Dry yeast starter for harvesting from commercial beers

[atakanokan]

Hi guys,
I want to harvest yeast from a commercial beer that is unfiltered however I have a question. Is it possible to harvest yeast from a commercial beer without making a liquid yeast starter with wort. Can't I just do a starter for the harvested yeast as I would to a dry yeast? I don't have DME or any cooled wort available right now.

 

[Yooper]

Hi guys,
I want to harvest yeast from a commercial beer that is unfiltered however I have a question. Is it possible to harvest yeast from a commercial beer without making a liquid yeast starter with wort. Can't I just do a starter for the harvested yeast as I would to a dry yeast? I don't have DME or any cooled wort available right now.

You mean add water? Like you do to rehydrate dry yeast? That's not a starter, that's water.

The reason for using DME or wort when you harvest yeast is to increase the cell count. The amount of yeast in a bottle conditioned beer is a very tiny amount, and not enough yeast cells to ferment an entire batch. That's why you use a wort with it- to get yeast reproduction. Adding water to it just adds water to it.

 

[Brulosopher]

You mean add water? Like you do to rehydrate dry yeast? That's not a starter, that's water. The reason for using DME or wort when you harvest yeast is to increase the cell count. The amount of yeast in a bottle conditioned beer is a very tiny amount, and not enough yeast cells to ferment an entire batch. That's why you use a wort with it- to get yeast reproduction. Adding water to it just adds water to it.

Yeah. I'm a tad confused by the question, actually...

 

[atakanokan]

Thanks for the quick answer. No not that. Rehydrating it first and adding sugar solution. I saw it in How to Brew by John Palmer. As stated in the book, the sugar does the same thing as DME or wort, helping the yeast to reproduce. Is it possible with just sugar, the yeast will be able to reproduce to an adequate number?

 

[Brulosopher]

Thanks for the quick answer. No not that. Rehydrating it first and adding sugar solution. I saw it in How to Brew by John Palmer. As stated in the book, the sugar does the same thing as DME or wort, helping the yeast to reproduce. Is it possible with just sugar, the yeast will be able to reproduce to an adequate number?

I wouldn't recommend using sugar. Is DME hard to come by?

 

[atakanokan]

I wouldn't recommend using sugar. Is DME hard to come by?

Yes it is really hard to find DME. What is the reason behind not recommending sugar?

 

[Yooper]

Yes it is really hard to find DME. What is the reason behind not recommending sugar?

Because while the yeast will ferment the sugar, the idea behind making a starter is to grow yeast that will ferment maltose.

In Palmers book, he's not making a starter- he's proofing the yeast. (Which is no longer recommended, by the way). Adding enough sugar to actually get enough yeast reproduction to ferment a batch would mean a TON of sugar and unhealthy yeast.

I'd make a batch of wort by mashing and boiling, or getting some DME or LME, or forget about trying to get enough yeast out of a bottle conditioned beer to ferment a whole batch.

 

[kombat]

Because you'll end up with a big colony of yeast that are really good at eating plain old table sugar, but perhaps not so good at eating maltose.

 

[Hang Glider]

Not sure of your location, atakanokan, but all of the online homebrew supply stores will gladly sell a pound or two of DME - Even though I brew with grain, I always keep DME in my freezer for starters. You might consider that....

good luck!

 

[atakanokan]

I did not know that was an out of date information. I will make a wort then. Thanks for the help. Another question that just popped up: if I find a maltose solution or a pure extract, can I use it as written in palmers book? I thought it was for a starter, what is "proofing" anyway?

 

[dgr]

Making a starter is just like brewing beer without all the glory. If you have the ingredients to make beer, how do you not have the ingredients to make a starter You can use LME or all grain too. It doesn't HAVE to be DME. But you do want to feed the yeast what they are going to be fermenting for you.

If you have a kit, you can steal enough LME from it to make your starter, brew your kit and put the starter into your ready to ferment wort. There is always a way to get to your destination.

 

[Hang Glider]

what is "proofing" anyway?

proving that your yeast works.
If you rehydrate your dry yeast, before you bake that fresh loaf of bread, you wanted to know that it wasn't too old to use - a pinch of sugar would produce some bubbles as the live yeast went to work, proving they were viable, not dead.