Yeast Harvest Layers

[dmaxweb]

This is WLP029 harvested 2 days ago and refrigerated. Is the milky white bottom layer the yeast? Being a hybrid yeast, does it settle differently?

 

[odie]

looks like yeast.

Did you filter or screen the wort or trub in anyway? Looks very clean.

what was the beer?

It going to take a while before it completely settles.

 

[dmaxweb]

It's an Alaska Amber clone (OG 1.053). My favorite and try to always have it on tap.

No "outside" screen or filter. My kettles are direct direct fired and I recirculate entire mash time and use whole leaf hops in the boil. I add whirlfoc last 10 minutes of boil and whirlpool post boil while using an immersion chiller. My worts are always very clear with 92% efficiency.
I added some boiled and cooled distilled water to the femeter to swirl up the slurry before harvesting..
It's not as dark as in the picture.
This one was taken outside:

 

[odie]

does the entire kettle go into the fermentor or do you let the kettle settle and only pour the clear stuff into the fermentor?

 

[dmaxweb]

does the entire kettle go into the fermentor or do you let the kettle settle and only pour the clear stuff into the fermentor?

does the entire kettle go into the fermentor or do you let the kettle settle and only pour the clear stuff into the fermentor?

Every drop goes in the fermenter. Both the mash tun and boil kettle have false bottoms.

This is the boil kettle. The bottom line is for filling from mash tun and the top is used to whirlpool wort post-boil while chilling. Of course the drain is under the false bottom. Im sure a lot of the cold break is being filtered by the whole leaf hops while pumping to the fermenter. The whirlpool makes the immersion chiller very efficient as well..

 

[odie]

umm...

so no, it is not all going into the fermentor. Unless you are dumping the entire contents into the fermetor, hops, trub, cold break and all.

I'm guessing with the whirlpool, a lot of debris stays in the kettle, along with some wort.

that is why your yeast cake is looking pretty clean.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'd say the lighter ~1/2" bottom layer is mostly pure yeast. The 1" darker layer on top is yeast with some trub mixed in.

That must have been a darn clean wort transfer from your kettle to get mostly yeast and a little bit of trub. Often we see the opposite, much more trub than yeast.

 

[dmaxweb]

umm...

so no, it is not all going into the fermentor. Unless you are dumping the entire contents into the fermetor, hops, trub, cold break and all.

I'm guessing with the whirlpool, a lot of debris stays in the kettle, along with some wort.

that is why your yeast cake is looking pretty clean.

You are correct. All of the liquid, save about 1-2 liters at most primarily in the wet hops, is transferred to the fermenter. I misunderstood your question.

 

[dmaxweb]

I'd say the lighter ~1/2" bottom layer is mostly pure yeast. The 1" darker layer on top is yeast with some trub mixed in.

That must have been a darn clean wort transfer from your kettle to get mostly yeast and a little bit of trub. Often we see the opposite, much more trub than yeast.

I only use whole hops which are a natural filter not present when using pellets. It limits my hop choices somewhat but still can get all of my favorites and then some from Hops Direct by the pound. I haven't used pellet hops in over 20 years. I recently started using a mash grant (no screen or filter) just to prevent mash compaction while continously recirculating. This has boosted efficiency as well.

After all these years my rig and I get along pretty well.

 

[scrap iron]

Looks good. Next time just leave a little beer in the fermenter and swirl up the yeast with it. The yeast is stored healthier under beer rather than water.

 

[dmaxweb]

Looks good. Next time just leave a little beer in the fermenter and swirl up the yeast with it. The yeast is stored healthier under beer rather than water.

There are different schools of thought on this. What I harvest is about 50/50 beer/distilled water after swirling.

 

[Spivey24]

From my experience the bottom layer is yeast, dead yeast, and trub that settled, and the top layer is yeast, dead yeast, and trub that didn’t. Yeast doesn’t magically separate into layers once everything is all mixed up IME. If you are curious, give the layers a taste if you can. I use bucket fermenters and I find if i am very careful and gently tilt the fermenter before it gets mixed up, I can coax the top layer which is mostly yeast off the layer of trub on the bottom and scoop it out.

