Harvesting Dry Yeast?

[KISS Brew]

I really admire the cheap bastardry represented in this thread.

I know some of you will swear that you don't have an LHBS and don't want to order dry yeast online in this heat wave, but you and i both know deep down that it's about stretching that $4 as far as it will go!

I prefer "frugal bastardry".

 

[pwortiz]

I've only washed US05 to date but will do Notty soon; have a starter going of the 05 right now too. Seeing comments on here about those strains improving in 2nd and 3rd are nice to read. Any comments on after that generation? The main washing thread says not more than 5th gen but does anyone go beyond with these (or any other) strains?

 

[Jaysus]

I harvest US-05 all the time. I feel that the 2nd & 3rd gen make the best beer.

I recently won a Best in Show using 2nd gen US-05

 

[demuzik]

I prefer "frugal bastardry".

As do I - I think the days of dry yeast = cheap yeast are just about gone. At my HBS its about $1 maybe $2 less than most liquid yeasts... so I say, harvest away.

...but okay, I admit... I harvested Notty back when it was like $2 bucks a shot... still just nice to multiply the heck out of your $2 'investment'

 

[msa8967]

Another question to consider....when using mr malty or yeastcalc what should we use for the production date for the washed yeast? A few days after the yeast is pitched, the day the beer reaches its FG or the date the yeast is washed? I know this might be off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread in case users of just dry yeast want to consider washing and reusing.

 

[KISS Brew]

...but okay, I admit... I harvested Notty back when it was like $2 bucks a shot... still just nice to multiply the heck out of your $2 'investment'

I've definitely harvested T-58 a few times, and it only runs $2 a pack.

I haven't yet started harvesting Red Star Montrachet ($0.65) that I only use in Apfelwein, but maybe I should start...

 

[travis123]

When draining the fermenter I take a pint of sludge from the bottom & pour it into a clean Plastic 3 pint water bottle. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice & a teaspoon of sugar. leave at room temperature for a day. Give the bottle a squeeze, it should have gassed up & pressurised the bottle. This shows the yeast has taken.

Travis.

(I got the Lemon juice & sugar tip from the Home Distillers site where Yeast Harvest is common)

 

[yetanothersteve]

Saflager W-34/70- Wiehenstephan Lager Yeast has been $6.95 for a while but that is expensive to use for just one five gallon batch.
I go three batches off one sachet and often find the 2nd and 3rd to be the best performers.
Nottingham and US-05 as well just because I'm cheap. I also keep a spreadsheet on the gallons I have produced since brew 1 and the money I have spent on hardware (kettles, fermenters) and software (grain, hops, yeast, etc.) and I love to see that price per gallon drop a little for brew days using "free" yeast.

 

[el_caro]

Being ever frugal in these times of Fiscal Cliffs and the like I would like to store some US 05 from a pack I have not yet opened.
I plan to use the pack for a brew this weekend but have another 2 brews next week that will also need US 05. I was wondering about the logic of rehydrating the pack of yeast then chucking part of the rehydrated yeast into a starter. I could save the starter by rinsing and storing. I would not have to wait a couple of weeks to harvest the yeast cake from this weekends brew and I would still have a 'first generation' yeast.
Does this sound plausible and could I keep repeating the process with the harvested yeast?

 

[tektonjp]

Being ever frugal in these times of Fiscal Cliffs and the like I would like to store some US 05 from a pack I have not yet opened.
I plan to use the pack for a brew this weekend but have another 2 brews next week that will also need US 05. I was wondering about the logic of rehydrating the pack of yeast then chucking it into a starter. I could save about 0.5L of the starter by rinsing and storing. I would not have to wait a couple of weeks to harvest the yeast cake from this weekends brew and I would still have a 'first generation' yeast.
Does this sound plausible and could I keep repeating the process with the harvested yeast?

Don't make a starter. 05 is a great top cropping yeast. When the krausen gets going, just skim off 3-4 tablespoons of cream/foam from the top and store that in a small jar with a little pure water. Pitch that jar of yeast into your next batch. It should catch fire just fine.

 

[el_caro]

I hate opening fermentation vessels once they are closed for fear of infections.

What about just pouring a small amount (say 10%) of the rehydrated 05 yeast into a smaller starter and just building it up and storing in the fridge as rinsed yeast? The rest can go straight into the brew as normal.

 

[beerspitnight]

Its not dry yeast after you pitch it. After 3 generations, S04, provided you aren't contaminated at all, it becomes quite the formidable yeast. I prefer that of the yeast choices if I am using a dry yeast.

Any idea why the yeast becomes "better"?

 

[yetanothersteve]

el caro:

If you do not want to open the fermenter to harvest off the top then go ahead and make the starter from the US-05. Unless you have a fermenter with a dump valve, you have really narrowed your options.

Just don't tell anyone on this or any other homebrew forum that you are making a starter from dry yeast - call it an "unhopped yeast inoculated wort".

 

[Ataz]

For me the issue is really different, i mean "harvesting the dry yeast". I live in a country that I cannot buy yeast (because is illegall!!!!! Can u believe it?).
So every time I go to a trip to another country, I bring some yeast, and obviously I should be careful when I arrive here. I mean just some sachet of dry yeast is possible to bring in my pockets. So, always I have to harvest my yeasts. It's not a matter of money, it's just the only way for me to pursue my happiness ;-)
Anyway, I have some strains from 2 years ago, some of them are like 6-7th generation, and it's ok. It's just a matter of sanitation and storing. Usually i keep them at 1-3 c.
But I'm wondering if it's possible to freeze the slurry?