Reusing yeast - without washing

[wilserbrewer]

FWIW, I'm not using zip locks anymore, switched over to using recycled pasta sauce quart jars. The zip locks are handy as I considered them sanitary fresh out of the box, so less to prep. bbut a little tricker to store. I've even gone 6 or more generations without issue. Just recently cropped some yeast out of commercial Sierra Nevada Kellerveiss and Long Trail IPA, two nice "free" yeast strains that came with the purchase of a six pack....

 

[Justdrumin]

This guy did a scientific study on this exact thing. It is a great blog and a good read. With his studies, there is actually a very large amount of good viable yeast in the "trub."

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html?m=1

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2013/01/yeast-washing-revisited.html?m=1

 

[jahdub]

I added clean, cooled boiled water to the carboy after removing the beer. Swished it around and poured it into a tall glass. Let it settle for a few minutes for the heavy debris to settle to the bottom. Pour the top liquid/yeast into a bottle and cap it. Throw out the heavy debris. Use the bottled yeast for your starter. I don't believe the bottled yeast needs to be refridgerated. It's basically a highly yeasty beer.

The viability of your yeast will be better if you refrigerate it.

I personally harvest from my starter, been using the same packet of US-05 for several generations. I just add an extra 500mL of starter wort and I'm good to go.

 

[rhys333]

I prefer to use true top-cropper strains and harvest from the top. Its as close as I can get to 100% pure (zero visible trub), and extremely healthy since it hasn't been sitting under alcohol for weeks. I collect up to 250ml of the stuff, store under distilled water in mason jars, no rinsing, and never make starters. Its super viable even after a couple months, taking off as fast as the original smack-pack with starter. I've found Mr. Malty slurry estimates work well for me, as long as I go with the most conservative amount of yeast. Any more and I get over-pitch scenarios.

 

[grrickar]

So say you take the yeast from the cake in the secondary (less other crap in it) and put it in a sanitized container in a fridge. How long is the yeast viable, and should you make a starter for good measure or not?

I have a Wyeast 1968 and was thinking of doing another batch, but it wont be for a month or so, otherwise I would just pitch on top of the yeast cake.

 

[rhys333]

So say you take the yeast from the cake in the secondary (less other crap in it) and put it in a sanitized container in a fridge. How long is the yeast viable, and should you make a starter for good measure or not?

I have a Wyeast 1968 and was thinking of doing another batch, but it wont be for a month or so, otherwise I would just pitch on top of the yeast cake.

When I have harvested post-fermentation, it was always from primary. If you harvest from secondary, you're selecting the less flocculant yeast which can change the properties of the strain over time (i.e.: takes longer to clear and may increase attenuation). You can still do it no problem, but you might want to limit it to one or two cycles if you do. You probably don't pull a ton of yeast from secodary (others might confirm), so a starter would build your cell count up to desirable levels, also helping recharge potentially stressed out yeast that's been in alcohol for a while.

 

[ubnserved]

This guy did a scientific study on this exact thing. It is a great blog and a good read. With his studies, there is actually a very large amount of good viable yeast in the "trub."

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html?m=1

http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2013/01/yeast-washing-revisited.html?m=1

Very informative, thanks for the post. Time to start saving money, I no longer have any excuses not to reuse my yeast.

 

[stever1000]

1. If I saved my yeast cake from my previous batch (it's in mason jars in the fridge right now) is it okay to wash it in a couple of days? i.e. as long as it is washed before i reuse it, it's okay?

2. Also, how much difference does the water temperature make? Should I use fridge temperature brewing water to wash fridge temperature yeast cake?

Thanks!

 

[kombat]

Why bother washing it at all? It's safe and sound in Mason jars, so when you need some yeast, just decant the liquid and pitch the slurry.

 

[djt17]

Why bother washing it at all? It's safe and sound in Mason jars, so when you need some yeast, just decant the liquid and pitch the slurry.

This...just use Mr. Malty's slurry tab to find out how much slurry to pitch. I quit "washing" yeast a long time ago.

 

[rhys333]

This...just use Mr. Malty's slurry tab to find out how much slurry to pitch. I quit "washing" yeast a long time ago.

How many cycles do you get before it goes wiggly?

 

[djt17]

How many cycles do you get before it goes wiggly?

I usually use yeast 4 times; I have never had one go wiggly...I don't think.

 

[stever1000]

Why bother washing it at all? It's safe and sound in Mason jars, so when you need some yeast, just decant the liquid and pitch the slurry.

I figured if I add water to the slurry the amount of yeast i have in suspension will increase thereby increasing the amount of seperate times I can use reuse the yeast.