where is the yeast?

[Ironedge]

this is my first attempt at capturing a Yorkshire Ale yeast for re-use. I basically have a peanut butter looking slurry, been in the fridge since Sunday, and I don't see any definitive separation that shows the white of the yeast that everyone has been talking about. Any ideas?

My process was adding boiled and then cooled water, 3 pint jars worth, to the primary, swirling around and then pouring into 4 pint and 1 quart jar.

thanks

 

[LLBeanJ]

I haven't washed yeast in quite a few years, but I believe the procedure is to add your water to the fermenter, swirl, pour out into a large jar, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, then pour the liquid into another jar, let it settle for another 20-30 minutes, then pour the liquid into smaller jars. The idea being that the yeast is suspended in the liquid and you're only letting it settle long enough for most of the non-yeast solids to settle out before decanting the yeasty liquid.

That very thin layer of white at the very top is yeast. There is also yeast mixed in the peanut butter colored layer below it.

The good news is that none of that is necessary. If you can make a starter, use some of the slurry you have in your jars (one jar's worth would be plenty) and make a starter with it. If starters aren't your thing yet, then decant the liquid from the jars and combine the slurry in all the jars. You can then direct-pitch the slurry into a new batch of wort.

In the future, if you're wanting to save yeast, make a starter that is a little bigger than you need to pitch and pour off some of it into a sanitized jar to save for later. That will be your inoculation yeast for a future starter and will contain almost no trub. As long as the yeast continues to maintain its characteristics from starter to starter, you can keep repeating this until it becomes necessary to replace the yeast with new. Way easier than washing yeast, IMO.

 

[Likefully]

As far as I know LL Bean is spot on with all his advice. I have also read that washing the yeast with water damages yeast cells, so its better just to repitch that slurry (the peanut butter). Its worked for me fine quite a few times.

 

[Ironedge]

Thanks for the info/advice. I just bought a Stirstarter Stir Plate, so as I use different yeasts, I will start saving a jar from the starter. I figured there had to be yeast in there somewhere, I guess my initial wash should have been more detailed. With saving a starter jar, I guess I won't have to do this process again.

 

[CA_Mouse]

@LLBeanJ is correct. That very thin, creamy colored layer on top is your yeast. I used to try washing my yeast and wasn't as successful as I needed to be. I either build a larger starter as above and pour off what I don't need for a fermenter, or I aggressively ensure that I get as little trub and break material into my fermenters and harvest the yeast that way. I don't add boiled water to the yeast cake, I just leave enough beer to get the yeast into suspension. Here are two that I collected from a Blonde Ale Yeast experiment.