Recycling Yeast: Is it Worth It?

[hiphops]

As a general matter, it seems to me that yeast tends to be the most expensive part of the homebrew. One way to cut down on costs is, therefore, to recycle the yeast for future beers.

Is it really worth it, though?

It seems like a hassle but, more important, isn't as fool-proof as a brand new smack pack. I would hate to invest all that time brewing beer only to have the recycled yeast fail.

 

[hamiltont]

Do it all the time. I schedule my brews to reuse the same yeast quite often. Starting out with a low OG brew or two & working up. I recently used 34/70 for 10 gallons of American Lager (1.054), then used a pint of thick slurry in a Vienna Lager (1.058), then a pint in a 5 gallon Doppelbock (1.100) & 1/2 pint in a 5 gallon Bock (1.075) from a partigyle. So, from those 3 initial packs of dry yest I brewed 30 gallons. I've never gone more than 5 generations though. Cheers!!!

 

[El_Exorcisto]

I haven't used a smack pack yet, so my experience is a bit limited. I have reused cakes of US-05 a lot of times, and my own wild yeast. In my experience, not giving money to any corporation, for anything I can easily do myself, is reason enough to reuse yeast. It's even nicer to slant, and never have to worry about having what you need when you need it.

 

[brettwasbtd]

It depends on a lot of factors to determine if it is "worth it." I am a big fan of using dry yeast. At $3 a pack of US-05 or S-04 handles most of the beers I brew. This saves me in the following areas: Money | $6 for liquid yeast plus $1.00 cents for DME for starter. Time | Doesn't Require a starter, doesn't require sterolizing mason and water to wash the yeast into. Time is arguably the most debated part of this "worth"

The positives to it: Generally you can wash the yeast and get 4 new jars of yeast. Then you can use those 4 jars with starters for future brews. Right there your costs are down to about $2 per use! ($6 smack pack, $4 DME, 5 uses). You can then repeat the process of washing that 4th jar and lower your costs even more Another positive is that if you have special yeast, or maybe one that was discontinued or hard to find, you can make sure you always have it in your arsenal!

I know a lot of us on here will say its not worth the hassle, or only for special reasons. Others do it religiously and will say it is worth it. Thats really up to you to decide.

 

[michur]

If you're not sure if washed yeast is viable, make a starter. I've never had a problem. You should be doing a starter for a smack pack anyway (or so I've been told).

Also if you can get 3-4 jars of yeast, and you have a buddy or two doing the same thing, why not trade and expand your yeast liabrary for free!

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

It depends on your yeast needs. If you are happy with dry yeast then it may be more hassle than it is worth. If you use liquid yeasts, particularly if you brew with several strains, then it can be extremely efficient and cheap to wash yeast.

I keep 4-6 strains of washed yeast in my fridge and I think I have six frozen in a yeast bank in my parents' chest freezer. I also do AG so I run off a little extra wort and freeze it to make future starters so effectively the only expense I have in washing yeast is a little tap water.

If you wash yeast up to 4 generations and take 4 mason jars out of each batch you get 256 batches for free from one smack pack. At $6 per smack pack that is $1536 you can keep in your pocket.

 

[kpr121]

If you're not sure if washed yeast is viable, make a starter. I've never had a problem. You should be doing a starter for a smack pack anyway (or so I've been told).

Also if you can get 3-4 jars of yeast, and you have a buddy or two doing the same thing, why not trade and expand your yeast liabrary for free!

If you make a starter, will you be able to tell whether or not you have an infection by the smell/taste? I have yeast in a mason jar that I collected from a porter a few batches back that I almost used today on a new brew but it had a funny smell to it. I wouldnt call it vinegary or yeasty, more musty.

 

[remilard]

It depends on your yeast needs. If you are happy with dry yeast then it may be more hassle than it is worth. If you use liquid yeasts, particularly if you brew with several strains, then it can be extremely efficient and cheap to wash yeast.

I keep 4-6 strains of washed yeast in my fridge and I think I have six frozen in a yeast bank in my parents' chest freezer. I also do AG so I run off a little extra wort and freeze it to make future starters so effectively the only expense I have in washing yeast is a little tap water.

If you wash yeast up to 4 generations and take 4 mason jars out of each batch you get 256 batches for free from one smack pack. At $6 per smack pack that is $1536 you can keep in your pocket.

But then I can't stimulate the economy!

Plus when you get that that last generation your wife may not like the 64 mason jars in the fridge.

 

[BeernuT100]

But then I can't stimulate the economy!

Plus when you get that that last generation your wife may not like the 64 mason jars in the fridge.

So plate instead and build up the culture from there. A lot less space needed.

