Yeast collection

[cubbies]

I have been trying to think of ways to revisit collecting yeast. Yeast washing has never been very successful for me. I mean, I guess it is in the sense that I collect enough yeast that when I need it I can make a starter and it will grow into a big enough colony to ferment my beer properly, but I can't help but feel I am also collecting a lot of dead yeast cell and other gunk that resides in the trub. My collection of yeast is never a pure white like you see with a fresh vial of yeast. It always has a hint of trub color.

What I am wondering is if there is a better way. What about essentially krausening a starter? Hear is what I am proposing: You take your vial of yeast, make a starter as normal, and add it your batch of wort as normal. Then a couple of days later, when the yeast have completed their growth phase and are vigorously fermenting the wort, take an amount of that beer and put it in your starter jar with some more dextrose/dme/whathaveyou. If my thinking is correct, the remaining yeast would then go through another growth phase, ferment the new starter and then go dormant. I would imagine this would take a couple of days. After going dormant, you can chill the concoction to get the maximum flocculation of the yeast and transfer off to your yeast container. I see the advantages of this as you would certainly be collecting healthy, viable yeast, and you would be collecting less dead cells, and trub in general.

I question though how much wort one would need to collect to do this though? A pint? a cup? More? Less?

Anyone tried this, or heard/read about this? Sound worthwhile, or should I just not fix what is not broken? l

 

[Malticulous]

If you going to make a starter you only need to use a small amout so the turb and dead cells don't matter much anyway.

 

[Hombru1]

I have found that making a small starter is a good way to harvest yeast. No hops and very few dead cells.

 

[cubbies]

I have found that making a small starter is a good way to harvest yeast. No hops and very few dead cells.

What do you make your starter out of though? Are you saying you make a starter with the fresh vial and then pitch some and save some? That might be a better idea.

 

[cubbies]

If you going to make a starter you only need to use a small amout so the turb and dead cells don't matter much anyway.

I dont follow. Use a small amount of what?

 

[Malticulous]

Sediment or kraeusen...I'm just saying the turb and dead cells don't matter much when using a new starter. (Sanitation is all that really matters.)

 

[cubbies]

Sediment or kraeusen...I'm just saying the turb and dead cells don't matter much when using a new starter. (Sanitation is all that really matters.)

So basically you are saying I should not fix what is not broken? I suppose that is true enough, but I do think I am going to try another method. Although I think I am going to go an easier route than my original plan. I think all I am going to do is make a larger starter. You know, make a starter big enough for a 10 gallon batch, then pitch half, and save half. That would give me fresher, "cleaner" yeast with not really much added work at all.

 

[noisy123]

I have been trying to think of ways to revisit collecting yeast. Yeast washing has never been very successful for me. I mean, I guess it is in the sense that I collect enough yeast that when I need it I can make a starter and it will grow into a big enough colony to ferment my beer properly, but I can't help but feel I am also collecting a lot of dead yeast cell and other gunk that resides in the trub. My collection of yeast is never a pure white like you see with a fresh vial of yeast. It always has a hint of trub color.

I assume you've seen this right?
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/guide-making-frozen-yeast-bank-35891/

The nice thing here is that you save a small sample from the starter itself before the yeasts have really been stressed in any way. There is virtually no-trub, etc...

 

[cubbies]

I have read that over and that is how I got the idea to just use a larger starter and split it. I really don't have a need to freeze my yeast. Storage is not an issue, I just feel like when washing yeast I get too much "non yeast" in my yeast. I am going to switch my method to making a larger than necessary starter, pitching half or 3/4 of it into the beer, and saving the rest. That way, as you mentioned, it should be nothing but yeast (or at least "mostly" yeast) and they should be fresh, viable and "clean".

 

[fratermus]

My collection of yeast is never a pure white like you see with a fresh vial of yeast. It always has a hint of trub color.

If you want pure yeast cultures then it will be easiest to culture them from the original package immediately (ie. onto plates, slants, or stabs) upon opening.

Example:

1. prepare your media (plates, slants, whatever) and pop the smackpack
2. after the pack swells, sanitize and open the pack, pitch into start or wort as desired
3. use the dregs of the smackpack to inoculate the media

 

[cubbies]

I don't have any experience with slants or anything like that. I have seen the term thrown around, but really dont even know what it is. I may read up on that when I have the time, but I am probably not going to go that route, at least for the time being.

What my plan is for now is to just make a larger than necessary starter. If I make a 1- liter starter and gradually step it up to 1.5-2 liters, I should get a cell count somewhere near 400 billion. Plenty to save some and pitch the rest into 5 gallons. Cost me an extra buck or so in DME and maybe an extra 10 minutes of time, but it still saves money, and I can be assured that I am getting essentially nothing but fresh yeast as there is just not that much trub in a starter. I have already started this process yesterday. I should know by Monday how it worked. I am very confident that it will work well.

 

[cubbies]

Well, I am calling the experiment a success and I am going to go this route from now on. I may have spent an extra dollar or two on DME, but I saved myself some time not having to wash my yeast cake and in the end I will still save money. I made a 2-liter starter instead of my typical one liter starter and it gave me a ton of yeast. Next time I will probably start with a 1-liter and then bump it up with a .5 liter a day or two in. That will save on the DME some. Regardless, after saving off what I needed to save, I still had at least a half cup of thick slurry to pitch into the wort. It started fermenting (thin krausen, airlock bubble every 10-20 seconds) after 4 hours per usual and after 24 hours (the next time I was able to check it) it was fermenting vigorously. So, obviously I pitched enough yeast and here is what I was able to save. This is much better color than I was getting out of washing, and a larger collection too. I bet I could pitch this straight into wort with no starter. I am not going to do that, but I bet I could.

 

[rsmith179]

That's a great idea and was something I was planning for my next brew. I currently have 3 jars left of my WLP001 California Ale yeast. This is my go to for a lot of different types of beers. I actually took a jar simiar in size to yours and then split that up into 4 smaller jars about the size of relish jars (actually were relish jars at one point). This allows me to have 4 different pitches without having to re-up. When I do need to, I'll simply make a nice size starter, pitch one of those small guys in the starter, and let the stirplate do its thing for the next 2 days. This should give me enough yeast to make 3-4 more jars worth.