Please look at this pic. Yeast washing advice needed.

[chinaski1217]

I just harvested some WLP 002 from a 1.054 pale ale and I'm hoping to use it in a 1.060 ESB this week. I've been reading up on yeast harvesting and rinsing, and what I just got looks different than what I expected to see.

I thought I'd see trub on the bottom, creamy yeast in the middle, and the rest of the stuff on top. What I got though was yeast immediately dropping to the bottom, then everything else settling out on top. Looks like I have 4 layers of stuff instead of 3.

The pic I've attached is the harvest after sitting in the fridge for 30 mins or so. I'm planning on rinsing at least one more time. I think I should add that I just dumped in some sterile water and then swirled everything up. After waiting for 20 minutes for things to settle in the fermenter, it didn't look like everything separated, so I just dumped everything into the jars. There's some trub and an ounce of dry hop in there too. Not the plan, but that's what I did.

So, does what I have look OK for now? I'm thinking that the yeast dropped immediately because it's just a really flocculant strain.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[CadillacAndy]

Looks great to me! I see the 4 layers you have going on and it looks like the 3rd from the bottom is the yeast. It looks like the 2nd layer is hop particles.

 

[chinaski1217]

Looks great to me! I see the 4 layers you have going on and it looks like the 3rd from the bottom is the yeast. It looks like the 2nd layer is hop particles.

I think, starting at the bottom, the layers are this: yeast, hop particles, trub, unwanted liquid.

I used WLP 002 and that stuff can get really chunky, that's why I'm pretty sure the bottom layer is the stuff I want. The third layer from the bottom does resemble the creamy yeast I was expecting to see, but it's just the picture. When I picked up the jar and examined it closely, that layer seems to be trub particles. I don't do the best job keeping stuff from the kettle from getting into the fermenter.

 

[Toy4Rick]

I got similar results from WLP002 and the outcome from this site was the yeast is on the bottom. It's so flocculant it falls out before the trub

Toy4Rick

 

[passedpawn]

I believe the yeast is third from the bottom. That stuff on the bottom is trub.

 

[runningweird]

From the bottom up: trub, then hops, the top milky whitish layer is yeast. If you refrigerate it more will fall out if solution.

 

[chinaski1217]

From the bottom up: trub, then hops, the top milky whitish layer is yeast. If you refrigerate it more will fall out if solution.

That picture doesn't show the colors very well. The bottom layer is definitely the yeast; it's really chunky like WLP 002 often is. I just decanted the smaller jar and that bottom layer came out in a big, wet clump. The 3rd layer from the bottom may also be yeast, but I've never seen 002 be really creamy like that (though I haven't used it a lot). I'm going to refrigerate the larger jar longer and see what happens to that 3rd layer.

 

[passedpawn]

That picture doesn't show the colors very well. The bottom layer is definitely the yeast; it's really chunky like WLP 002 often is. I just decanted the smaller jar and that bottom layer came out in a big, wet clump. The 3rd layer from the bottom may also be yeast, but I've never seen 002 be really creamy like that (though I haven't used it a lot). I'm going to refrigerate the larger jar longer and see what happens to that 3rd layer.

I certainly don't know everything, but I'd bet money that the third from the bottom is pure yeast. I've made so, so many starters and saved so so much yeast. I've got a scope for this kind of thing, wish you were next door and we could settle a wager on this

[edit] here's a thread that supports your claims. The more I look, the more I think I'd lose that wager. I'm going to bed before I do any more damage here.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=40342

 

[kanzimonson]

This is my favorite strain and I use it almost exclusively. It's so frustratingly flocculant that these days I don't even bother to separate out the trub when I save yeast.

 

[phoenixs4r]

002 is highly floculant isn't it? Too lazy to Google. If so I'd wager the bottom layer is yeast

 

[pabloj13]

The bottom layer is the yeast. Hands down. No question. Search on here. There are several threads with arguments about 002 which end in people deciding it's the bottom layer. It's so flocculant it drops out before the trub. This is why starters look like this:

 

[chinaski1217]

I certainly don't know everything, but I'd bet money that the third from the bottom is pure yeast. I've made so, so many starters and saved so so much yeast. I've got a scope for this kind of thing, wish you were next door and we could settle a wager on this

[edit] here's a thread that supports your claims. The more I look, the more I think I'd lose that wager. I'm going to bed before I do any more damage here.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=40342

I appreciate you linking that thread. Seems to echo what I'm seeing and it's always good to get a little confirmation on something like this. Like I said, that picture doesn't really do it justice (I need a better camera). In the pic, it looks like the 3rd layer is yeast, but if it was, it wasn't the yeast I wanted. That stuff at the bottom is a big, fat slurry of 002 with a little trub mixed in.

