Pitching Slurry

[moreb33rplz]

Before you tell me to just read the yeast washing thread....

I'm bottling today and brewing tomorrow. After I rack my beer I was going to use a sterilized metal spoon and scoop out about 1/3 of my yeast cake into a sanitized glass jar, and seal it loosely overnight in the fridge. I'll take it out tomorrow and bring it to room temp, and just pitch the lot of it into my beer like I usually would. I'm guessing I'll have about 16 oz of slurry.

Sound reasonable?

 

[flars]

Yes, you can do it. It would be a good idea to have an estimate of how many milliliters your are pitching and how many viable yeast cells you will have. Here are two links to calculators to help out.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/
http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast-tools.php

 

[Rockn_M]

That's pretty much what I'll be doing on Saturday. Friday night I will rack the beer into a keg and keep about a cup of slurry. Based on Mr.Malty I should need a little over 3/4 of a cup.

 

[dobe12]

Before you tell me to just read the yeast washing thread....

I'm bottling today and brewing tomorrow. After I rack my beer I was going to use a sterilized metal spoon and scoop out about 1/3 of my yeast cake into a sanitized glass jar, and seal it loosely overnight in the fridge. I'll take it out tomorrow and bring it to room temp, and just pitch the lot of it into my beer like I usually would. I'm guessing I'll have about 16 oz of slurry.

Sound reasonable?

2 things... you don't need to cover it "loosely". Cover it "tightly".
And you don't need to bring it up to room temp before pitching. Pitching cold into warm is fine.

Also, what OG is your next beer? If average (1.040-1.060) you should be fine with 1/3 of the yeast cake. If stronger, you may want to consider 1/2 the cake.

 

[moreb33rplz]

These replies are encouraging.

I have no idea what gravities any of my beers are, I don't measure. The two beers will have the same amount of base malt if that is relevant. Maybe I'll go for 1/2 the cake, don't see why not.

 

[flars]

Oh! Oh! You need a hydrometer to know when your fermentation is complete and then time cleanup.

 

[Rockn_M]

Oh! Oh! You need a hydrometer to know when your fermentation is complete and then time cleanup.

Ya, you should get a hydrometer.

 

[fmr_army]

OFF TOPIC:

Added benefits to having a hydrometer: (a) more stuff (2) two or three readings will provide a WHOLE lot of info about your process and (d) you'll have one more thing to curse at vehemently when (not if) you break it.

(2) above is my favorite
(d) above is my most frequent

ON TOPIC: When I'm pitching like that, I normally just dump the new right onto the old yeast cake, not bothering with cleaning and sanitizing the bucket. Well, at least when I'm brewing something that's as dark or darker (or hop/hoppier) as the previous beer. I'm not lazy, I just believe in conserving energy from time to time.

 

[moreb33rplz]

Yeah. I don't have a smart phone either. Sometimes I stubbornly refuse buying things I know are helpful.

 

[ovenfreshbread]

These replies are encouraging.

I have no idea what gravities any of my beers are, I don't measure. The two beers will have the same amount of base malt if that is relevant. Maybe I'll go for 1/2 the cake, don't see why not.

I'm in agreement with everyone else. If you take it out rather than pitching onto the yeast cake, though, definitely cover it tightly! I did the same thing, intending to use it the next day, but then kept it in the fridge for two months in a mason jar--still works. If you do that, though, you'd probably want to make a starter if you're not as bold (lazy) as me.

The only thing I'd note is that it's probably not a great idea if the previous beer was a really strong beer.

 

[eastoak]

These replies are encouraging.

I have no idea what gravities any of my beers are, I don't measure. The two beers will have the same amount of base malt if that is relevant. Maybe I'll go for 1/2 the cake, don't see why not.

unless you have a 15-20 lb grain bill for a 5 gallon batch you don't want to use 1/2 of a yeast cake. (very short version of why) part of the beer flavors come from the yeast reproducing and an over pitch cut down on that.

 

[methusula110]

Here comes the dumb question. Is the yeast cake the whole trub? Or do you skim off the top? I get the part about dividing it for different gravity beers, but will the yield be about a cup (assuming I skim the whole fermenter)?

 

[moreb33rplz]

I just bottled. Thanks to a little extra beer at the bottom of the fermenter, my slurry was much more liquidy than solid. I saved a quart's worth, and I was planning on pitching about 1/2 that.

