Washing and Re-using Yeast on Same Day

[slcdawg]

There are a ton of threads on washing and reusing yeast, but I still have some questions. I want to wash and reuse S04 yeast from an IPA wort to use in a Porter. I plan to brew and reuse the wort on the same day as washing the yeast. Do I need a starter if I pitch the same day? How about if I get off schedule and pitch within 3 days?

Also, wanted a little help with MrMalty's calculator to determine volume to pitch. Assuming I wash the yeast, it will be a thin slurry - should I assume a Yeast Concentration setting of 1 for thinnest? And should I use the default for the non-yeast percentage (15%)?

 

[beerloaf]

If the styles are fairly close most do not even bother to wash the yeast and just pitch directly on the "old" yeast slurry. I would not worry much about a starter since you will probably have enough cells from the get go. That is unless you wash it and have a very thin slurry. I usually wash and store my yeast as well as bank some of it in a freezer and have been reusing some of it thats around 1 year old (washed) longer for banked frozen.

beerloaf

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I have brewed within a week of washing yeast with no starter with great results. I even pitched into a 1.080OG beer that medaled in a recent competition. I use larger jars and the yeast layer was something like an inch thick in the jar. If it is fresh washed yeast and you were able to get mostly yeast and not much trub then I would call that a thick slurry. The non-yeast will be the darker layer(dead yeast) that is below the ligher yeast layer.

 

[slcdawg]

Cool, thanks. I looked at the wiki on washing, and was thinking of pitching the yeast in solution - so it would be thin. But now that I think of it, there will be time for it to settle while I brew and wash the primary. If you decant most the water off, do you use a thickness of 4 for the calculation?

 

[BrewinHooligan]

In order to decant, you will typically need to fridge it for 24-28 hours becuase the good yeast will stay active and in suspension for quite a while. If you plan on pitching the same day I wouldn't bother with decanting at all.