Straining yeast before washing

[Frodv]

Hi, I was wondering if there will be any issues if I strain my yeast before I wash it.
By that I mean if I can pour the yeast cake with all the trub through i strainer or something straight out of the fermenter into a sanitized "bucket" to get rid of most of the trub before I start washing like normal. What can go wrong?

Sorry for the bad english, it's not my native language

 

[RM-MN]

It shouldn't hurt anything to strain out some of the hops. Be aware that there might be quite a bit of material to strain out and you may have to stop to clean out the strainer. I don't think you will be able to strain out the proteins.

I find your English to be very good.

 

[hopjuice_71]

Yes, your English is quite good, in fact. Maybe I am a bit late to the party but I would suggest that it is not necessary to strain or wash the yeast at all. It seems that most people here, myself included, just harvest the yeast cake and reuse it, messy stuff and all. Hops may be another issue but those may be hard to strain out anyways.

 

[IslandLizard]

You don't have to strain or wash yeast, slurries can be harvested as is and re-pitched directly. A lot of good yeast is lost when washing (rinsing actually), keep that in mind.

That said, I've successfully strained yeast cakes from heavily dry hopped IPAs, to remove most of the hop matter, through fine mesh nylon hop sacks placed in a large funnel. Place a large spoon upside down between where the bag and the funnel spout meet for better/quicker drainage.

But I had one strained yeast batch end up with an infection. Before I wanted to use it I was greeted by a thick fluffy pellicle, so I used a different batch that was clean. Not sure where or how the infecion got introduced, there are a few places.

Sanitation is a large concern when handling yeast, so thoroughly clean and sanitize the equipment that touches your yeast slurries. If you can and the materials can survive it, sterilize (autoclave/pressure can) or at least boil those nylon mesh filter/strainer bags with some PBW/Oxiclean.

 

[Frodv]

Thanks for the help guys, I'm only trying to get rid of most of the hops after dryhopping, and maybe som hot/cold break if possible.
I know I can't get rid of the dead yeast cells, so what about autolysis, can that become an issue if I just strain it without washing? And what about oxidation.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks for the help guys, I'm only trying to get rid of most of the hops after dryhopping, and maybe som hot/cold break if possible.
I know I can't get rid of the dead yeast cells, so what about autolysis, can that become an issue if I just strain it without washing? And what about oxidation.

Those heavy duty, very fine mesh nylon hop bags, the ones that look and feel like substantial cloth, not a bridal veil, you definitely can't see through them, holds a lot of other trub matter back too.*

I'm quite sure there's protein in that sludge that stays behind, as well as a good amount of yeast, but knowing that the cell count of a harvested cake is 4-5x what you pitched, what goes through the mesh is plenty for 2-3 re-pitches, especially with a vitality starter.

* For I have a plate chiller, I bag all my kettle hops in the same kind of bags. They seem to hold up well going through the boil and whirlpools repeatedly. Only very fine hop "dust" comes through the mesh which settles out with the hot and cold break. That way fairly clear wort goes into my fermenters. Then a load of dry hops changes that all.
I often strain that 1/2-3/4 gallon of kettle trub through those same kind of bags, and mostly clear wort comes out while a gooey greenish brown pulp stays behind. The reclaimed wort gets re-pasteurized and often added to the batch, or used in sugar syrups. Works like a charm.

 

[odie]

I tried straining a trubby ferm cake to clean out the trub and hops once....once....

Now I screen/strain/filter the entire kettle going into the fermenter...resulting ferm cake is very clean with almost no trub...after racking into a keg I only have about 1 quart total volume remaining in the bucket, which gets entirely dumped into a sterile quart mason jar or 2-3 smaller jars and settles into a very nice, very clean yeast cake for the next batch...