Washing & saving yeast (noob question)

[Pyg]

For my last brew I used omega oyl-052 yeast.
I decided to attempt to wash, save and reuse On y next brew day.

After dumping boiling water (which had cooled), I poured off the upper later of liquid from the carboy.
I poured the liquid into 2 mason jars.
Now that the mason jars have been in the fridge the yeast has settled.
My questions are:

Can I consolidate the jars into 1 smaller jar?

If not, can I combine in to 1 of the large jars?

Is it advisable to move the yeast once it has settled, or just leave it alone?

Is the amount of yeast at the bottom of the jar (pictured below) normal? Doesn't seem like a lot!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1471223112.594487.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1471223148.287354.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1471223170.062680.jpg

 

[Kerrbrewer]

Pyg,
You can decant the beer and put what you have in a starter and see if it takes off. Doesnt look like much but you may be able to grow it. I know some guys top crop, when I wash i wash yeast from the trub.

 

[Happywanderer]

That's is an amazingly small amount in there.

What was your process for harvesting the yeast?

 

[flars]

You have some yeast at the bottom of each jar. The solution still contains yeast that has not dropped out. Keep the jars refrigerated for a few days and the rest of the yeast will drop out.

There is a stickie on a simple method of yeast harvesting which does not involve rinsing. Much of the yeast can be lost during rinsing process and can also increase the risk of contamination.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=579350

Just for comparison this is a quart jar with some of the yeast harvested from a 5 gallon batch with the simple pour it out method. Storing the beer under the beer that remains in the fermentor helps preserve vitality.

 

[Jim311]

It looks to me like what you have in those jars is mostly beer, not yeast.


I swirl the yeast cake around in the carboy to get it mixed up, then pour that slurry into sanitized jars and save it. I don't wash it. When it's time to pour into some wort I pour off the liquid on the top (because it's stale old beer) leaving just the yeast behind. Then I pour the yeast into my carboy and ferment away. Works great, washing isn't worth the time/effort IMO.

 

[unionrdr]

You definitely needed to swirl up the yeast off the bottom ( the lighter colored stuff), then pour into jars if you don't want to wash it. Washing it in a bigger jar isn't hard & doesn't loose that much. It just allows the trub, which is heavier, to settle out first, pouring off the yeast still in suspension. You needed to get more yeast to pour off.

 

[SGTSparty]

I'd second whats been said above, that looks really cloudy still, I'd leave it in the fridge for longer. Look at flars photo and see how much clearer his jar is than yours. You probably have some more yeast in suspension but regardless, it seems like a pretty small amount harvested. You'll probably need to do a step up starter to grow enough for a full 5 gallon batch. If you don't want to change your harvesting process as others have suggested you might want to look into overbuilding starters and harvesting from the starter. Easier than harvesting from the fermentor IMO and should give you higher yield than what you have there. Several really good threads on it.

 

[Pyg]

That's is an amazingly small amount in there.

What was your process for harvesting the yeast?

My process was as follows:

I took all the trub from the bucket and emptied into a carboy.
I boiled water, waited for it to cool down a bit. Added water to carboy.
Shook the Carboy to mix turn & water.
Placed carboy in sink with cold water and came back hours later.
Poured the watery part into the 2 mason jars.
Put mason jars in fridge.

I would liked to have placed the carboy in the fridge but did not have room.
Maybe I did not let the carboy sit long enough.
Like I said previously, this was my first try at saving yeast.

 

[bucketnative]

My process was as follows:
I boiled water, waited for it to cool down a bit. Added water to carboy.

Define a bit. If it was too hot that could have shocked the yeast into oblivion. Let's hope that a bit meant near room temperature.

 

[unionrdr]

My process was as follows:

I took all the trub from the bucket and emptied into a carboy.
I boiled water, waited for it to cool down a bit. Added water to carboy.
Shook the Carboy to mix turn & water.
Placed carboy in sink with cold water and came back hours later.
Poured the watery part into the 2 mason jars.
Put mason jars in fridge.

I would liked to have placed the carboy in the fridge but did not have room.
Maybe I did not let the carboy sit long enough.
Like I said previously, this was my first try at saving yeast.

You waited far too long, not to mention, most likely had too great a volume to start with. I and others did yeast washing articles. look them up above & you'll see how it's more properly done. You got too much liquid after most of the yeast & trub settled out. Trub is heavier & settles out first, while the yeast will still be in suspension for a time. The yeast is also a Devonshire cream sort of color, while the trub is light brown.

 

[Sailingeric]

My never let me down, is to pure some the trub at the bottom of the fermenter into a sanitized mason jar, stick it in the fridge. It will separate and when ready for next batch, pour off the beer and pitch the yeast cake.

 

[Pyg]

Define a bit. If it was too hot that could have shocked the yeast into oblivion. Let's hope that a bit meant near room temperature.

Def not room temp, probably a little warmer.

The directions I read at some brew site said to use 1 gallon of water. Used far less.
Either way I think I can not do much with the yeast I did capture

 

[Yooper]

Def not room temp, probably a little warmer.

The directions I read at some brew site said to use 1 gallon of water. Used far less.
Either way I think I can not do much with the yeast I did capture

I don't want to gang up on you, but you really have very little yeast there.

