Simple Yeast Storage Procedure

[Yesfan]

The latter is correct although the caveat is that not ALL of the 250mL would be yeast.

That's why I was asking about pitching all four jars. There's a lot of trub in each and I wondered with that amount in each jar, if the amount of yeast in a single jar would be enough.

 

[brewkinger]

That's why I was asking about pitching all four jars. There's a lot of trub in each and I wondered with that amount in each jar, if the amount of yeast in a single jar would be enough.

Pitching all of it may be overkill, or....
Maybe not enough depending on the beer.

If you look back a page or 2 in this thread, I was asking about figuring out a slurry percentage.
It seemed that depending on which calculator that I was using, the accepted number of yeast cells per milliliter of slurry varied widely.
Some were as low as 1 billion per and others were as high as 4 billion.
It all depends on how clean the washed yeast are.

 

[Yesfan]

Ok, thanks. I look back at that.

 

[brewkinger]

Do you have a picture of the jars after it all settled?
If it looks clean, like mine did from an extract batch, then I assumed 1.5billion per mL.
So if I had 250 mL of yeast in a jar, with 10-20% non yeast in there, it would be between 200-225mL of yeast for a total of 300 to 320 billion cells in there.
That is plenty of yeast for a normal batch of beer up to 1.065.

 

[Yesfan]

Do you have a picture of the jars after it all settled?..........

Here you go.

The two jars on the left are two of the four jars I collected from the dry hopped APA. The two on the right are from a strawberry blonde. You can see that the blonde leftover yeast is much cleaner than the APA. Both beers used US-05.

I think I can use the blonde, but the APA I may use on another dry-hopped APA or IPA. I hate to use the APA's yeast on anything else.

 

[tagz]

That's a ****-ton of yeast. Definitely don't pitch it all.

 

[beardown2489]

That's a ****-ton of yeast. Definitely don't pitch it all.

He ain't lying. I'd question if one of those is too much depending on style and OG.

You really do have a lot of yeast.

 

[beardown2489]

That's a ****-ton of yeast. Definitely don't pitch it all.

He ain't lying. I'd question if one of those is too much depending on style and OG.

You really do have a lot of yeast.

 

[MikeSkril]

I don't feel to good not closing the jars tight. Can I close them tight or will that have some negative impact.

Thanks!

 

[drgonzo2k2]

I don't feel to good not closing the jars tight. Can I close them tight or will that have some negative impact.

Thanks!

I was wondering this as well. I mean the vials of yeast you buy from the LHBS are sealed shut. I left mine on loose for about a week or so, until everything settled down nice and compact like Yesfan's picture, then I tightened the lids up. Is there anything bad about that? I figured any residual gasses that would come off would be in the first week or so.

 

[m00ps]

I dont think all of that is yeast, I think its a mixture or yeast and trub...

Why dont you harvest yeast from your starters? it is much easier to do, and get you cleaner, healthier yeast for next time?

I screw all my jars as tight as I possibly can for what its worth. Sometimes I can barely get them open

 

[brewkinger]

I left mine on loose for about a week or so, until everything settled down nice. Is there anything bad about that? I figured any residual gasses that would come off would be in the first week or so.

I don't even wait a week. In my experience, I tighten them down snug and then in a day or so I loosen slightly and then tighten right down.
The nice thing about the canning jars is that that pop top alerts you if there is any pressure built up.

 

[beardown2489]

Just make sure there isn't any growth happening. You don't want an explosion in your fridge.

I just set my lids on for a day or 2. Then once I'm certain we are absolutely done with growth and not creating any pressure in the jar, I'll go screw the tops down right

 

[Yesfan]

.....Why dont you harvest yeast from your starters? it is much easier to do, and get you cleaner, healthier yeast for next time?

I screw all my jars as tight as I possibly can for what its worth. Sometimes I can barely get them open

I saw this thread and thought I would try and save my last two batches of US-05 and see how it goes. It was more experimentation than anything. I use mostly dry yeast anyways.

 

[brewkinger]

I saw this thread and thought I would try and save my last two batches of US-05 and see how it goes. It was more experimentation than anything. I use mostly dry yeast anyways.

And I think you did an outstanding job of harvesting the yeast.
Looking back at the pics, I have some advice to minimize the amount of trub and unwanted junk in the jars.
After harvest, let them sit for a while until you notice material collecting at the bottom of the jars.
This is all the heavier junk... hops, dead yeast and proteins.
Carefully dump the liquid and remaining suspended stuff into a clean and sanitized jar.
This is mostly all yeast.
My process is to dump in 2 quarts of sterile water and collect 2 quarts of stuff, then decant off 2 or 3 pint jars of yeast.

 

[Yesfan]

Many thanks Brewkinger!!


