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Is this an acceptable way to yeast wash?

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gannawdm

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Dec 28, 2009
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I've read a few yeast washing threads, but this is how I'm doing it tonight....

I added some boiled/cooled water to the yeast cake (Pacman) and swirled it around. I then added it to a separate sterilized container. This is the part that confused me based on some of the pictures I've seen. From what I've read, I should wait 20 minutes and I will see 2 layers - the trub and the yeast above, but after 20 minutes, I'm seeing this:
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1. Thin layer up top. It's quite dark and oily looking.
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2. "Milky" layer slowly increasing in size. I assume this is the yeast. It is the lightest in color.
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3. This is the largest segment after 30 minutes, but it's size is decreasing. It's not milky like above. It's more grainy and darker. I suspect it's mostly trub. Any problem with waiting until #2 is much larger than this layer?
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4. Thin dark layer. Clearly trub.
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I'm guessing that #3 is trub mixed with yeast. Can I wait until it has sunk to the bottom? Will the yeast stay in suspension that long or will it sink along with the trub? All of the instructions I've read say to wait just 20 minutes, so I wonder if there's any problem with waiting longer.
 
If you wait too long the yeast will decend into the trub and you'll have to start over. I don't know what the magic time limit is.

Go ahead and decant the liquid into your mason jars (or whatever you are using to store the yeast) and it should separate out again into a yellowish/orange liquid and a layer of white/cream/light brown at the bottom. If you see this, you're done.
 
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