Instead of rinsing the yeast with water (not really 'washing' as that requires some acid added), especially with a non-flocculant yeast strain, try just saving part of the yeast cake in the jars.

What happens with a less flocculant yeast is that you throw away the yeast in suspension and keep the rest of the stuff, which is the opposite of what you want.

I just used some OYL-52 today. I just saved it in jars, and it looks like this:




The reason I mention this is because of the manufacturer's own info-

Ale strain isolated from a famous double IPA brewed in Vermont. Produces a unique ester profile reminiscent of peaches. This strain complements an aggressive use of hops.
•Flocculation: Medium-Low - Attenuation: 72-80%
•Temperature Range: 65-72F - Alcohol Tolerance: High
•Approximately 150 billion viable cells per package.

With a low flocculating yeast, you have most of the viable yeast in suspension. Look at my photo. That yeast has had NO water added to it, and has been in the fridge for between 2-3 weeks. It's STILL not clear at the top, which means there is still yeast in suspension there.

"Washing" (again, it's rinsing, not washing) yeast may work for highly flocculant yeast strains but I wouldn't even attempt it with a lower flocculating strain.

I used 8 ounces of yeast (below the liquid is where I measured) for 10.5 gallons of beer, which is what mrmalty.com suggests as the proper pitching rate.

Saving yeast is super easy, and it saves me a ton of money so I think it's well worth it. But next time, save the yeast and not the water!

Sorry for the sideways photo- it's straight when I look at it, but here it's sideways. Arggghhh.

Next time, simply do this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=579350

 

[Pyg]

I don't want to gang up on you, but you really have very little yeast there.

Instead of rinsing the yeast with water (not really 'washing' as that requires some acid added), especially with a non-flocculant yeast strain, try just saving part of the yeast cake in the jars.

What happens with a less flocculant yeast is that you throw away the yeast in suspension and keep the rest of the stuff, which is the opposite of what you want.

I just used some OYL-52 today. I just saved it in jars, and it looks like this:

View attachment 366434


The reason I mention this is because of the manufacturer's own info-

Ale strain isolated from a famous double IPA brewed in Vermont. Produces a unique ester profile reminiscent of peaches. This strain complements an aggressive use of hops.
•Flocculation: Medium-Low - Attenuation: 72-80%
•Temperature Range: 65-72F - Alcohol Tolerance: High
•Approximately 150 billion viable cells per package.

With a low flocculating yeast, you have most of the viable yeast in suspension. Look at my photo. That yeast has had NO water added to it, and has been in the fridge for between 2-3 weeks. It's STILL not clear at the top, which means there is still yeast in suspension there.

"Washing" (again, it's rinsing, not washing) yeast may work for highly flocculant yeast strains but I wouldn't even attempt it with a lower flocculating strain.

I used 8 ounces of yeast (below the liquid is where I measured) for 10.5 gallons of beer, which is what mrmalty.com suggests as the proper pitching rate.

Saving yeast is super easy, and it saves me a ton of money so I think it's well worth it. But next time, save the yeast and not the water!

Sorry for the sideways photo- it's straight when I look at it, but here it's sideways. Arggghhh.

Next time, simply do this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=579350

Don't worry about piling on, only way we learn is through trial and error!

I will read through your link later and give another try at saving yeast .

In the mean time I will free up the mason jars for other use!

Thanks

 

[SGTSparty]

You don't necessarily need to toss what you have there, you could do step up starters. Many of us have harvested yeast from the dregs of commercial bottles. I cultured up the yeast from 4 bottles of Bell's Two Hearted and it wasn't much more than that the first go round. so you may be able to get a viable pitch using step up starters. That said, probably worth looking at your DME usage and seeing if its cheaper to do step-ups or just buy fresh this time.

 

[CU_tony]

Read through the linked yeast harvesting tutorials and you should be on the right track.
In a carboy after racking to a bottling bucket I dump about a quart of boiled and chilled (to the wort temp to minimize temp shock) and swirl it up.
If I've added the right amount of water I can lay the carboy on its side (propped with some wood strips so it can't roll) and let it rest for 20-30 min so the trub settles out. Then I pour the top layer with yeast in suspension into one pint Mason jar which I cover loosely and at some point in the near future decant and transfer to a smaller sterilized Mason jar for storage.

 

[fatherdan]

You have some yeast at the bottom of each jar. The solution still contains yeast that has not dropped out. Keep the jars refrigerated for a few days and the rest of the yeast will drop out.

There is a stickie on a simple method of yeast harvesting which does not involve rinsing. Much of the yeast can be lost during rinsing process and can also increase the risk of contamination.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=579350

Just for comparison this is a quart jar with some of the yeast harvested from a 5 gallon batch with the simple pour it out method. Storing the beer under the beer that remains in the fermentor helps preserve vitality.

Do you bring that up to room temp before you pitch it? Do you keep it sealed up until you pitch it?

Ive saved yeast like your pic and always wuss out at the last minute and use a packet of smack pack.

Thanks

 

[jddevinn]

Another option is to just overbuild your starter and save the "new" yeast. Much cleaner in my option.

 

[Pyg]

I made a second attempt at saving yeast.
This time I used S-04 in cider.
I saved what was left and put in a mason jar.
Unfortunately I won't be making cider for atleast another 10 months, so I don't know if they will still be valid, if I got any at all.
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