Reusing yeast

[tanman92]

So I'm ready to bottle my first batch of all grain and want to brew another one possibly in the same day as bottling. Question is, can I just use the yeast cake from the beer that I'm about to bottle for my next batch?

 

[RM-MN]

The simple answers is yes. The slightly more complicated answer is yes, but there is about 4 times as much yeast as is considered a proper pitch rate. The most complicated answer is yes, but add a little water to the container and have 4 sanitized jars ready. Swirl up the yeast cake and divide it as equally as you can into the 4 containers. Now put a lid on, loosely so excess CO2 cans escape, and put 3 of the jars in the refrigerator for later batches and pitch the other one to your new batch of beer.

 

[LittleRiver]

These jars are great for storing yeast. They're easy to clean, can be boiled for sanitizing, and one jar is the right amount of yeast slurry to pitch for a 5gal batch.

 

[Abrayton]

You can also skip adding water and just swirl the yeast with the little bit of beer left after racking. Then add to sanitized jars. I usually fill 4-5 pint jars and 1 quart size jar.

 

[z-bob]

Swirl the yeast up with the little bit of beer that remains after bottling. Pour into several clean sanitized mason jars. Put lids on them, and store in the fridge. They will keep for months like this.

If you have another beer that's ready to go right now go ahead and rack on top of the yeast that's left in the carboy after you do this. But it's probably going to be at least a few hours... so I would clean the carboy and use one of your fresh jars of yeast when you're ready to pitch.

 

[Abrayton]

 

[tanman92]

Thanks for all the replies I ended up with three pints of slurry mix and hopefully one will be enough to pitch for tomorows brew. Thought I could bottle and brew in one night but with two young kids that was definitely out of the question

 

[RM-MN]

You can also skip adding water and just swirl the yeast with the little bit of beer left after racking. Then add to sanitized jars. I usually fill 4-5 pint jars and 1 quart size jar.

When I get done racking the beer to the bottling bucket there isn't enough beer left to swirl. I thought everyone did that. I hate to waste the beer I worked so hard to produce.

 

[Abrayton]

When I get done racking the beer to the bottling bucket there isn't enough beer left to swirl. I thought everyone did that. I hate to waste the beer I worked so hard to produce.

Whether I’m using an auto siphon or just the spigot I stop racking once yeast and trub start to pull through. There’s always a very small amount of beer left that doesn’t make it into the keg or bottles. I could maybe tip the fermenter to get more beer out but it’s probably only a 12oz bottle worth and that seems to be enough for harvesting slurry. I like that it removes the extra step of adding sanitized water and I had read that beer works better than water at protecting and preserving the yeast.

 

[Moose_MI]

For those that simply swirl the yeast cake and store ... can you tell me what your experience (please share what you’ve consistently done successfully...not just read about) in terms of the length of time you can store a pint(?) like this...

...And then subsequently just pitch it into a 1.060 w/o any starter.

I use hop bags in boil, and whirfloc , and whirlpool kettle to so what gets in my fermenter is reasonably clean and the trub at end of fermentation is reasonably free of hops and other stuff. I’m doing the classic washing process and then a starter a few days before brewing. It has worked well and I’ve had no issue making a starter from 4 month old yeast but the washing and making a starter are a lot of extra steps.
Could i expect to just dump a 4 month old pint like above into 5.5G of 1.060 wort and see it take off in 36hrs?

 

[Abrayton]

For those that simply swirl the yeast cake and store ... can you tell me what your experience (please share what you’ve consistently done successfully...not just read about) in terms of the length of time you can store a pint(?) like this...

View attachment 601405

...And then subsequently just pitch it into a 1.060 w/o any starter.

I use hop bags in boil, and whirfloc , and whirlpool kettle to so what gets in my fermenter is reasonably clean and the trub at end of fermentation is reasonably free of hops and other stuff. I’m doing the classic washing process and then a starter a few days before brewing. It has worked well and I’ve had no issue making a starter from 4 month old yeast but the washing and making a starter are a lot of extra steps.
Could i expect to just dump a 4 month old pint like above into 5.5G of 1.060 wort and see it take off in 36hrs?

I rarely make starters anymore. I’ll pitch one of the pint jars in a smaller beer and a quart in a big beer. I’ve used 6 month old yeast with no noticeable negative effects. I do oxygenate well. At about4-6 months I’ll brew a small beer for new harvesting

 

[kh54s10]

You can also skip adding water and just swirl the yeast with the little bit of beer left after racking. Then add to sanitized jars. I usually fill 4-5 pint jars and 1 quart size jar.

How do you get so much? I rarely get more than one quarts sized jar!

When I get done racking the beer to the bottling bucket there isn't enough beer left to swirl. I thought everyone did that. I hate to waste the beer I worked so hard to produce.

How are you transferring? I use an autosiphon and the cake is always able to be swirled.

 

[RM-MN]

How are you transferring? I use an autosiphon and the cake is always able to be swirled.

I use an autosiphon too but I tilt the fermenter bucket and let the autosiphon suck up some of the trub. This trub, since it had already settled once, settles again pretty quickly in the bottling bucket and if a little gets in the bottle I don't worry about it.

 

[Ridenour64]

When you guys re pitch this yeast into a new batch, do you guys do this process again and save the yeast that drops from the new batch? If so, how many times can you do this. I though I remember reading to only do so many cycles.

 

[Abrayton]

When you guys re pitch this yeast into a new batch, do you guys do this process again and save the yeast that drops from the new batch? If so, how many times can you do this. I though I remember reading to only do so many cycles.

I will brew 3-4 batches per harvest. Then brew a smaller low hopped beer to harvest from again and repeat the cycle.

 

[LittleRiver]

For those that simply swirl the yeast cake and store ... length of time you can store a pint(?)...

I recently pulled out some US05 from the back of the fridge that was at least three years old. It was almost black. I used a tablespoon of it in a starter, and in 3 days it made some nice normal looking yeast, which a friend used to make a brown ale that came out fine.

...And then subsequently just pitch it into a 1.060 w/o any starter...Could i expect to just dump a 4 month old pint like above into 5.5G of 1.060 wort and see it take off in 36hrs?

In my experience, yes. In my last brew I pitched a little 4oz jar of 1450 that had been in the fridge about 3 months. No problems.

I don't add water or wash, I just swirl the cake and put it into sanitized jars.

 

[Conehead]

What about lagers? I am just about to keg my Pilsner. I am thinking on adding a bit of sanitized water to the yeast/trub on the bottom and tossing it in a sanitized carboy along with my fresh Pils wort. No starter and no idea how much yeast I have.