 

[eastoak]

Here comes the dumb question. Is the yeast cake the whole trub? Or do you skim off the top? I get the part about dividing it for different gravity beers, but will the yield be about a cup (assuming I skim the whole fermenter)?

you can scoop up everything and pitch. for an average gravity beer 1/2 to 1 cup depending on how thick the slurry is.

 

[khugs21]

2 things... you don't need to cover it "loosely". Cover it "tightly".
And you don't need to bring it up to room temp before pitching. Pitching cold into warm is fine.

Also, what OG is your next beer? If average (1.040-1.060) you should be fine with 1/3 of the yeast cake. If stronger, you may want to consider 1/2 the cake.

got to disagree with two of your points here. covering it tightly is going to cause co2 to build up in the jar leading to cell wall rupture. bactiria and nastys dont crawl so a loose covering is fine. just keep it in the fridge. Also you dont really want to pitch with to much of a difference. temperature shock can occur at to high or to low of a temperature.

 

[vtirish]

About two months back, I racked a Belgian off the yeast cake, and saved all the yeast, as described above. I got three half Mason jars out of it. Made two batches which have come out just fine.

I have one jar left, and it's been sitting in the fridge for about 60 days. I just haven't had the time to brew lately.

What is the "expiration date" for this jar of yeast?

 

[eastoak]

About two months back, I racked a Belgian off the yeast cake, and saved all the yeast, as described above. I got three half Mason jars out of it. Made two batches which have come out just fine.

I have one jar left, and it's been sitting in the fridge for about 60 days. I just haven't had the time to brew lately.

What is the "expiration date" for this jar of yeast?

hard telling, but 60 days is nothing. i've used 6-8 months old yeast slurry in the past.

 

[aryoung1980]

got to disagree with two of your points here. covering it tightly is going to cause co2 to build up in the jar leading to cell wall rupture. bactiria and nastys dont crawl so a loose covering is fine. just keep it in the fridge. Also you dont really want to pitch with to much of a difference. temperature shock can occur at to high or to low of a temperature.

+1


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[primozz]

Ya, you should get a hydrometer.

Or look into a refractometer with ATC - 3 drops of wort/beer is all you need to get a gravity reading and you never have to correct for temperature. I always found hydrometers a PITA, maybe it's just me.

I've got to say, this one piece of testing equiment has helped me dial in my brewing process more than any other; efficency, boil-off rate, and gravities from first running to FG ...

Also, a 500ml beaker for measuring the slurry is helpful too.

Granted, I am a bit OCD when it comes to brewing but repeatabliity is important to me.

 

[eastoak]

Or look into a refractometer with ATC - 3 drops of wort/beer is all you need to get a gravity reading and you never have to correct for temperature. I always found hydrometers a PITA, maybe it's just me.

I've got to say, this one piece of testing equiment has helped me dial in my brewing process more than any other; efficency, boil-off rate, and gravities from first running to FG ...

Also, a 500ml beaker for measuring the slurry is helpful too.

Granted, I am a bit OCD when it comes to brewing but repeatabliity is important to me.

a refractometer used on fermenting beer is an even bigger pain than using a hydrometer since you have to do a conversion. the hydrometer has been in use since the 4th or 5th century for a very good reason, it's dead simple to use.

 

[bluehende]

This Saturday I was planning on bottling and brewing. I have a brown ale that I will bottle and an IPA going in. The IPA is slightly higher OG and both are 5.5 gallon batches. I was going to bottle in the morning and cover the bucket til the afternoon. I was planning on hitting the cake with some boiled cooled water. I figured I could mix this up and let it settle for half an hour. This quick wash would keep most of the brown ale color out of my lighter IPA. At this point I was planning on taking a quart (approximately 1/3) of the cake and place it in a mason jar and refrigerate (loosely lidded for a few days). Another third to half going into my IPA. Then toss the rest. I hate to waste it, but fridge space is limited (either yeast or beer can't do both).

Does this sound reasonable? Any suggestions?

 

[aryoung1980]

the hydrometer has been in use since the 4th or 5th century for a very good reason, it's dead simple to use.

Late 19th century I believe. Whatever the year, I do agree that a hydrometer is best for fermented beer. The refrac is great for brew day numbers. You definitely are able to better adjust on the fly to hit preboil and original gravities.



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[eastoak]

Late 19th century I believe. Whatever the year, I do agree that a hydrometer is best for fermented beer. The refrac is great for brew day numbers. You definitely are able to better adjust on the fly to hit preboil and original gravities.



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just to be clear, it was invented in the 4th or 5th century, it's use in brewing came much later.