culture at specific points. You should be able just re-culture your stored yeast right before you brew and call it good. Again, overbuild the starter and hold back another sample for the next round, etc. etc. Keep track if you want. When you begin scratching your head about if you have gone too far then buy some fresh stuff.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

I think you are overthinking the second part. Good idea about overbuilding a starter and saving back some. I don't think you need to build viability curves and refresh the culture at specific points. You should be able just re-culture your stored yeast right before you brew and call it good. Again, overbuild the starter and hold back another sample for the next round, etc. etc. Keep track if you want. When you begin scratching your head about if you have gone too far then buy some fresh stuff.

oh ok, that would save me a lot of trouble with charts hahaha the second part you mean the what i said about the 1st generation not being that good?

 

[IslandLizard]

Use a different calculator such as Homebrew Dad's or Yeast Calculator. They allow you to calculate overbuilt starters, multi step starters etc. I find their "death" curves to be a bit more realistic too.

There's a limit to how many generations you can build before you're getting issues. I think my "house" limit is around 5, although total age may play a larger role than the number of starters it went through. Sanitation also plays a part to how far you can take a yeast pack.

 

[broadbill]

oh ok, that would save me a lot of trouble with charts hahaha the second part you mean the what i said about the 1st generation not being that good?

The first generation is perfectly fine to use. I think where you are getting this is many commercial breweries subscribe to the idea that a fresh pitch of yeast needs to through a few rounds before the "house character" begins to show up. However, commercial breweries tend to handle their yeast much differently than homebrewers do.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

Use a different calculator such as Homebrew Dad's or Yeast Calculator. They allow you to calculate overbuilt starters, multi step starters etc. I find their "death" curves to be a bit more realistic too.

There's a limit to how many generations you can build before you're getting issues. I think my "house" limit is around 5, although total age may play a larger role than the number of starters it went through. Sanitation also plays a part to how far you can take a yeast pack.

nice! im loving that new homebrew dads calculator, very easy and simple to use, thanks.

 

[shaunell]

Last week I pitched a strain of us-05 that I've been using for the last 8 months (6th gen) and the fermentation was spectacular. Haven't used any calculators yet I just rinse and create a new starter wort every time. As long as the sanitation is good you shouldn't face any issues.

 

[tjmac5071]

I use the homebrew dad calc and brought a pack of wlp090 to at least the 12th gen before I decided to start fresh. I typically make 100b more but sometimes up to 250 more. Never once had a problem with the yeast.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

I use the homebrew dad calc and brought a pack of wlp090 to at least the 12th gen before I decided to start fresh. I typically make 100b more but sometimes up to 250 more. Never once had a problem with the yeast.

nice! damn all this time washing yeast and i could have just made starters lol