The first four jars would have looked better if I used my hop spider on that batch (the dry hopped APA). I got lazy that day when brewing that particular batch and didn't even use a hop spider. I still have an IPA to brew (Arcadia clone), so I won't make that mistake again.

That beer also uses US-05 (I think), but the other batch I have uses Wyeast Greenbelt. I plan on making a starter and harvesting from it as m00ps suggested.

EDIT: How long do you let them sit? That last pic was probably four days after harvesting. Time is on my side, so it will probably be two weeks before I do another brew.

 

[masskrug]

I don't even boil my jars. I just fill them with Starsan solution, give 'em a shake, dump and then pour in the yeast. Saves even more time.

 

[brewkinger]

How long do you let them sit? That last pic was probably four days after harvesting. Time is on my side, so it will probably be two weeks before I do another brew.

If you mean how long to let them sit before decanting off the good yeast and leaving the junk behind??????
10 or 15 minutes...
The junk settles quickly and then off comes the good yeast.

 

[tarmenel]

Quick question and possibly stupid so forgive my naivety. Can this be done if the starting yeast was dry yeast

 

[brew_darrymore]

Quick question and possibly stupid so forgive my naivety. Can this be done if the starting yeast was dry yeast

Of course, it can be done with dry yeast as well. Many in this thread, including me, have harvested US-05 slurry. I used some of that for a batch I brewed yesterday. The US-05 slurry was harvested 4 days ago from a Citra IPA batch. I took the jar out of the fridge for an hour and pitched about 3oz of slurry. This is a photograph I just took, 24 hours after pitching:

 

[tarmenel]

Fantastic. Will be saving quite a bit this way

 

[Swab]

Are there any issues with collecting yeast from carboys that have had gelatin added to them (for clarity, prior to kegging)

 

[brewkinger]

Are there any issues with collecting yeast from carboys that have had gelatin added to them (for clarity, prior to kegging)

Not a bit, I do it all the time.

The gelatin is just one more bit of junk that gets washed away and even if it stays, causes no problems

 

[ultravista]

This is a great read!

 

[brewkinger]

I played it conservative and went with 1.2B /mL

UPDATE: In preparation for AHA BIG BREW DAY.....

I played it REALLY conservative and assumed a starting rate of 1 billion cells per mL of yeast and used roughly 100 mL of WY1272 for a starter.
Made starter 4 days prior to pitch and crashed and decanted 2 days later.

Blonde ale needed 198 billion cells, yeast calculator told me that I should have 215 billion after starter.

As a check, I sanitized the same mason jar and dumped the decanted yeast colony off. Surprised and delighted to find just slightly over 200mL of settled yeast in the jar.

I would guess that my experiment was a success....?????

 

[Owly055]

Thanks for this thread!! I top crop all my ale yeasts because it's easy with my wide mouth fermenters. However I hadn't cropped a lager yeast before, and this thread inspired me to resort to the "quick and dirty" method of simply grabbing scoops of trub from the bottom of the fermenter and dumping them into my little screw top Rubbermaid plastic jars. It works beautifully. Why make a starter when your previous batch IS a starter? I'm about 4 generations down on a packet of 34/70, and hope to get at least one more generation before the weather gets too warm.


H.W.

 

[tarmenel]

I've harvested my first batch. Looks like quite a bit of yeast settled at the bottom. Question is how do you use this harvested yeast for the next batch

 

[jtratcliff]

I've harvested my first batch. Looks like quite a bit of yeast settled at the bottom. Question is how do you use this harvested yeast for the next batch

Store it in a mason jar (or functional equivalent) until needed... If more than a couple of months, you may need a starter to wake it up.

See Woodlandbrew's thread about yeast washing and storage...

 

[MikeSkril]

I've harvested my first batch. Looks like quite a bit of yeast settled at the bottom. Question is how do you use this harvested yeast for the next batch

I would make a starter if stored longer than a few days. I would not pitch directly without making a starter.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Just a bit confused.
I have a Lager in fermenting that i pitched hydrated with S-23.
No starter cause i read after the fact i should of!.
Just wondering if I harvest leftover slurry from a batch can i pitch that without making a starter?.
I put it in a calculator and it even says it will be enough and says no starter needed.

 

[brewkinger]

Just a bit confused.
I have a Lager in fermenting that i pitched hydrated with S-23.
No starter cause i read after the fact i should of!.
Just wondering if I harvest leftover slurry from a batch can i pitch that without making a starter?.
I put it in a calculator and it even says it will be enough and says no starter needed.

Depends on the amount of slurry that you use...
Are you talking about simply dumping the new batch right on top of the leftover yeast cake from the previous batch?

