Re-using yeast...

[bckyrdkid420]

I'm noobie to brewing and really starting to get into it now! I've been reading (Lovin' HBT!) and hearing alot about people reusing their yeast after racking off of it.

I read the stickey about yeast washing, but I still really don't understand it...
I understand the basic concept, and would love to beable to reuse my yeast from the stout thats in my primary right now.

I guess the questions I have is first... I obviously have to make my next brew something that takes the same kind of yeast, right?
Also, does "washing" the yeast mean getting back to liquid form and jaring it for next use? And how long will it last in the jars?

How do I make sure I get all the yeast out of my carboy without contaminating it? (I saw that I have use cold (pre-boiled) water) Or can I just leave it in there and pour my next wort on top of it?

On the stickey, it says to try not to pour the stuff off the bottom... Why? Isn't that the yeast?

Anyways... Thanks in advance... I'm super curious on how to actually do this and would love to learn how!

 

[McGarnigle]

To answer a few of these questions...

--You can pour a new wort right on the old yeast cake. This would be over-pitching, which many peple don't worry about. There's some issue of having too much gunk in with the yeast, but again, not a dealbreaker. The biggest issue is timing: you should do it the same day. You can't leave yeast in the bottom of a fermenter for any length of time. This is why people wash it, etc.

--If you do put the yeast in a jar, the heaviest gunk will drop to the very bottom. That's hop and grain detritus, etc.

--I've sanitized a ladle and scooped yeast out of a pail. You could pour it out of your carboy, but you'd have to make sure the neck of the carboy is santiized.

 

[yeqmaster]

Washing yeast is a way of seperating out the yeast from the rest of the "trub" in your fermentor. This allows you to save some of the yeast in jars in your fridge. If you brew in the next couple days, use a pitch rate calculator (mrmalty.com has a good one) and pitch appropriately. If you don't pitch for some time you are supposed to make a starter, however I never do. Hope this clarifies something.