Saving money...washing/reusing yeast

[DeathBrewer]

umm.....damn!

i'll second that! that's awesome :rockin:

 

[homebrewer_99]

...Charlie Papazian...He has been using the same strain of yeast since then...for 23 YEARS!!

So, I'm not so crazy afterall...

 

[98EXL]

So I'm reading howtobrew.com.....specifically the section about yeast. If I understand things correctly....

I made my first starter today for my Old Soul Stout (PM Oatmeal Stout) I could wait 2 days, and my Wyest liquid yeast of approx. 100 billion cells we will say double. I could split that mix up, pitch one of them, and save the other?

Or am I completely crazy? Is that how you can cultivate the yeasties?

 

[Beerrific]

So I'm reading howtobrew.com.....specifically the section about yeast. If I understand things correctly....

I made my first starter today for my Old Soul Stout (PM Oatmeal Stout) I could wait 2 days, and my Wyest liquid yeast of approx. 100 billion cells we will say double. I could split that mix up, pitch one of them, and save the other?

Or am I completely crazy? Is that how you can cultivate the yeasties?

Yup, you can do that.

I would say grow for 2 days, split, save half, and step the other half up...ready to pitch in two days.

 

[98EXL]

Yup, you can do that.

I would say grow for 2 days, split, save half, and step the other half up...ready to pitch in two days.

wow, that is interesting.......

 

[homebrewer_99]

Yes, you could split your starter, but then you'll have just as many as you started with in each batch.

Actually, we wash our yeast from the primary after racking to the secondary.

(With a British infomercial tone of voice)...From there you can separate it into 5-6 batches of yeast to make new starters!

From those 5 you can separate it into another 5 (each) = 25

That's 31 batches of yeast from 1 vial, or $0.23 of yeast from 1 vial at $7.00!! And that's only the 2nd generation.

From those 25 you can turn that into 125 by using each one of those once and making 5 more batches!!

That's 156 batches from 1 vial at $7 a vial = less than a nickel per batch!!!

Who said liquid yeast is expensive???

 

[DeathBrewer]

hey! you said you weren't going to do that math again!

 

[homebrewer_99]

hey! you said you weren't going to do that math again!

I know, I can't be trusted...

 

[98EXL]

I'm going to try this washing thing on my British Pale Ale this weekend.....see what happens

 

[BierMuncher]

Beirmuncher, can you please tell us more about what we're seeing with the three bottles full of yeast? Great pic by the way!

Why is there so much yeast and so little wort/beer in the middle one?
The middle picture was just harvested about an hour prior. THe one on the left was done prior day and the one on the right I had just pulled out from the fridge after a week. THese are just the different stages of settling the yeast goes through.

Does the difference in colors between the Irish Ale and the Safale result from the beer you retrieved them from or from the yeast itself?
From the beer itself. If I recall, the one on the right came from my Orange Kolsch and the two on the left were from two 5-gallon batches of my Bass Ale.

Did you just pour or siphon from the yeast cake into these bottles?
I siphoned out all the beer, then filled each of those plastic jugs with a couple cups of sanitized water...threw them into the carboy and swirled the yeast cake loose, then poured the slurry directly into the jugs.

How long do you leave them out at room temp with airlocks before re-use? I'm wondering if I could just save the cake from the fermenter in a bottle like this and wait a week or two to use it in the next batch.
If I'm going to use the yeast the next weekend, I just leave it out. It will actually continue to ferment a little bit during the week...tons of CO2 still being produced, just enough alcohol from the slurry and I've never had a problem with bacteria.

Thanks!
Anytime

 

[homebrewer_99]

Did you just pour or siphon from the yeast cake into these bottles? I siphoned out all the beer, then filled each of those plastic jugs with a couple cups of sanitized water...threw them into the carboy and swirled the yeast cake loose, then poured the slurry directly into the jugs.

There are a lot of people who just pour the yeast cake into jars and place them in the fridge.

There is nothing wrong with doing that IF the fermentation is complete.

However, by washing the yeast from the rest of the trub your yeast is cleaner and the sediment won't impart their nastiness onto the yeast.

A clean yeast is a happy yeast...

