Did I cultivate yeast from dry yeast?

[lashack]

I recently cultivated yeast from 3 cans of a Belgium Style Golden Ale from Currahee Brewery. Here is a link to the beer Frankenstark – Currahee Brewing

I started with a 400mL yeast starter, then stepped it up to 2L starter. It was happy and active, lots of activity. I attached some picture after cold crashing. The yeast cake just seems grainy and thin. Versus what I typically see when making yeast started with liquid yeast.

Any concerns here ?

 

[Jtvann]

I’ve done this before when trying to get yeast that I couldn’t find in the store. I think it was for a Belgium trippel. You never know the condition of the yeast in the can/bottle. It can be fairly stressed. You might not collect as much as you thought you did on the initial pour.

Your sanitation practice needs to be spot on. It helps to make more starters, smaller and maybe lower OG than normal. 3-4 steps wouldn’t be abnormal.

In the end, it worked for me and it can work for you. I suspect there’s less yeast because you only did 2 steps. You do have yeast though, and probably more than you started with, so the process is working.

 

[lashack]

This actually worked really well and I ended up making an award-winning beer for a local homebrew festival. So I am certainly pleased with the results.

 

[VikeMan]

What do you mean by "Did I cultivate yeast from dry yeast?" You cultivated from can dregs. Clearly, yeast from the bottom of a can of beer is not dehydrated.

 

[lashack]

What do you mean by "Did I cultivate yeast from dry yeast?" You cultivated from can dregs. Clearly, yeast from the bottom of a can of beer is not dehydrated.

My original thread was based on my understanding (or lack thereof) that dry yeast is not recommended to try and re-pitch or viable after it's been fermented, used, and packaged. On the other hand, liquid yeast is much more tolerant and viable to use for multiple batches and the ability to cultivate is much higher. I'm still learning though. It just didn't look like the healthy yeast starter I typically see when starting a liquid yeast starter. That's all.

 

[VikeMan]

Ah. I don't know where the "do not reuse dry yeast" thing came from, but I've seen no evidence at all to support it.

 

[lashack]

Yeah, I don't know either. TIL

 

[Oleson M.D.]

My original thread was based on my understanding (or lack thereof) that dry yeast is not recommended to try and re-pitch or viable after it's been fermented, used, and packaged. On the other hand, liquid yeast is much more tolerant and viable to use for multiple batches and the ability to cultivate is much higher. I'm still learning though. It just didn't look like the healthy yeast starter I typically see when starting a liquid yeast starter. That's all.

This is completely untrue.
You can successfully harvest dry yeast from your previous brew, and use it again. We do it all the time with very good results.

 

[lashack]

This is completely untrue.
You can successfully harvest dry yeast from your previous brew, and use it again. We do it all the time with very good results.

Thanks for chiming in and clearing my misunderstandings up. I learned something new for sure. Cheers!

 

[jtgoral]

I add dry yeast starter to my frozen yeast bank. I mix it with 25% glicerine/water 1:1 before freezing.

 

[Turricaine]

I have used the cloudy sediment from the bottom of the keg at the end of drinking it. In my experience with this recycling method I have had infected batches in the past. I never had it with wine and cider though which I can recycle through many cycles (this is batch versus continuous industrial method). You might need to be more careful. Maybe there might be sediment that is not yeast that can cause spoilage. I'm not saying it is impossible to do, although in my actual work experience I won't risk not starting from store bought yeast for my beer. Maybe if you use a freezer to store the yeast from the end of the fermentor that would keep it more fresh than yeast that is sitting at the bottom of the keg for two months.

 

[An Ankoù]

Ah. I don't know where the "do not reuse dry yeast" thing came from, but I've seen no evidence at all to support it.

I know exactly where it comes from: Mangrove Jacks! I'm sure it's a marketing ploy, to make you buy and use more of their yeast, but I've reused their yeast many times and over several generations. It usually gets better rather than worse, but that's most likely because I'm pitching more cells.

 

[Turricaine]

If you take a glass of clear beer from the keg and add sugar to this and leave for a couple of days, would this give me a yeast starter that I can use on the next batch without having to crack open another sachet of brewers yeast? That's an interesting theory, although that would be more an experimentation through trial and error than actually proving that it works.

Actually I just saw a youtube video where he explains the experimental protocol:

 

[VikeMan]

If you take a glass of clear beer from the keg and add sugar to this and leave for a couple of days, would this give me a yeast starter that I can use on the next batch without having to crack open another sachet of brewers yeast? That's an interesting theory, although that would be more an experimentation through trial and error than actually proving that it works.

Actually I just saw a youtube video where he explains the experimental protocol:

The video isn't anything "experimental." It also has very little to do with what you described. The guy in the video is simply dumping trub to harvest a high density yeast slurry. He happens to dump a couple times, a couple/few days apart, so that he avoids a lot of the hops/proteins/etc. in the slurry that he will eventually re-use. But he's not propagating anything from a tiny cell count, which is what you're proposing.

The issue with starting with a glass (or any small amount) of "clear" beer is that the initial cell count will be extremely low. So it would have to be taken through a lot of incremental steps to get to a pitchable cell count. It's the kind of thing one might do in an attempt to harvest some hard to get yeast strain. But even then, the better place to start would be by harvesting whatever yeast has settled to the bottom of the bottle or keg (search "propagating dregs"), rather than trying to start with the much smaller cell count obtainable from a clear glass of beer. A problem with doing that, in addition to time/inconvenience of the many step-ups needed, is that starting with such a low cell count increases the risk of unwanted microbes taking over. When you're propagating from such small yeast counts, it may be wise to think in terms of sterilization of the wort and equipment, rather than standard sanitation. (Google "yeast propagation from slants" for some idea of the challenges involved.)

That said, if you want to try it for fun, go for it. Some pics/videos of the process could make for a great thread.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I know exactly where it comes from: Mangrove Jacks! I'm sure it's a marketing ploy, to make you buy and use more of their yeast, but I've reused their yeast many times and over several generations. It usually gets better rather than worse, but that's most likely because I'm pitching more cells.

I have had good luck harvesting and repitching from beers made with dry yeast. My understanding is that many of Mangrove Jack's yeasts are blends, so there might be some truth that you would get some drift with repitching.

I saw the same results. When I started harvesting and repitching yeast the quality of my beers improved. It made me appreciate more how important it is to pitch an adequate amount of healthy yeast.