Why re-use a previous yeast?

[birvine]

To preface... I am not arguing this procedure or trying to anger anyone but am genuinely curious.

For those who re-use/wash yeast can you tell me why? Packages of yeast are $2 or so; liquid yeast is $10 or so - not a great amount in the grand scheme of things. But, is it to save these dollars/pounds/pesos? Is it the fun of doing it on your own? Is it actually possible to tweak yeasts to our own recipes?

Thanks and Happy New Year!

B

 

[tagz]

I think most people figure, it's pretty easy to do, so why not save some money? Also, it's pretty nice to have a selection of yeast in the fridge ready to go.

 

[Revvy]

Well if you brew like some of us, it's not too much of a streatch to say that we could be spending upwards of 100 bucks or more on yeast....And since it is rediculous easy to harvest it and wash it, and we know we've just doubled, tripled or even quadrupled the amount of yeast in our starter flasks and fermenters, it seems like a big waste to just flush it....So I've just taken a 10 dollar tube of yeast and made 40 dollars worth of yeast out of it, without doing anything more difficult than brew a batch of beer, and now I'm just going to dump it?

I don't save every yeast I use, but I save a lot of it. And I bottle harvest as well. And it is cool to have a library of yeast on hand whenever you need it, and not rely on a distributor or store to have it in stock or not.

But the simple bit of economics above (and it is simple) is compelling reasons enough...That hundred bucks I'd rather buy a non "recyclable" commodity like grain or brewing gear....

 

[WAdamC]

To add to what has already been said, It's nice not having to make a starter. I can just pull a jar out of the fridge and brew on a whim as long as it hasn't been more than a couple weeks since washing.

 

[birvine]

Very interesting indeed. I think I'll search yeast washing and then explore liquid yeasts which I have not yet tried.

Thanks!

B

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I can make 1 smack pack ($6.99) last for AT LEAST 5-6 brews. That saves me $35 right there. That buys me material for 1-2 more brews for nothing more than a (very) little effort. Stretching brewing dollars in this economy any way we can brother

If you multiply this across even an average brewing year (say 2 batches a month + a few random flurries = 30 batches) then you save a ton of $$$$. 30*7=210...6*7=42...that $168 can be me a lot of materials not yeast!!!

And you can select for certain properties. For example, by harvesting Wyeast 1056 from my secondary rather than primary I selected for the most attenuative and least flocculent yeastie beasties. This resulted in a dryer finish so I designed recipes around that. Brewed a pale ale (original) and harvested and washed. Brewed a Cream Ale, Dry Stout, another pale, and an American Brown (all styles that should be dry or I like brewing dry) and still have 2 jars of yeast left to pitch into starters.

Then I move to another yeast and brew hell out of it until I am ready for something else.
I can also duplicate multiple recipes w/ different yeasts w/o breaking the bank for side by side comparisons on how yeast influences flavor.

As you can see there are lots of reasons to wash yeast, cold hard cash not being the least of them

 

[broadbill]

Also...at $10 a smack pack (plus additional cost of making a starter)...that is about 1/3 of the total cost of your standard AG pale ale recipe.

I would argue that it IS a substantial cost in the grand scheme of things.

 

[birvine]

Hmmm... I concur - it DOES add up to quite a savings. And the experimental portion piques my curious mind!

B

 

[Revvy]

Also...at $10 a smack pack (plus additional cost of making a starter)...that is about 1/3 of the total cost of your standard AG pale ale recipe.

I would argue that it IS a substantial cost in the grand scheme of things.

YUP...I's not been to much of a stretch for me, with harvested yeast, and a nice suplly of hops already in my freezer, to have a trip to the homebrew shop for just grain cost be 9 or 10 bucks for a recipe....Of course if I have bulk 2-row on hand it could be even less.

 

[TristanL]

Besides the savings harvesting yeast is very useful for brewing big lager beers. It's difficult to make a big enough starter to ferment a 1.080 dopplebock. It's easier to start out with a small lager beer and then repitch that yeast into a big lager beer; as opposed to making a 3 gallon starter with DME and having to dump the "starter" beer. I.E. Brewing a Munich Helles then harvesting the yeast to ferment a dopplebock.

 

[mannix]

I've also heard Jamil talk about how much better beers get with each subsequent pitch. I think he said by the time he gets to the 5th or 6th pitch the yeast is at it's best.

 

[logdrum]

On top of all these other excellent reasons, I like the fact that I'm emulating (to a degree) tried and true commercial practices.

-d

 

[remilard]

I've also heard Jamil talk about how much better beers get with each subsequent pitch. I think he said by the time he gets to the 5th or 6th pitch the yeast is at it's best.

This is why I do it. I don't care about the money. If I can repitch the yeast in a week or two I don't reuse it because at that point I think a starter is better and if I'm going to spend 5-6 of my valuable hours making a batch of beer I really don't care about $7.

 

[jmhart]

Three reasons here:

1)Saves $6-7 per brew. Part of the fun and skill of homebrewing to me is getting my price per brew as low as possible. Stretching a smack pack across 3-5 brews really helps over the course of year.

2)Laziness. So much easier to reuse a yeast cake than make a starter.

3)Sometimes I get a wild hair, and either brew unexpectedly or do a partigyle unexpectedly, so it's nice to have some yeast sitting around without having to run to the HBS, or worse yet, HBS around here are closed on Sundays.

