Guide to Making a Frozen Yeast Bank

[jdoiv]

Quick question: What section of the pharmacy or grocery store will have the glycerin? The local walgreens didn't carry it. The pharmacy at the grocery store had the kind that was indigestible. Would it be in the vitamin or health food section?
Thanks

 

[PseudoChef]

Quick question: What section of the pharmacy or grocery store will have the glycerin? The local walgreens didn't carry it. The pharmacy at the grocery store had the kind that was indigestible. Would it be in the vitamin or health food section?
Thanks

All Seasons has a couple different varieties. Alternatively, if we ever get together to brew, I can give you some for free.

 

[macs]

Any tips on sources for the vials? I'd like to start doing this, but I haven't been able to find these things except by the case.

I got some from an Ebay store last year.

 

[jdoiv]

All Seasons has a couple different varieties. Alternatively, if we ever get together to brew, I can give you some for free.

Cool. I should of thought to look there last weekend but forgot. I got all my vials and beakers in today. Just need to get a pressure cooker and the glycerin and I'm good to go.

Another question. Instead of the pressure cooker, can you bake the glassware in the oven instead? Or is that not going to be a sterile enough environment?

 

[PseudoChef]

Cool. I should of thought to look there last weekend but forgot. I got all my vials and beakers in today. Just need to get a pressure cooker and the glycerin and I'm good to go.

Another question. Instead of the pressure cooker, can you bake the glassware in the oven instead? Or is that not going to be a sterile enough environment?

You can, but you need to bake for like 12 hours or something crazy like that. Pressure cooker's gonna run you what? $20-$30?

 

[SenorWanderer]

what do you folks think about washing the yeast as per the instructions in other posts before "bottling" and freezing. would it be beneficial to get rid of the trub and break. i have a big half gallon starter that i made with wyeast 1010 that i'll be preparing to freeze on friday when my vials get here. it started as a 1000ml starter, then half gallon, and then today i poured off the beer and added another half gallon of fresh wort on top of the yeast so i've built up quite a bit of trub.

i also have about 100ml of washed yeast in a pint jar in the fridge that i harvested from a 5g batch of wheat beer. its been in there for about a month, maybe 6 weeks. its a different strain so i might go ahead and freeze a couple vials of this yeast as well. then maybe i can make a starter with it in a few months just to see how viable it is having been washed and then sat in the fridge for a while. comments?

 

[macs]

If you guys see the book..."First Steps in Yeast Culture" by Pierre Rajotte, buy it!!
It is an awesome book on this subject and is full of procedures on sterilizing, transferring, storing and other methods of manipulating yeast.

 

[Llarian]

what do you folks think about washing the yeast as per the instructions in other posts before "bottling" and freezing. would it be beneficial to get rid of the trub and break. i have a big half gallon starter that i made with wyeast 1010 that i'll be preparing to freeze on friday when my vials get here. it started as a 1000ml starter, then half gallon, and then today i poured off the beer and added another half gallon of fresh wort on top of the yeast so i've built up quite a bit of trub.

i also have about 100ml of washed yeast in a pint jar in the fridge that i harvested from a 5g batch of wheat beer. its been in there for about a month, maybe 6 weeks. its a different strain so i might go ahead and freeze a couple vials of this yeast as well. then maybe i can make a starter with it in a few months just to see how viable it is having been washed and then sat in the fridge for a while. comments?

There is no trub in a starter to speak of. If you take your washed yeast and pump it up to a half gallon starter, you can just pull the yeast slurry from the bottom and freeze that without worrying about any further washing.

-D

 

[jdoiv]

Ok, so I went by the LHBS this morning and picked up what I hope is the right stuff. If was Glycerin USP Finishing Formula from JD Carlson. Is this the right stuff?

 

[bull]

nice job indeed,bull

 

[Philip1993]

Ok, so I went by the LHBS this morning and picked up what I hope is the right stuff. If was Glycerin USP Finishing Formula from JD Carlson. Is this the right stuff?

Yep. padding

 

[camiller]

If was Glycerin USP Finishing Formula from JD Carlson. ...

I Think that is LD Carlson. Since they sell it as an additive for wines and liqueurs it certainly should be safe for consumption.

 

[PintOfBitter]

Wow, this sounds like something I'd like to try. I don't have any of the glassware needed, but I was looking around on that Cynmar company's site, and it looks like the whole "kit" could be pieced together pretty cheap. Maybe I'll go for it.

For how many generations is a given yeast supposed to be good for? I'm sure this process shouldn't be repeated forever, right? It seems like I remember the magic number of 4 generations from somewhere...

 

[left field brewer]

Thanks for the info. I'm just starting to get into yeast banking. Is that a Corning PC-353? I got the same one at the university surplus store for $5. Its already paid for itself after making just a couple of starters, and the amount of yeast it produces per volume is pretty sweet. Also a little off topic but how hard was it to tap a valve into the top of the pressure cooker(pretty thick)? I'd hate to ruin the nice new $90 pressure cooker I'm looking at.

