Making Immortal Yeast

[gatewood]

Sup ppl

I've been experimenting with some aging yeast colonies (starters that I've at least used 6 to 7 times), with the purpose of extending the life and reinvigorating such colonies as much as possible. Since I lack some advanced equipment (e.g. microscope), my only tool has been to subject my colonies to different conditions (heat/cold, aerobic/anaerobic, feeding it simple/complex sugars, etc.) and see what keeps them going best.

Currently, I've found that a combination of:

1. Mild cold (10-15°C)
2. Well aerated (aerobic)
3. Complex sugars (fruit wort subjected to moderate heat, so as to avoid denaturing the sugar polymers)
4. About a 1-2 to 10 ratio of sugar/water ratio (to give the yeast some room and avoid osmotic pressure)
5. Complete darkness

Has managed to keep the vitality of some of my colonies, for up to 10 uses (and still going strong).

So my 2 questions are these:

1. You know of any process that could potentially keep a yeast colony going indefinitely?
2. Is that an optimal thing to do?

 

[Sammy86]

1. You know of any process that could potentially keep a yeast colony going indefinitely?
2. Is that an optimal thing to do?

You seem pretty well versed in the subject matter so please take whatever I say with a grain of salt...

Yeast will mutate as you go so the yeast you start out with will be different by I dunno generation 6 or 7 (I believe I read that somewhere).

While I believe it's possible to keep them going because they are living organisms I don't believe using them past 10 generations is common place.

I know with speaking to a local brewery head brewer he gets a fresh pitch of his house strain after 8 generations said the ninth beer with the same pitch wasn't what he was looking for.

 

[bracconiere]

not that it matters, but i repitch about 50 times a year, every week, then they start getting lazy and start refusing to give me a buzz.

and i'm repitching wine yeast into beer right now, hoping it does mutate...


and as far as i know glycerine and freezing is the way to store yeast? if you want a bank?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Been top cropping and repitching WY1469 for at least 5 years now... and the first pitch was from a starter I made from an 18 month expired snack pack that had been partially frozen.

Like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park says, life will find a way!

 

[bracconiere]

Been top cropping and repitching WY1469 for at least 5 years now.

what, are you trying to out do me?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

what, are you trying to out do me?

Just providing a sample size of n=1 (and a supportive “push”)!

 

[bracconiere]

Just providing a sample size of n=1 (and a supportive “push”)!

i get R's and X's, i have no idea what an n is? lol

 

[TBA]

Does top cropping avoid the mutant, weak, etc yeast?

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Does top cropping avoid the mutant, weak, etc yeast?

I have no definitive way to talk about mutations in my experience. However flavor profile to my taste buds has remain consistent and my expected attenuation has been steady for at least the last 3 1/2 years

 

[ChiknNutz]

i get R's and X's, i have no idea what an n is? lol

My assumption is that his use of "n=1" is a reference to Statistics, where "n" is the number of samples. I only picked up on it because I am taking a statistics course right now as part of my Master's.

 

[LittleRiver]

I re-pitched some WY1450 for over 3 years, and never had a problem. Nice vigorous fermentations, with no off flavors.

I collect spent yeast in small (4oz) glass canning jars and store them in the fridge. I put a jar on the counter the day before I brew to let it warm up to room temp. I pitch the whole jar into the new batch.

On the rare occasion I make a high gravity beer (over 1.065), I use a tablespoon or two of the yeast slurry to make a starter.

 

[bracconiere]

My assumption is that his use of "n=1" is a reference to Statistics, where "n" is the number of samples. I only picked up on it because I am taking a statistics course right now as part of my Master's.

thanks for that! i get smarter everyday