Keeping yeast cake for 3 or 4 weeks

[moors]

I'm racking a Hefeweizen tomorrow and immediately starting an Ale, which will take 3-4 weeks in the fermenter.

My Hefeweizen has a fantastic yeast cake in the bottom of my conical. I have been carefully purging the trub of the conical, leaving a beautiful yeast cake.

I have another Hefeweizen on-deck after the Ale. What's the best way to preserve the yeast from my current Hefeweizen to use in my next one? I'll start the next Hefeweizen after my Ale is done (3-4 weeks).

 

[TennBrewer]

I have several yeast cultures I keep in a mini-fridge around 39-40F. I've used some yeast cultures that are nearly a year old to make starters and they are fine. You shouldn't have any problem if you put the yeast cake into a sanitized/sterile vessel, cover the opening with sanitized foil or plastic wrap, and store in the fridge <40F. This should cause the active yeasts to drop out and remain dormant until you are ready to reactivate them. The key point here is sanitation, as long as the yeast is kept free of contamination, the better.

 

[jmcquesten]

I have several yeast cultures I keep in a mini-fridge around 39-40F. I've used some yeast cultures that are nearly a year old to make starters and they are fine. You shouldn't have any problem if you put the yeast cake into a sanitized/sterile vessel, cover the opening with sanitized foil or plastic wrap, and store in the fridge <40F. This should cause the active yeasts to drop out and remain dormant until you are ready to reactivate them. The key point here is sanitation, as long as the yeast is kept free of contamination, the better.

I have used sanitized mason jars and kept them in the fridge for a couple months with good results. I've heard that hefe yeast goes bad quicker than most (jamil - Brewstrong I think), but 3 - 4 weeks will probably be ok. When filling the jars (or containers), be sure to keep some of the beer to store the yeast in. I usually shoot for 2/3 yeast cake, 1/3 beer. I don't bother trying to wash my yeast anymore, and haven't noticed it affecting the health or quality.