 

[samc]

I will be the devil and go against it for my brewing habits.

Dry yeast for me is $2.30-$2.50
Liquid is $6 + a few dollars for DME to make a 4 liter starter, so for a 10 gallon batch I am looking at $5 - $8 in yeast. If I brew 8 -12 batches per year, the economics are not compelling enough for me to bother. Tried it once and it was more effort then I wanted to bother with.

As for the yeast getting better, most of my beers use a yeast that is mostly neutral - how do you get a better neutral ?

 

[MBasile]

I will be the devil and go against it for my brewing habits.

Dry yeast for me is $2.30-$2.50
Liquid is $6 + a few dollars for DME to make a 4 liter starter, so for a 10 gallon batch I am looking at $5 - $8 in yeast. If I brew 8 -12 batches per year, the economics are not compelling enough for me to bother. Tried it once and it was more effort then I wanted to bother with.

As for the yeast getting better, most of my beers use a yeast that is mostly neutral - how do you get a better neutral ?

You get more neutral! Cleaner taste, but also potentially better attenuation.

I do it because of the cost of white labs yeast, better yeast performance, and simply because I can.

 

[samc]

You get more neutral! Cleaner taste, but also potentially better attenuation.

I do it because of the cost of white labs yeast, better yeast performance, and simply because I can.

I'd love to know if that is for real. That might be worth the added effort.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I'd love to know if that is for real. That might be worth the added effort.

I commented on this in my earlier post...harvesting from the secondary selects for those yeasty beasties that are less flocculent and more attenuative. You sacrifice some clarity but that's the nature of the beast and cold crashing or extended cold conditioning in the bottle after carbing up helps too. I'm trying to make great beer not win clear beer contests!!!

 

[MBasile]

I'd love to know if that is for real. That might be worth the added effort.

See below...

And you can select for certain properties. For example, by harvesting Wyeast 1056 from my secondary rather than primary I selected for the most attenuative and least flocculent yeastie beasties. This resulted in a dryer finish so I designed recipes around that. Brewed a pale ale (original) and harvested and washed. Brewed a Cream Ale, Dry Stout, another pale, and an American Brown (all styles that should be dry or I like brewing dry) and still have 2 jars of yeast left to pitch into starters.

Also, I believe (but could be wrong about this) if you move to successively larger brews you're selecting slightly more alcohol tolerant yeasties (this does not require harvesting from the secondary). It's all about cell mutation and selection. However, the reason most homebrewers stop at 6 or 7 repitches usually is because you start to get TOO MUCH mutation as well as a much higher potential for contamination after all of those washes and reuses.

 

[msa8967]

Some of us want to reuse yeast as much as possible because there are no LHBS within a reasonable driving range and we might not want to wait for mail order to deliver our yeast.

 

[Brek81]

because i hate committing yeast genocide at the end of a batch... yeast are people too.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

because i hate committing yeast genocide at the end of a batch... yeast are people too.

My friend, YOU just made the HBT Official Memorable Quotes Thread!!!

Congratulations

 

[zman]

I will be the devil and go against it for my brewing habits.

Dry yeast for me is $2.30-$2.50
Liquid is $6 + a few dollars for DME to make a 4 liter starter, so for a 10 gallon batch I am looking at $5 - $8 in yeast. If I brew 8 -12 batches per year, the economics are not compelling enough for me to bother. Tried it once and it was more effort then I wanted to bother with.

As for the yeast getting better, most of my beers use a yeast that is mostly neutral - how do you get a better neutral ?

When you get DME in bulk it works out to be cheaper. I started a frozen yeast bank and have 6 vials of 1056 and 1762. Soon I will be adding 6 vials of Old Newark Ale, Trappist, Denny's 50 and Rosalare. I think I am stretching my $7 pretty darn far

 

[Bottenbrew]

I yeast wash because I don't plan out my brewing. I will be sitting in class and say to myself "I feel like brewing a XXX today." MY LHBS doesn't carry the platinum or special blends and has been out of the yeast I planned on using in the past. The easy fix to this is to yeast ranch, so now I have 6 or 7 yeasts I frequently use on hand for whatever strikes my fancy. On top of that, I can brew with Old Bavarian Lager year round now, just just when it is available.

 

[Hermit]

I commented on this in my earlier post...harvesting from the secondary selects for those yeasty beasties that are less flocculent and more attenuative. You sacrifice some clarity but that's the nature of the beast and cold crashing or extended cold conditioning in the bottle after carbing up helps too. I'm trying to make great beer not win clear beer contests!!!

Priorities man, priorities....

Take that which ever way you will.

 

[MBasile]

I yeast wash because I don't plan out my brewing. I will be sitting in class and say to myself "I feel like brewing a XXX today." MY LHBS doesn't carry the platinum or special blends and has been out of the yeast I planned on using in the past. The easy fix to this is to yeast ranch, so now I have 6 or 7 yeasts I frequently use on hand for whatever strikes my fancy. On top of that, I can brew with Old Bavarian Lager year round now, just just when it is available.

To show how beneficial yeast washing can be, I'll throw in some more info.

I yeast wash because I do plan out my brews. I don't have a yeast bank so it's not like I have a ton of strains to choose from. However, my next 5 brews that I have planned use Cal Ale. I'd rather spend $7 than $35 on the same strain.