-bn

 

[Calder]

If you make a starter, will you be able to tell whether or not you have an infection by the smell/taste? I have yeast in a mason jar that I collected from a porter a few batches back that I almost used today on a new brew but it had a funny smell to it. I wouldnt call it vinegary or yeasty, more musty.

A burnt rubber smell? Off, overpowering, but not quite off?

That's autolysis. Make a starter, the live yeast will use the dead yeast as food, and make new yeast and you are off to the races. Check how the starter smells before using, but you will find it is OK.

I was wary the first time, but I really needed to use that particular yeast (in a mason jar for 6 months), so I made a starter and everything was OK.

 

[petep1980]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do it, you must. Free yeast!!!

 

[petep1980]

But then I can't stimulate the economy!

Plus when you get that that last generation your wife may not like the 64 mason jars in the fridge.

You have to be sensible about this stuff. Cleaning through my bank the other day, after culturing more 2124 and added 4 more mason jars to a collecting of 2 I had 6 mason jars of 2124. I don't need 6, at most I need one. So I dumped 4. Same with 1056. Do I really need 4 jars when 2 will do?

 

[tnbrewer371]

you cant ever have to much 1056, if you have to much, pitch two jars into your starter.....

 

[Pick]

Yeah, with the $8 my LHBS charges for a vial of WL, hell yes!!

 

[Malticulous]

Reusing unrinsed yeast saved me over $100 last year. Is that worth it? I had zero contaminated batches last year as well.

 

[Homercidal]

It's a time and hassle issue. If you like playing with brewing stuff, then by all means! If you just don't like messing around with the "extracurriculars", then spending $6 + might make more sense...

For recipes that use dry yeast I don't bother. But the liquid yeasts I'd like to keep a sample in the fridge and repitch. I'm going to build a starter for those anyway, so harvesting a few (billion) cells is not that much more work when compared to the savings.

And you can save even more if you make extra wort and can it for starter wort. It saves time over having to boil up wort for each starter. Do it once for several jars worth, then you just pull it out of the fridge with the yeast, warm it up and pitch it!

 

[michur]

Great idea on the starter wort idea!

 

[corncob]

At least not now. I have brewed about twenty batches so far. After my firt pretty good batch (maybe #3 or so) I succumbed, in my greed, to the positive yeast-reusing talk on this forum and top-cropped an English Ale. Weeks later, I realized that it and the batch behind it (made from the reused yeast) had gotten contaminated with wild yeast. Bad, bad, bad. I am 100% sure reusing yeast is a good thing.

But not for a new brewer on a budget. Throwing out plastic equipment and beer (!!) is almost enough to make someone new throw in the towel on brewing entirely. Especially when you consider that the first batches you brew take the most work input per beer output of any you will brew in your life.

Call it an "advanced skill" and spend the $$ for new yeast until you get to the point that dumping a batch (or two) won't make you depressed. That's my take.

 

[mccabedoug]

I reuse or recycle yeast as a standard practice. Besides the small financial benefits, to me the greatest advantage is that I am able to pitch a HUGE amount of yeast to the subsequent batches. This provides short lag times and complete fermentations. The biggest benefits are for lagers.

I usually have no more than two or three strains in mason jars in my fridge. That's it. I usually get a few generations before I throw it away, usually because I am sick of drinking that style! It does take a little care in sanitation, but I believe it is worth it.

 

[logdrum]

100% yes.

-d

 

[FullDraw]

Another yes. I got my next door neighbor started in brewing awhile back, and his pockets are a little deeper than mine. He uses fresh smack packs every time. I make a very good neighbor in offering to "clean" his primary when he racks. I get 4 jars of yeast or a killer growler full for the upcoming batch. I haven't bought yeast in 2 years. He's happy, so am I. It works out very well, in that he's trying a variety of different yeasts, so my library is growing. If I only ended up with one yeast, over and over, I'd think I was missing something.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Hell yeah, it's worth it. Rack your beer in a keg, swirl the yeast cake and rack it into 2 jars. Each jar is a perfect amount of yeast for a new average batch, no starter needed. Been doing it for years with no problems, and it's free!

 

[passedpawn]

I don't wash yeast, but I do often make back-to-back batches in order to re-use a yeast cake. I think this is a great idea.

I.e., this past wkend, I racked a bock onto a pilsner yeast cake right after bottling. This might not always be a good idea, so use good judgement. As an example of what NOT to do, racking a pilsner onto a bock yeast cake (without washing it first) would probably be a mistake as it would add some color that you don't want in a pils.

 

[COLObrewer]

It's the only way I propagate my house strains. Priceless.