Thanks for the input.

 

[onthekeg]

I personally would just decant the liquid and use everything else. There isn't much to wash away.

 

[chinaski1217]

This is off topic, but if I plan on using this within a week, can I just pitch it in without making a starter?

 

[onthekeg]

This is off topic, but if I plan on using this within a week, can I just pitch it in without making a starter?

I would pitch it like that without a starter if it was less than 10 days from the fermenter.

 

[pabloj13]

This is off topic, but if I plan on using this within a week, can I just pitch it in without making a starter?

Best bet is to estimate how much you have in that bottom layer and then use the Repitching yeast slurry tab on Mr Malty (set the production date as the date of harvest). It will tell you how much you need. You probably have enough. I normally set the non-yeast % as 10% and the thickness slider at 3 (assuming you are only estimating the volume of your very bottom layer).

 

[NuclearRich]

I certainly don't know everything, but I'd bet money that the third from the bottom is pure yeast. I've made so, so many starters and saved so so much yeast. I've got a scope for this kind of thing, wish you were next door and we could settle a wager on this

[edit] here's a thread that supports your claims. The more I look, the more I think I'd lose that wager. I'm going to bed before I do any more damage here.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=40342

In my opinion, that link doesnt support much. The link picture is different from the OPs. What it looks like you have is big chunky trub and dead, dark yeast on the bottom. The greenish second layer is clearly hops, no debate there. The third layer is a soft, fresh white layer of newer healthy yeast. And the top layer of course is the wash/beer.

While yes, during active fermentation the yeast resemble that bottom layer, but thats more due to flocculation and active fermentation. When you make a starter, with brand new fresh yeast, every time you chill and decant it all looks like the third layer. Anytime I wash yeast, there is that darker layer of thicker trub. Its mostly dead yeast and coagulated proteins.

8.Pour the liquid from the fermenter into the large jar. Try not to remove any of the part that separated

This is from the yeat washing wiki. I suppose it isnt the most clearly described, but it is telling you to leave that first layer that settles out behind.

What washing the yeast does is allows for the dead stuff and proteins to fall out of suspension. Before the yeast does the same, you pour it into another container and leave behind useless trub. Repeat as neccessary (usually two washes - once out of fermentor into a big jar, and again into mason jars).

 

[NuclearRich]

In my opinion, that link doesnt support much. The link picture is different from the OPs. What it looks like you have is big chunky trub and dead, dark yeast on the bottom. The greenish second layer is clearly hops, no debate there. The third layer is a soft, fresh white layer of newer healthy yeast. And the top layer of course is the wash/beer.

While yes, during active fermentation the yeast resemble that bottom layer, but thats more due to flocculation and active fermentation. When you make a starter, with brand new fresh yeast, every time you chill and decant it all looks like the third layer. Anytime I wash yeast, there is that darker layer of thicker trub. Its mostly dead yeast and coagulated proteins.

This is from the yeat washing wiki. I suppose it isnt the most clearly described, but it is telling you to leave that first layer that settles out behind.

What washing the yeast does is allows for the dead stuff and proteins to fall out of suspension. Before the yeast does the same, you pour it into another container and leave behind useless trub. Repeat as neccessary (usually two washes - once out of fermentor into a big jar, and again into mason jars).

In hind-sight, the particular strain is debatable. Ultimately, my advice would be to decant the liquid and just use the whole jar. If you are pitching within a week from harvest, I wouldnt bother making a starter.

 

[pabloj13]

In hind-sight, the particular strain is debatable. Ultimately, my advice would be to decant the liquid and just use the whole jar. If you are pitching within a week from harvest, I wouldnt bother making a starter.

It's not debatable. It's the bottom. I would bet 1,000 Pliny the Elders on it.