Reusing Roeselare Yeast Cake

[TNGabe]

I'd recommend reading Wild Brews.

Sparrow specifically describes two things NOT to do when brewing sour beers. The first is NOT to use a starter because it throws the "balance" of yeast and bacteria out of whack. Second, he notes that you should not "reuse" a yeast cake for similar reasons. That is why chugachbrewing noticed a change in flavors, specifically lactic acid production with successive generations.

Seriously though, read the book. It's the best book for sour brewing and a must read for novices.

I saw a post on ECY's facebook where Al recommends doing an aerated starter with half the blend if it's over a month old or the beer is over 1.060 and then pitching the starter with the other half of the blend into un-aerated wort.

Not disagreeing about Wild Brews being a must own book though.

 

[bellmtbbq]

I saw a post on ECY's facebook where Al recommends doing an aerated starter with half the blend if it's over a month old or the beer is over 1.060 and then pitching the starter with the other half of the blend into un-aerated wort.

Not disagreeing about Wild Brews being a must own book though.

You mind linking me ECYs Facebook page Gabe? (Should be getting the yeast soon, sorry for delay again) Lots of people say its disappeared/can't find it

Here's my thoughts from a microbiologists point of view. Yes, of course making a starter is going to affect the proportions of the blend, different micro organisms go through differing rates of asexual reproduction. But you can adjust your results by making different sizes of starters, stepping it up x times, etc. you can get many different products out of a single blend. For newbies, no starter is smart, once you get used to 3763's properties, you can adjust it. I'm starting a beer on Roselare that I plan on reusing a few times to increase sourness in generations. On the other hand, I'm about to bottle a beer on a 3278 cake, and there's no way I'm using that blend again. Not a fan one bit

 

[Wingston75]

Hi all,

Gearing up to do another flanders red - did one last year, racked from primary into glass carboy where it's sat for almost a year now.

I kept what was left over from the 5gal on a 1gal demijohn and it's got a BEAUT of a pellicle. The yeast I harvested from primary has sat in a mason jar in the fridge since the brew last nov/dec.

Not sure of the yeast's viability, nor of it's state - when I placed it in the mason jar it had what looked like a fat krausen, which has over that time subsided and left me with half a jar of beer+yeast layer. Not sure what state it'll be in now - it looks a little less that a smooth peanut butter layer at the bottom, would this be the case with a yeast+bugs concoction? I have no previous in such matters.

I'm inclined to pitch new Roeselare blend and then rack the leftover 1/2 gal onto the new beer.

But I'd be interested to know everyone's thoughts and advice - what would you guys be tempted to do, or ideally wanna do?

Thanks!

 

[Calder]

Gearing up to do another flanders red - did one last year, racked from primary into glass carboy where it's sat for almost a year now.

I kept what was left over from the 5gal on a 1gal demijohn and it's got a BEAUT of a pellicle. The yeast I harvested from primary has sat in a mason jar in the fridge since the brew last nov/dec.

Not sure of the yeast's viability, nor of it's state - when I placed it in the mason jar it had what looked like a fat krausen, which has over that time subsided and left me with half a jar of beer+yeast layer. Not sure what state it'll be in now - it looks a little less that a smooth peanut butter layer at the bottom, would this be the case with a yeast+bugs concoction? I have no previous in such matters.

I'm inclined to pitch new Roeselare blend and then rack the leftover 1/2 gal onto the new beer.

But I'd be interested to know everyone's thoughts and advice - what would you guys be tempted to do, or ideally wanna do?

I think I would make the wort, swirl up the contents of the 1 gallon demijohn, and use that to start the beer. There are lots of bugs in there that should start to form their colonys quickly. However, there might not be much sacc left; you should be ready to pitch some fresh sacc (preferably a Belgian yeast) after about 4 days if you see no activity.

Unless I'm trying a new strain, I always start my sours off with a couple of liters of saved beer, and time the beer to coincide with a time when I have some Belgian yeast going; racking or bottling a Belgian, so I can scoop a pint of slurry, or I have a starter I can split.

Good luck.