OK, this is going to be way too long because I feel like I do not know what I am talking about here and I do not want to leave something out that MIGHT be important.
Until now, I have always brewed with first generation yeast (mostly dry, but more recently liquid) from a commercial package and then discarded the trub and yeast cake when I finished.
A month or two ago, I brewed a Centennial Blonde with Conan yeast (Gigayeast Vermont IPA) with the primary objective of harvesting the yeast and using the second generation for a NE IPA as described in Braufessor's NE IPA thread. I bottled directly from the tap on the FV and left about a pint of beer behind.
I stirred it all up and divided the mess between two pint Mason jars, put the lids on semi-loosely, and stored the jars in the fridge. On Wednesday, I bought a stir plate, a 1L beaker and foam stopper, some DME and some White Labs yeast nutrition stuff.
It is Saturday morning. I plan to brew on Tuesday night. Now what?
Here is what I think I do, with questions.
1) Take one jar from fridge very soon.
2) Boil some RO water, add some DME and make a weak beer. How much water and how much DME? I've only ever made all grain brews, so any advice here would be appreciated. My flask is one liter, and my planned brew batch size is a touch under three gallons.
3) Let the DME beer cool to room temp.
4) When I combine the DME beer and the yeast, do I pour off the beer atop the yeast, or add it to the mix? Does it matter?
5) How long on the stirplate? No yeast nutrient until pitch time, right?
6) Once the yeast has done its thing on the stir plate, do I put the whole batch in a jar and return it to the fridge to allow it to settle, and then take it out on brew day to assume room temp?
7) When it is time to pitch, do I pour off the liquid and pitch the rest?
As you may have figured out, I am very nervous about this entire process. Am I on the right track here, or am I missing one or more important details? Help me out here!
Until now, I have always brewed with first generation yeast (mostly dry, but more recently liquid) from a commercial package and then discarded the trub and yeast cake when I finished.
A month or two ago, I brewed a Centennial Blonde with Conan yeast (Gigayeast Vermont IPA) with the primary objective of harvesting the yeast and using the second generation for a NE IPA as described in Braufessor's NE IPA thread. I bottled directly from the tap on the FV and left about a pint of beer behind.
I stirred it all up and divided the mess between two pint Mason jars, put the lids on semi-loosely, and stored the jars in the fridge. On Wednesday, I bought a stir plate, a 1L beaker and foam stopper, some DME and some White Labs yeast nutrition stuff.
It is Saturday morning. I plan to brew on Tuesday night. Now what?
Here is what I think I do, with questions.
1) Take one jar from fridge very soon.
2) Boil some RO water, add some DME and make a weak beer. How much water and how much DME? I've only ever made all grain brews, so any advice here would be appreciated. My flask is one liter, and my planned brew batch size is a touch under three gallons.
3) Let the DME beer cool to room temp.
4) When I combine the DME beer and the yeast, do I pour off the beer atop the yeast, or add it to the mix? Does it matter?
5) How long on the stirplate? No yeast nutrient until pitch time, right?
6) Once the yeast has done its thing on the stir plate, do I put the whole batch in a jar and return it to the fridge to allow it to settle, and then take it out on brew day to assume room temp?
7) When it is time to pitch, do I pour off the liquid and pitch the rest?
As you may have figured out, I am very nervous about this entire process. Am I on the right track here, or am I missing one or more important details? Help me out here!