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Depends on the amount of slurry that you use...
Are you talking about simply dumping the new batch right on top of the leftover yeast cake from the previous batch?

Well never thought of doing that but thats an idea too.!
rather collecting the slurry from a batch putting it into mason jars and pitching a half qrt jar that would be better than pitching dry and like a starter then?.

 

[brewkinger]

Well never thought of doing that but thats an idea too.!
rather collecting the slurry from a batch putting it into mason jars and pitching a half qrt jar that would be better than pitching dry and like a starter then?.

It is an option, although there are some caveats.

If you last batch was a lager (which I think that you said it was)
You would NOT want to pitch an ale on top of that (might seem like a no brainer, but I would feel remiss if I did not mention it)

You would not want to pitch a lighter SRM beer on top of a darker previous beer
You may get off flavor contributions.

You could possibly OVERPITCH if the yeast cake is large enough from the previous batch

 

[Owly055]

I would make a starter if stored longer than a few days. I would not pitch directly without making a starter.

I don't know where you came up with that bit of "wisdom"......... I pitch harvested yeast directly all the time, sometimes months old...... no problem at all.


H.W.

 

[Owly055]

Well never thought of doing that but thats an idea too.!
rather collecting the slurry from a batch putting it into mason jars and pitching a half qrt jar that would be better than pitching dry and like a starter then?.

I do both top crop (which I prefer), and slurry with uniformly excellent results. Your previous batch IS your starter. Today I'm going to pitch a saison on top of the yeast cake from a previous saison after transferring it to a different fermenter for "secondary". After I racked to secondary, I lifted the lid of my wide mouth fermenter, and scooped up a couple of ladles of trub for a later batch..... putting it into one of my Rubbermaid screw top plastic containers, and scooped up some more and got rid of it, still leaving plenty to start my new brew.

I've made a few starters, such as a big lager starter because I wanted to do a heavy pitch, but in general I don't waste my time doing starters with anything but White Labs yeasts. The dry yeasts have been superb in terms of viability if you hydrate them in cool plain water first, and the Wyeast products are enough for a good pitch. When you crop yeast, it's easy to get an over pitch..... you have LOT of active cells.

H.W.

 

[brewkinger]

I don't know where you came up with that bit of "wisdom"......... I pitch harvested yeast directly all the time, sometimes months old...... no problem at all. H.W.

Ultimately, the wisdom comes from those in the know zone.
Harvested yeast, whether it be days old or months old is not a magic panacea.
Dependent on the beer to be fermented next, the amount of harvested yeast, whether it be days old or months old, might need a starter to get to proper pitch amount.

I can provide this wisdom..
I have been harvesting yeast now for close to 2 yrs with the help of Jamil and Chris White and Woodland and their literature.
I have dialed my process in pretty well and get really clean yeast.
The ONLY time that I do not make a starter is when I direct pitch on top of an existing yeast cake.

I would NEVER pitch a slurry that is a couple of months old without making a starter, even if I had a proper amount of slurry.
At the very least, you want to wake these little critters up and get them ready for the task at hand.

I am not saying that your way won't work, I am saying that you may not be pitching enough yeast to do the best job that they can.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

So would this be a wise choice?
Once my lager is ready for the rest which on Sat wil be 7Days at 50F,once i get it up to 65F for 3-4days i was gna bottle then Lager down to 32F for 7-10Days then condition at room temp.
That was a 3 Gal batch with 2 tbsp of hydrated S23(i know should of made starter)!.
If i do a 5 Gal batch of same style i can pour wort directly over yeast cake?.
I say 5 cause i wanna try out my new turkey fryer and why not make big.
Thanks for wisdom and patience with a Newb

 

[brewkinger]

So would this be a wise choice?
Once my lager is ready for the rest which on Sat wil be 7Days at 50F,once i get it up to 65F for 3-4days i was gna bottle then Lager down to 32F for 7-10Days then condition at room temp.
That was a 3 Gal batch with 2 tbsp of hydrated S23(i know should of made starter)!.
If i do a 5 Gal batch of same style i can pour wort directly over yeast cake?.
I say 5 cause i wanna try out my new turkey fryer and why not make big.
Thanks for wisdom and patience with a Newb

It would be a wise decision...
There should be plenty of yeast in there to get the job done, there may even be too many.
Lagers are notorious for needing BIG starters though.

 

[Owly055]

I often do lagers "back to back" like this. Pitching on top of the yeast cake from a previous brew guarantees a huge pitch............. I don't feel that you can "over pitch" a lager really. You want a clean crisp neutral taste as a rule with a lager, and most yeast flavors come from the reproduction phase......

H.W.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

If the wort is cooled to mid 50s and the yeast cake is room temp is that okay?.
Thanks