Question: has anybody tried this ?
- Thread starter ohiochris
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Yes it's called yeast harvesting, it's pretty common. Look around for threads on the subject.
It's not that there's enough yeast in the dregs of a bottle of beer, it's that we grow more of it from that little bit of yeast.
Here's an outdated, but still the only comprehensive, list of commercial beers with harvestable yeast. http://www.nada.kth.se/~alun/Beer/Bottle-Yeasts/
And this is a basic thread with a video on harvesting Rogue's Pac Man Yeast https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/pacman-yeast-starter-video-63855/?highlight=pacman The process is the same for whatever yeast you use...make a starterm and pour in the dregs from 1 or more bottles of beer...I once used 12 beers to harvest hoegaarden yeast.
It's not that there's enough yeast in the dregs of a bottle of beer, it's that we grow more of it from that little bit of yeast.
Here's an outdated, but still the only comprehensive, list of commercial beers with harvestable yeast. http://www.nada.kth.se/~alun/Beer/Bottle-Yeasts/
And this is a basic thread with a video on harvesting Rogue's Pac Man Yeast https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/pacman-yeast-starter-video-63855/?highlight=pacman The process is the same for whatever yeast you use...make a starterm and pour in the dregs from 1 or more bottles of beer...I once used 12 beers to harvest hoegaarden yeast.
remilard
Well-Known Member
No, there is not enough yeast in a bottle to pitch directly in a batch.
Yes, you'll have to do as Revy suggests....make a starter from a commercial bottle.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
Many breweries pastuerize before carbonating and bottling, so no yeast to harvest. If you can see any yeast sediment in the bottle, it can be harvested and used to make a starter. I just bought a few bombers from Port Brewing mainly for the purpose of harvesting the yeast.
Hoosier
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that some breweries use a different yeast for bottle conditioning. You may not be growing what you are hoping for.
That's actually rarer than you may think, and that tends to be Belgian Breweries trying to hide their fermentation strain from thievery.
That list I linked to does a decent job of unravelling that mystery. As does some of the brewery websites...a little detective work, usually less than 5 minutes and you know whether or not it is.
And besides....A belgian bottling yeast is STILL usually a belgian yeast, and that ain't bad to have anyway.
Hoosier
Well-Known Member
The Belgian strains are the ones I chase typically but a big +1 to everything Revvy said
Suddenly images of Indian Jones flashed in my head....Indy with a bullwhip, and a stirplate.
Hoosier
Well-Known Member
Haha, cover your heart Revvy!!!!
and yes I come complete with a bandolier of stir bars instead of bullets...
and yes I come complete with a bandolier of stir bars instead of bullets...
