Racking to yeast cake

[Mattang]

I am planning to bottle two batches tonight. One is an Oatmeal Stout. The other is a Ginger Blonde Ale. Both of them used Munton's Premium Gold yeast. I am new to the home brewing thing and would like some advice on what to do with the yeast cake. I have a couple of Cooper's Canadian Blonde kits and some Warrior hops so I could do a quick batch of new beer to rack on to the yeast cake. Should I combine both cakes in one fermentation bucket? If I only use one, which one would be better? Does the new beer take on some of the taste and colour of the previous beer? If I don't rack on to the yeast cake, what's the best way to save or use the yeast? Thanks in advance for tips and advice. Cheers!

 

[trevorc13]

To save or reuse clean yeast, rinse the yeast at the bottom of your carboy with a gallon of pre boiled water. Give it a good shake. Let it settle for about 20 minutes and pour the liquid off of the trub, remaining at the bottom, into a gallon jar or four quart mason jars. Chill it until you have a nice layer of yeast settled at the bottom. You have clean yeast ready to use.

 

[ChandlerBang]

There are some really good threads around here about washing yeast....... Do a search for yeast washing.

EDIT: Here is one that was good enough to get stickified.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

There are several more.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Rinse with sanitized water as described above.

Dump out 3/4 or so of the yeast, there is way too much. Pitch your chilled wort on the yeast leftover. Only jar and refrigerate if you aren't brewing for a few weeks.

Always smell your yeast for any scent of vinegary infection.

i had one packet of dry muntons last 19 batches.

 

[McGarnigle]

A lot of people just rack on top of the yeast cake and claim it works, but I wouldn't combine the two whole cakes. That would be way overpitching.

I'd use the Blond cake due to its lighter color. I wouldn't necessarily wash the yeast if you'll be pitching the same day you bottle. I personally do not use the whole cake, however. I scoop out some of the yeast and pour it into the wort in another carboy (this assumes you have another fermenter).

 

[BendBrewer]

I have heard a rule of thumb when using the unwashed yeast cake and that is to go from lighter to heavier or darker beers and it looks like you want to do it the other way. Not really sure what you can expect just passing along what I have heard.

 

[cheezydemon3]

My method of putting a gallon or so of clean water in with the yeast cake, and then dumping out 3/4 of the yeast removes just about any leftover beer or color.

I would pitch a blond on a stout cake with that method, no problem.