First Yeast Collection - What am I looking at

[Crazybob]

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I collected my first batch of yeast using the Simple Yeast Storage procedure which seemed to go fairly smoothly. I collected about 2 jars of 24 oz (700 ml) of slurry, which each settled to a few oz of sediment. The sediment dropped out into 3 layers (see below) and I don't know what they are. There is a dark band on top, with a large light band in the middle, followed by a thin dark band again.

What exactly am I looking at inside the jar, and which (if not all) is the yeast I will want to use in my future batches. This seems like a small amount of collected yeast collected, compared to what the tutorial showed, am I going to need to make a starter when the time comes to re-use this?

Also, what is a good way to label the collected yeast? I simply put the strain, dated collected from fermentor (6/19/16) and "gen 2" for second generation, the thought being gen 1 is the yeast from the purchased container. Is there anything else I should capture?

 

[Burquebrewer]

Layer 2 is what you want. Layer 3 looks like trub.

 

[eadavis80]

Looks like a good amount to me. Yes, I would just label each with the strain type, the date you harvested and the generation that yeast was. I always make a starter for harvested yeast, but that's 'cause I normally don't use them for at least a couple of weeks after harvesting. I think if you turned around and used that within a week (maybe two) of harvesting, a starter would not be necessary. However, like a blowoff tube, I've never heard of anyone who has regretted making a starter - just like nobody ever regrets using a blowoff tube. They just regret not having used one.