Using left over in the fermenter immediately for the next batch.

[Luxy]

Hi all,

Was wondering if anyone here uses the left over in the fermenter on the bottling day directly by means of which I mean pouring in a new batch of wort into the fermenter(with trubs, some stains on the fermenter wall and some primarily fermented beer not making it to the bottles)? If so do you still need to pitch new yeast for it or just keep sufficient amount of beer from the previous batch of beer will do? Assuming both uses the same type of yeast.

Is there a difference between using the leftover directly and harvesting the yeast and using the harvested yeast for another batch? Any extra tips/advice for using the left over or other alternative is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stikius]

It's definitely possible to just dump a new batch into the old FV. No new yeast is required. It even starts fermenting more less straight away (much faster than if you pitched new yeast to a clean fermenter).

There's a thread about it here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/i-havent-sanitized-my-conical-in-over-a-year.730623/

 

[madscientist451]

I do it sometimes if it’s a similar beer, such as a porter followed by a stout. It saves some time cleaning, but there are some risks. 2 runs is as far as I’ve taken it and I haven’t had any issues.

 

[Alan Reginato]

Works, I did it sometimes.

 

[RM-MN]

The yeast left over from fermenting a batch is about 4 times the necessary amount for good fermentation which reduces the lag period or eliminates it entirely leading to a fast fermentation. Another thought is to harvest a good bunch of that yeast for future batches and start this one with a little less.

 

[McMullan]

It’s probably bad practice (statistically speaking) unless good practices are being followed. The yeast need the next batch of fresh wort within days to remain healthy. Use yeast nutrients containing zinc. Don’t bother actively aerating the fresh wort, as there isn’t going to be much cell budding going on.

 

[Stikius]

When I've done it I've kegged the "old" beer while cooling down the new wort. So the yeast have only had 20 minutes or so to rest. Worked like a charm. Only tried a very limited number of times though, but with good results.

 

[McMullan]

So the yeast have only had 20 minutes or so to rest.

You transferred a fresh batch of wort on the yeast cake 20 minutes after the previous fermentation finished?

 

[Stikius]

Yep, and it works like a charm

Edit: The fermentation had probably stopped earlier. And it has been cold crashing a few days as well. Like I said. Only done it twice (after I read that thread I linked to earlier), but with good results

 

[fluketamer]

luxy you need to learn to use the search bar. hundreds of threads on this subject. i put "reusing yeast" in the sarch bar and a dozen threads immediately came up. you should read all of them.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search/7003408/?q=reusing+yeast&o=relevance


have no fear the dr is in.

have you met dr hans?

 

[BongoYodeler]

I currently have an imperial stout in the fermenter which was dumped on the yeast cake of an Irish Red Ale. I kegged the red ale as the stout was cooling. Fermentation for the stout took off quickly and a bulk of it was finished within 2-3 days, although it will sit in the fermenter for around a month.

 

[kevin58]

You probably only need 1/2 to 1/4 of that previous yeast cake. Harvest half of it and refrigerate for future use and pitch the new beer on the remaining half.

 

[Yesfan]

When I've done it I've kegged the "old" beer while cooling down the new wort. So the yeast have only had 20 minutes or so to rest. Worked like a charm. Only tried a very limited number of times though, but with good results.

I did that at one time. Instead of pouring the wort onto the yeast cake in the old fermenter, I poured the slurry from the old fermenter into a new (clean/sanitized) fermenter full of fresh chilled wort. Fermentation took off in just a couple of hours!

 

[Luxy]

@Yesfan @kevin58 @BongoYodeler @Stikius @McMullan @RM-MN @madscientist451 @Alan Reginato @fluketamer
Thank you all so much for the input.

Yes, I need to improve on the key word to put in the search bar thing, I have tried but probably due to my poor choice of wort I did not get to the thread of the similar question in the past, sorry for flooding the forum with repeated topic

My case was probably similar to Bongo's above planning on Russian imperial Stout pouring on a dark color ale from dark dry malt extract finishing primary in few days.

@fluketamer hey I saw the video under recommendation but didnt manage to watch it, thanks for link it here

@McMullan thanks for the not to aerate too much as not much cell budding is going to take place tips

@RM-MN @kevin58 thanks for the harvesting tips will harvest a few vails

@Yesfan this pouring slurry into a clean fermenter thing is but I ran out of fermenter so have to do this one time on the previous fermenter itself, they don't look too stained (not much visible krausen) to my compared to my other brew.

 

[BongoYodeler]

You probably only need 1/2 to 1/4 of that previous yeast cake. Harvest half of it and refrigerate for future use and pitch the new beer on the remaining half.

If this was directed at my post, yes I would completely agree. But in this case it was actually the first and only time I pitched onto a yeast cake of a prior beer, done mostly as an experiment. While true, I could have saved some yeast aside, I chose not to because the yeast used was US-05, and I already have 10 or 12 unopened packs of it in my fridge, so I don't really need to grow or expand my inventory of it. Got them from Rite Brew for $2.49 each. So I was less concerned about saving yeast ($$), than I was about using some cheap yeast in an experiment.