Kveik Yeast Cake

[jpbrauer]

Hello Everyone

I have a question regarding yeast harvesting. I'm a lazy individual, but I've been washing my yeast for at least three batches. I heard that you can directly pitch new wort into the yeast cake from another beer, and I have a kveik ale (Voss Kveik Yeast) currently fermenting (no dry hopping, I only whirpooled some azacca and mosaic). I don't want to wash my yeast because, well I'm lazy, my fridge is packed, my girlfriend hates when I have yeast in the fridge, and I prefer doing something the easy way if there's the possibility. My question is, what adverse effects could occur during this overpitching of yeast. I want to ferment an amber ale with it. If it works, I'm planning to do this two times, once with the amber and another with some other batch.

 

[palmtrees]

With Voss, I expect the major impact you might see from reusing the cake is less yeast character. In my experience, the higher the pitch rate with kveik, the less expressive the yeast will be. I'm sure you'll still get some Voss flavor, but probably less than if you pitched a typical rate for most yeasts, let alone the traditionally low pitch rate for kveik. But otherwise, I don't see any problem with your plan. Just be mindful not to reuse yeast cakes from high gravity beers, and try not to go from dark beer to light beer.

You know, if you want to reuse slurry, you don't have to wash the yeast. You can just pour some slurry into a sterilized Mason jar for fridge storage and then pitch it directly, as long as you use it fairly quickly. I've always found washing yeast to be an unnecessary pain in the neck.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I brew big batches so it's not the same as you but I always just scoop a little out if using for the next beer, I don't use the whole yeast cake, it will work fine

 

[DuncB]

I'd use about a teaspoon of that kveik slurry for a 6 gallon batch. Dry the rest as per the David heath Video and then freeze the flakes.
Next brew just take a few flakes about 2 inch square out of the freezer and put it in the wort, give it a good scream and that's it. You'll be first generation
pitching for ages that way.
Less is more with Kveik!

 

[fragged]

With Voss, I expect the major impact you might see from reusing the cake is less yeast character. In my experience, the higher the pitch rate with kveik, the less expressive the yeast will be. I'm sure you'll still get some Voss flavor, but probably less than if you pitched a typical rate for most yeasts, let alone the traditionally low pitch rate for kveik. But otherwise, I don't see any problem with your plan. Just be mindful not to reuse yeast cakes from high gravity beers, and try not to go from dark beer to light beer.

You know, if you want to reuse slurry, you don't have to wash the yeast. You can just pour some slurry into a sterilized Mason jar for fridge storage and then pitch it directly, as long as you use it fairly quickly. I've always found washing yeast to be an unnecessary pain in the neck.

Never washed either. Even the "relatively quickly" part is probably overkill. I give it a good look, a smell, and if its pretty old I'll also taste some of the beer on top. I';ve used up to (at least) 6 month old slurry without missing a beat, I just pitch more at that point. It's stored at 33 degrees.

Only times I've pitched onto an entire cake was when the recipe needed a huge pitch. 10g batch of lager and a stout being the examples that come to mind. Other than that, I always save a mason jar of slurry.

 

[jpbrauer]

Perfect, his discussion just convinced and made me feel good about not washing yeast anymore, it is really time-consuming and I was getting tired of it. I think I'll use about a US cup of slurry or less and clean the rest.

What do you guys think about skipping the mason jar part and just leaving about a cup of slurry with a little bit of the finished beer in the fermenter for 2 days? When I bottle, I always brew 2 days later, so I always have a beer fermenting. Before placing my wort in the fermenter, I could throw out the leftover beer and then basically use that cup of slurry as my pitch. I heard that the acidity and alcohol in beer help to keep the yeast healthy and combats any other airborne bacteria. Hahaha, the main idea is using no mason jar, but if it's not a good idea, I'll just place my slurry in the jar and be over with it.

 

[jpbrauer]

Pd: Obviously sanitizing everything, so my yeast doesn't get contaminated. I could just use a sanitized spoon to fill a US cup, and with the same spoon, just pick up the remaining trub and yeast and throwing it away. I know it sounds like a waste, but the mason jar with yeast in the fridge is a whole discussion in my house haha. Like I said, if it sounds like a bad idea, then I'll go with the jar.

 

[palmtrees]

Pd: Obviously sanitizing everything, so my yeast doesn't get contaminated. I could just use a sanitized spoon to fill a US cup, and with the same spoon, just pick up the remaining trub and yeast and throwing it away. I know it sounds like a waste, but the mason jar with yeast in the fridge is a whole discussion in my house haha. Like I said, if it sounds like a bad idea, then I'll go with the jar.

The surface area and oxygen exposure in your fermenter poses a potential problem. In the presence of oxygen, mold and other contaminants like that could easily grow on the surface, if trub is exposed, or on the krausen ring/fermenter walls. If you leave enough beer to fully submerge everything at the bottom, you might be fine for two days, but why waste the beer? In a Mason jar, the amount of surface area and headspace is drastically lower, so it takes much less liquid to keep everything fully submerged. Plus it's easier to keep very cold. I'd go that route.

 

[fragged]

The surface area and oxygen exposure in your fermenter poses a potential problem. In the presence of oxygen, mold and other contaminants like that could easily grow on the surface, if trub is exposed, or on the krausen ring/fermenter walls. If you leave enough beer to fully submerge everything at the bottom, you might be fine for two days, but why waste the beer? In a Mason jar, the amount of surface area and headspace is drastically lower, so it takes much less liquid to keep everything fully submerged. Plus it's easier to keep very cold. I'd go that route.

Right. A bit of cleaning and a mason jar is less risk than leaving it in a bucket IMO. I have racked out a beer and then onto that cake the same day, but thats hours not days. Hell, you can chow some pickles and use that jar if you don't have a mason handy, I have.

 

[fragged]

Pd: Obviously sanitizing everything, so my yeast doesn't get contaminated. I could just use a sanitized spoon to fill a US cup, and with the same spoon, just pick up the remaining trub and yeast and throwing it away. I know it sounds like a waste, but the mason jar with yeast in the fridge is a whole discussion in my house haha. Like I said, if it sounds like a bad idea, then I'll go with the jar.

"Listen, I can have the jar of yeast, or we can go back to buying beer all the time.".

Then hope the bluff isn't called.