Yeast good, or bad after storing in mason jar?

[jcs401]

I did a yeast starter with wyeast American ale II about a month ago. Then let it cool and on stir plate for a day or so. Then stored it I. A mason jar with some wort/beer on too for about a week. Then I saw that I was suppose to actually use distilled water so I drained all the beer out and replaced with a bit of distilled water and put it in the fridge. Now I looked at it after about a week in there and it's almost like a thin layer of darkness on the top of the yeast sediment at the bottom. Is it still good to use this weekend if I do another yeast starter to wake it up? Or is it bad?

 

[m00ps]

You shouldve just left the wort on top of it, youll get more yeast that fall out of suspension plus less chance of contamination

The color really isnt a make/break it deal, but id still make a starter since you likely have significantly less viable cells than you started with

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Then I saw that I was suppose to actually use distilled water so I drained all the beer out and replaced with a bit of distilled water and put it in the fridge.[...]

Where did you gather that chestnut?
Distilled water isn't very good for yeast as it can cause them to literally explode...

Cheers!

 

[jcs401]

I really cannot remember where I saw to "wash the yeast" using distilled water. Basically should I just go try to find another yeast? Or can I make a starter and will it still be good or will it give off flavors?

 

[svenness]

You've created a hypotonic solution. Water diffuses from higher concentrations (distilled water) to lower concentrations (inside your yeast cells).

 

[svenness]

I'd put them into a new starter and see how they perform.

 

[MyQuL]

You've created a hypotonic solution. Water diffuses from higher concentrations (distilled water) to lower concentrations (inside your yeast cells).

So he's killed a lot of his yeast cells? Would he have killed them all or would simply making a starter (and perhaps stepping it once or twice) get him back to where he was?

 

[evchenko]

Nothing to see in this comment.

 

[jcs401]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455801851.511725.jpg

 

[DurtyChemist]

Looks like good yeast to pitch.

 

[jcs401]

Do you see that slight grayish black haze on the bottom sitting seems just on top of the yeast? Any ideas what the hell that is?

 

[broadbill]

I see that, and I see that on top of all of my stored yeast. No worries.

What you can't see is the decreased viability that naturally occurs with storage. Do you have enough viable cells for fermentation? Maybe. Maybe not. I would redo a starter to ensure a healthy pitch.

 

[IslandLizard]

Do you see that slight grayish black haze on the bottom sitting seems just on top of the yeast? Any ideas what the hell that is?

I think that is dead yeast. You could scrape it off, but it's only minimal, so leaving it in won't affect your beer. Just pour off the water, then pitch the thick slurry into your new starter. I would definitely make a new starter. If you can make 3 or 4 liters, then you can save some for your next batch.

 

[passedpawn]

Do you see that slight grayish black haze on the bottom sitting seems just on top of the yeast? Any ideas what the hell that is?

No idea, but I recommend not washing yeast. I've been saving it for many years in mason jars just by pouring the trub from the bottom of a carboy into several mason jars. Yes, if it's full of hop debris it can't be used later in a non-hoppy beer (I don't do it, anyway). But otherwise, works great.

 

[masonsjax]

That's just fine particles that were slower to settle out. You're fine.

Next time just leave the beer and skip the rinse. There are still many that advocate washing (really rinsing) yeast for storage. However, this practice came from misunderstandings and assumptions made about these layers you see settling out when yeast flocculates. Actual tests show that leaving the beer is far better for the yeast health and viability, and that rinsing causes harm in more ways than one.

 

[Jim311]

I don't wash anything. I shake up the trub in the fermenter and dump it into a sanitized jar. It's really as simple as that. I don't even make starters, I just pour 3 ounces or so of yeast into my wort for the next batch and call it a day. It's about as cheap and easy as you could possibly make it and even if all this is not considered best practice, it has always lead to raging fermentations for me!

 

[biestie]

Yes, if it's full of hop debris it can't be used later in a non-hoppy beer (I don't do it, anyway). But otherwise, works great.

Is that really true? I kind of have always adhered to the lightly hopped to hoppy and light to dark progression as far as reusing yeast, because I heard it from somewhere more than anything. I have often wondered if there's really much validity to it. I gotta believe that the hops in there are more or less just bits of green stuff without much flavor or aroma by that point.

 

[passedpawn]

Is that really true? I kind of have always adhered to the lightly hopped to hoppy and light to dark progression as far as reusing yeast, because I heard it from somewhere more than anything. I have often wondered if there's really much validity to it. I gotta believe that the hops in there are more or less just bits of green stuff without much flavor or aroma by that point.

I don't really know. But I learned a while back that, with regards to yeast, if you question it, just start with fresh. The cost of fresh yeast is about the cost of a glass of beer at the local pub, so why not right?

 

[IslandLizard]

There's nothing wrong with using 1/4 of a recent yeast cake. The washing is not ideal unless you really know how to do it right. And then they should be built into a new starter ASAP, and stored under starter beer.

On the other hand, you can make larger starters and save some of the excess slurry out in small 4oz mason/jelly jars. Each of those can the be propagated into another larger starter, and saved out again, and again. 10-12 generations is very acceptable.

 

[Rolsom]

I'm going to try my first washing and have a question about transferring the yeast to jars.
Do you pour it into jars over the dried krausen, and are there fears of infection? or siphon into the jars?
Thanks.

 

[McKnuckle]

If you can spoon it out, do that. If it's in a carboy and you can't use a spoon, just pour it out. The dried schmutz on the carboy walls is not a concern. Siphoning is total overkill in this situation.