 

[Philip1993]

Wow, this sounds like something I'd like to try. I don't have any of the glassware needed, but I was looking around on that Cynmar company's site, and it looks like the whole "kit" could be pieced together pretty cheap. Maybe I'll go for it.

Scientific glassware is nice, but you can get everything you need at the grocery, just remove the food and wash. Of all the pieces I have, the two I like best came filled with apple juice and Ragu...

 

[FlyGuy]

Thanks for the info. I'm just starting to get into yeast banking. Is that a Corning PC-353? I got the same one at the university surplus store for $5. Its already paid for itself after making just a couple of starters, and the amount of yeast it produces per volume is pretty sweet. Also a little off topic but how hard was it to tap a valve into the top of the pressure cooker(pretty thick)? I'd hate to ruin the nice new $90 pressure cooker I'm looking at.

Yep, I got mine surplus at my university, too! Works great still.

Regarding tapping the valve, it was dead easy. But I would recommend to anyone to be very cautious when you do it. If it isn't threaded properly, you are just asking for serious trouble. To anyone buying a new pressure cooker, I would HIGHLY recommend finding one that has a pressure relief valve that unscrews -- then you can add a tee fitting, put the pressure relief valve back on, and then add your own needle valve for the steam outlet. Brewman ! has pics of his system (see top of post for links).

 

[MadWeezel]

One may also look at getting a separatory Funnel with stopcock, After making your starter and removing from the stirplate, transfer your slurry into the stopcock, seal let settle then sterilize the stopcock tip before pouring into the vials.


1000ml

250ml

 

[Andy77]

Just FYI, you can get anything you need from a scientific supply house like Fisher Scientific or VWR, I plan on making my frozen stock soon, you can get sterile tubes, anything you need.

 

[mrkristofo]

One may also look at getting a separatory Funnel with stopcock, After making your starter and removing from the stirplate, transfer your slurry into the stopcock, seal let settle then sterilize the stopcock tip before pouring into the vials.


1000ml

250ml

I can't believe I didn't think of this. Well done. Really, good form.

 

[jds]

Quick question / addition:

I've seen these baby soda bottles online for a fairly low price. They're preforms for 2 l soda bottles.

It's a bit hard to tell from the photos, but they look to be about the size of the White Labs pitchable liquid yeasts. I'm planning on saving and freezing some yeast from my next batch. Anyhow, I'm thinking these might be a good size for both storing/freezing yeast, and possibly building a mini-starter in as well.

Has anybody used these for yeast storage or starters?

 

[Philip1993]

One may also look at getting a separatory Funnel with stopcock, After making your starter and removing from the stirplate, transfer your slurry into the stopcock, seal let settle then sterilize the stopcock tip before pouring into the vials.

That was my thought too, but a 2L separatory funnel is big $$$.

I like the baby bottles! I'm using 35ml glass, and every so often one fails under the stress of freezing.

 

[jds]

Actually, after using a White Labs liquid yeast today, I'm pretty sure the soda bottle preforms are exactly what WL sells for their 'pitchable liquid yeast'.

 

[mrkristofo]

Actually, after using a White Labs liquid yeast today, I'm pretty sure the soda bottle preforms are exactly what WL sells for their 'pitchable liquid yeast'.

My only concern with those would be sterilizing them. If you're making a yeast bank, you're going to be propagating from the cultures time after time. It would be prudent to go beyond simply sanitizing and fully sterilizing those suckers. It's not worth the risk of contamination, to me. I don't trust it if I can't autoclave it

 

[98EXL]

I do like those tubes....very very cool

 

[Philip1993]

It would be prudent to go beyond simply sanitizing and fully sterilizing those suckers. It's not worth the risk of contamination, to me. I don't trust it if I can't autoclave it

That's certainly the most conservative method, but it raises the question; Do you actually autoclave your vials? I know that I certainly do not. I just drop them in boiling water for 5 min, cap, and cool.

 

[mrkristofo]

That's certainly the most conservative method, but it raises the question; Do you actually autoclave your vials? I know that I certainly do not. I just drop them in boiling water for 5 min, cap, and cool.

Yes, I do in fact.

 

[Professor Frink]

When you work in a lab, you can get the vials in a sterile pack

 

[mrkristofo]

When you work in a lab, you can get the vials in a sterile pack

This is also true. 15mL falcon tubes work great for saving a smidge of yeast in the fridge that's pitched into a starter. Get about 10 of those off a 1L culture.

 

[Philip1993]

Yes, I do in fact.

Very cool. No easy access here. Anyway, I meant "you" in a broad sense. I wasn't trying to insinuate you specifically didn't, and I apologize if it read that way.

My (poorly delivered) point was that so often us techies tend to engineer things beyond what reality calls for. And for the majority of us who consider 'sterile' a 3 min dunk in a pot of boiling water, there's probably no perceivable benefit to paying extra for 'glassware' rated beyond 212*F

Now for you guys that do have access, light it up!

 

[Bandit112]

nothing to say but.... thanks