First time reusing yeast.

[kkenney]

I washed a Nottingham yeast for the first time and I believe everything went well. I plan to use one of the three jars with a higher gravity black IPA. I will do a yeast starter two days before I brew. My question is, do I need to use more yeast or should I trust my yeast washing. I just don't want a weak IPA.

 

[Mike M]

Trust Mr. Malty http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[steveoc]

What does your yeast look like? Is it mostly a nice creamy white or is there a layer of trub? It's the creamy white that counts. Can you estimate the volume of the creamy white contents? Another factor is how soon you use the yeast after harvesting it.

If I use the yeast a few days later, maybe even a week, and if (according to the Mr Malty calculator) I have sufficient volume, I just pitch it without making a starter.

In the Mr Malty calculator, you enter the OG, the date of harvest, the concentration, and the purity and it will give you the volume needed.

Go to this page for guidance: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/repitch.html

 

[kkenney]

I must of washed it around a half a dozen times, poured off the beer top layer, saved the creamy layer, and left behind the trub. I filled up 3 half quart jars with just the yeast. It's been in the fridge for over a week and now have about half an inch white layer on the bottom of the jar and the rest of the jar is amber colored of beer/water.

So if I make a yeast starter would I be able to ferment a higher gravity IPA properly? I will play around with the calculator and see what I can find out too. If I add a dry yeast pack would I have too much yeast. What problem would I run into if I over pitch?

 

[steveoc]

If you are using mason jars, there are marks on the jar showing volume in ml. Eyeball it and estimate how many ml of yeast you have in each jar. Go to Mr Malty and enter the OG of the IPA you want to make. Enter the date you harvested the yeast. The calculator will tell you approximately how many ml of slurry to use. I always add a bit extra to be safe. If you have enough, you can just pitch it. If not, build a starter to increase your yeast volume.

If you over pitch, it's no big deal unless you really go overboard in a big way. These are only estimates and guidelines for those of use without microscopes and lab equipment.

 

[mslauto]

Hey I also washed yeast according to a thread I found on here, I ended up with a little over a half inch of yeast in the bottom of my mason jar also. I want to brew this weekend and used the mr malty calc and come up with 204 ml needed I think 1 jar had about 50ml? So I built a 1l starter. Did you end up using just 1 jar and a starter ? If so how did it turn out? If you made a starter and chilled and decanted it how many Ml of yeast were in it ?

 

[kkenney]

I used two jars on a imperial black IPA and built a 1 liter starter and poured it right in after about 32 hours and it is doing the job. I'm at a 1.018 after one week in primary. This was my first time using yeast that I washed, so I think it's a successful attempt. Plan to try again in Friday.