DeadAirJeff
Member
Hey all! I've been brewing for a little over a year. Started with small extract batches, moved to full-boil, then partial mash, now I'm an all-grain brewer (kind of wish I'd done that from the start, lol).
Anyhow, most of my brews up until the last few months were using dry yeast, or liquid yeast starters that I would pitch once and be done with. Over the past few months, though, I've begun playing around with different yeast strains to perfect recipes, etc, and I've been brewing a LOT more often than when I started. So, as you all probably know, the cost of using liquid yeast only once can kind of put a dent in your wallet. Because of that, I've started "overbuilding" my starters by around 100 million cells so that I can reuse those yeast cells as I would a whole new vial for a future brew (for more on that or my method, See this article from brulosophy.com.
It's been working great, and I basically have started my own tiny collection of yeast strains (White Labs' tend to be my favorites), but now that I'm reaching the end of the cases of fresh Mason jars I bought, I'm in a spot where I'll need to start reusing old jars.
The glass and neck bands I'm not concerned about, as they are good for as many reuses as necessary - as long as they don't get warped/cracked - my question is whether or not I can reuse the seal-lids for storing yeast.
The manufacturer, of course, says only one use per lid, and I've read that for canning and long term warm storage of foods that makes sense... But, for the purpose of harvesting yeast which will be refrigerated and used in a short time period, will the seal that the lid provides be ample enough to keep the storage environment sanitary?
I'm thinking it will be, as long as the lids don't begin to look worn/dirty/etc, and I'm going to try doing it anyway for at least one batch, but I figured I'd see if any of you folks had experience on the subject...
Cheers!
Anyhow, most of my brews up until the last few months were using dry yeast, or liquid yeast starters that I would pitch once and be done with. Over the past few months, though, I've begun playing around with different yeast strains to perfect recipes, etc, and I've been brewing a LOT more often than when I started. So, as you all probably know, the cost of using liquid yeast only once can kind of put a dent in your wallet. Because of that, I've started "overbuilding" my starters by around 100 million cells so that I can reuse those yeast cells as I would a whole new vial for a future brew (for more on that or my method, See this article from brulosophy.com.
It's been working great, and I basically have started my own tiny collection of yeast strains (White Labs' tend to be my favorites), but now that I'm reaching the end of the cases of fresh Mason jars I bought, I'm in a spot where I'll need to start reusing old jars.
The glass and neck bands I'm not concerned about, as they are good for as many reuses as necessary - as long as they don't get warped/cracked - my question is whether or not I can reuse the seal-lids for storing yeast.
The manufacturer, of course, says only one use per lid, and I've read that for canning and long term warm storage of foods that makes sense... But, for the purpose of harvesting yeast which will be refrigerated and used in a short time period, will the seal that the lid provides be ample enough to keep the storage environment sanitary?
I'm thinking it will be, as long as the lids don't begin to look worn/dirty/etc, and I'm going to try doing it anyway for at least one batch, but I figured I'd see if any of you folks had experience on the subject...
Cheers!