cultivating yeast

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jjasghar

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So what are the advantages of cultivating yeast?

I mean, hell i use white labs, should i try to save the yeast at the bottom of my first fermenter and re use it?!?!

Pros/Cons?
 
jjasghar said:
So what are the advantages of cultivating yeast?

I mean, hell i use white labs, should i try to save the yeast at the bottom of my first fermenter and re use it?!?!

Pros/Cons?

Yes! This what I am going to start doing. There are not cons as long as you keep it clean and healthy and free of other buggers.
 
Use once = $7.00

Option A:

Wash yeast form primary and divide into 5 parts = $1.40

Wash 5 yeasts from 4 primaries (= 20 - 3rd generation) +5 (2nd generation) + 1 (original) = $7.00 divided by 26 = $0.269 per batch. ;)

Option B:

26 X $7.00 = $182.00 ! ! !



Option A is pretty advatageous (and economical) if you ask me. :rockin: :ban: :mug:
 
I haven't bought yeast since March and I brew every weekend.

I even harvest my dry yeast just cuz I like to have a massive starter going from my next batch.

I have more beer bottles filled with yeast than with beer.
 
That is awesome, I hope to really spend less money on yeast in the future by saving liquid and using more dry yeast.

Any one in the Atlanta area want to trade yeast? I will have some WLP300 in a few weeks.
 
does anyone have link on how to do it? It sounds like it's a great money saver!

i stated googling, but hell, i'll ask for a trusted source.
 
A few months back I sterilized a plastic container and transferred yeast from my primary into it. I let it sit in the fridge for a few weeks and then poured off liquid that settled on top. I'm just scared to actually use it because I didn't properly harvest it.

Is there an obvious way to tell if it is contaminated before pitching it? Should I just trash it?

I've got a shipment coming in next week that I was either going to use this for or make a slurry from what's currently in my secondary.
 
The simplest method for me:

Use two, 2-quart plastic bottles like you get with apple juice.

1) Fill one of the bottles half full with boiled/cooled water.
2) Pour that into the carboy and swish everything around.
3) Pour the mixture back into the plastic bottle and let sit for 15 minutes.
4) Pour all of that mixture except the last 1/8" into the second cleaned bottle.
5) Clean the first bottle and repeat steps 3 & 4 once more (using your recleaned plastic bottle as the final destination).

Set it in the friedg and let the yeast settle and compact and then get that sediment into sanitized beer bottles and cap.

Here, the bottle in the middle was just harvested. The bottle on the left was harvested 24 hours prior. You can see how much the yeast compacts.

I'll place these straight to the fridge for use next weekend and bottle whatever I want to keep longer.


YeastHarvesting.JPG
 
Whats the pre-work for pitching this yeast from the juice bottles? Can you just dump it in the wort? Do you use it in a starter?

I have a batch in the primary now and a 3rd batch to plan. I was wondering if I could use what is in the primary now to pitch in the next batch.
 
The simplest method for me:

Use two, 2-quart plastic bottles like you get with apple juice.

1) Fill one of the bottles half full with boiled/cooled water.
2) Pour that into the carboy and swish everything around.
3) Pour the mixture back into the plastic bottle and let sit for 15 minutes.
4) Pour all of that mixture except the last 1/8" into the second cleaned bottle.
5) Clean the first bottle and repeat steps 3 & 4 once more (using your recleaned plastic bottle as the final destination).

Set it in the friedg and let the yeast settle and compact and then get that sediment into sanitized beer bottles and cap.

Here, the bottle in the middle was just harvested. The bottle on the left was harvested 24 hours prior. You can see how much the yeast compacts.

I'll place these straight to the fridge for use next weekend and bottle whatever I want to keep longer.


View attachment 1822

These plastic bottles need to be sterile before you pour the yeast back into them, correct?
 
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