 

[98EXL]

you guys ever hear when people have that "AH-HAH!" when they really and truely have figured something out?

well..


ah-HAHAAHHAHAHAHA!

It really just made 110% sense versus 95% sense. I had read BM post awhile ago about his 3 containers....but this time it just clicked. Odd, oh well!

 

[Beerrific]

Bottled my hefeweizen last night, saved and washed the yeast, put in the fridge over night, this is what I got today:

Probably be using some more in a few weeks. Hope it works.

 

[98EXL]

should you use the yeast from the primary or secondary....or even a combination of both?

 

[BierMuncher]

...However, by washing the yeast from the rest of the trub your yeast is cleaner and the sediment won't impart their nastiness onto the yeast.

A clean yeast is a happy yeast...

Agreed. Since I use whole leaf hops and since I've been using my wort chiller strainer method, my wort is pretty darn clear going right into the fermenter.

If I get some obvious trub, I'll add a step by shaking the juice jar, letting it sit for about 15 minutes and then pour all but the last 1/8th inch of to another container...then repeat if necessary.

 

[blefferd]

primary

 

[98EXL]

thanks for the info gentlemen....and I should have some AJ bottles this weekend....EdWort's Apfelwein is being made

So much new, cool, and exciting things happening in the brewery this weekend. I can't wait!

 

[Beerrific]

Agreed. Since I use whole leaf hops and since I've been using my wort chiller strainer method, my wort is pretty darn clear going right into the fermenter.

Since I only used 1 oz. of hops and used BierMuncher's wort chiller strainer method I had practically no trub in this batch.

 

[Moonpile]

Biermuncher et al,

Thanks! We've been reusing yeast cakes by just pitching new wort on top of them immediately after siphoning off the previous batch. This seems like a fine technique, but saving the yeast in bottles will give us some flexibility.

Cheers and more beers!

 

[homebrewer_99]

...and they lived happily ever after...THE END.

 

[turfguy1969]

fantastic thread i'm ready to dive in as well

 

[98EXL]

here are my findings from this weekend:

1. I think I misplaced my digital camera....that suxors more than teh suck! I'm a little bit upset, I couldn't take pictures of the yeast fun.
2. I used my starter in my Oatmeal Stout... Starters = Awesome! I had that nifty little krausen going in 4-5 hours!!!!!
3. Washed the yeast outta my British Pale Ale, and I'll start making more of it today

Overall, I think this weekend was a success!

 

[bugleboy93]

For freezing yeast I read you should mix in glycerin. I had a heck of a time finding any. I finally found some at Rite Aid in the facial products area. Anyone know of a place to find it in bigger bottles?

 

[Beerrific]

Check VWR and Sigma-Aldrich. They may or may not sell food grade, expect to pay more though.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Hey all you yeast washing experts...this is my 2nd attempt. The first went fine...added the preboiled water to the carboy, swirled, and got some ugly-looking trub to separate.

This time, I did the same thing, but there's no ugly trub layer...just a nice even gray layer of what looks suspiciously like yeast. This is after a couple hours in the fridge:
View attachment 2005

Is that bottom layer all yeast?

I should note that this was a 7.5 gallon batch, and while I used pellet hops, I strained the wort through a reaaly fine mesh bag (which kept clogging), and so what went into the fermenters was pretty clean.

 

[BierMuncher]

Hey all you yeast washing experts...this is my 2nd attempt. The first went fine...added the preboiled water to the carboy, swirled, and got some ugly-looking trub to separate.

This time, I did the same thing, but there's no ugly trub layer...just a nice even gray layer of what looks suspiciously like yeast. This is after a couple hours in the fridge:
View attachment 2005

Is that bottom layer all yeast?

I should note that this was a 7.5 gallon batch, and while I used pellet hops, I strained the wort through a reaaly fine mesh bag (which kept clogging), and so what went into the fermenters was pretty clean.

Looks like all clean yeast to me.

You have about 3-4 batches of yeast there.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Looks like all clean yeast to me.

You have about 3-4 batches of yeast there.

Thanks! Guess I better get brewing

 

[98EXL]

That looks real nice man!

you should freeze some for later