 

[dmaxweb]

I'd say the lighter ~1/2" bottom layer is mostly pure yeast. The 1" darker layer on top is yeast with some trub mixed in.

That must have been a darn clean wort transfer from your kettle to get mostly yeast and a little bit of trub. Often we see the opposite, much more trub than yeast.

I have 2 flasks like this. Should I decant, setting aside some of the clear beer, and dump the second layer and then combine the "pure" yeast layers from both flasks into a jar topped of with the clear beer?

 

[BBeerme]

I'm guessing you want to save the yeast and re-use it, mainly as a methof of saving costs?

If so, at each phase of doing this, you risk contamination. Not to mention whatever may have happened in the brew you took the sample from. Maybe not noticeable in the initial batch, but each propogation can and will exponentially increase the undesireables. Here's what I did.

First I would make a bunch of agar slants in test tubes maybe 3/4" x 6" then set aside, they last "forever". Then each time I would buy a liquid yeast, inoculate maybe five tubes or more, this can substantially reduce costs and trips to the brew shops, plus you end up with all sorts of options going forward.

Then for each style of beer you brew, collect maybe 2/3's of a mason jar of the unfermented wort, I do four at a time, because that's what fits into my pressure cooker for sterilizing. They do keep forever.

Two days before brewing, inoculate your mason jar with the agar slant. Once ready to pitch the yeast, pour in your mason jar. This almost instantaneous start to your fermentation from a pure yeast also reduces chance of other contamination. Might sound like a lot of work, but it is very easy, simple, cost effective, and actually adds liesure to the prep of brewing an awesome batch.

 

[IslandLizard]

I have 2 flasks like this. Should I decant, setting aside some of the clear beer, and dump the second layer and then combine the "pure" yeast layers from both flasks into a jar topped of with the clear beer?

You've got quite a bit of yeast there. I would store the content of each flask in a separate jar. Main reasons: Easier to handle, and if one gets infected (a pellicle forming being a clue), you've got a backup. I use 4oz and 8oz jelly (mason) canning jars, or 12oz jelly/jam jars ("Smuckers") for storing yeast.

You probably know this, but for sake of completeness, decant most. You could pour some into a sterilized/sanitized jar or beaker in case you need some extra for transfer, and leave enough in the flask so you can stir/swirl it up.

There's no way to separate those 2 layers, saving each out individually, and there's probably not all that much benefit doing that either.

While crashing propagated starters, I often see a layer of (darker) dead yeast settling quickly, followed first by a white (or lighter) layer, then a thicker, somewhat darker layer on top, probably being the lesser flocculent population.

 

[BBeerme]

Brewed for ~30 yrs, but haven't brewed in 20. Been dicarding stuff, because apparently no one brews anymore. Thought I tossed these already. But here are the slants, 20+ yrs old, still good to go. Well, most anyway. I can see some 'damage' in some. They're yours if you want, free for the price of shipping, I'll give a hot water cleaning, then you can take it from there. Pretty sure I still have a box of the powdered agar as well.

 

[odie]

when I save yeast cake, I use 1/2 pint jars. A bucket fermenter will yield a solid 3-4 1/2 pint jars of half yeast and half beer on top after it all settles out.

I got a pitch for next time and 2-3 back up pitches.

But now that I'm ferment and serve in same keg, my yeast harvests have fallen since 1/3 to 1/2 the yeast remains in the keg after the beer if all drunk. So I have no need to pitch yeast again, just pitch wort.

 

[dmaxweb]

So, if I plan to use in 3-4 weeks, should I just leave in flask and decant then? Will that leave enough for 11.25 gallons of kolsch or should I do a starter?

 

[Yesfan]

Off topic...

Which clone recipe did you use?

 

[IslandLizard]

So, if I plan to use in 3-4 weeks, should I just leave in flask and decant then? Will that leave enough for 11.25 gallons of kolsch or should I do a starter?

It should still be healthy/vital enough for a direct pitch after 3-4 weeks in the fridge, once it warms back up to pitching temps.
Yes, leave the supernatant on top while storing it, and decant right before letting it warm up.

As you probably know, when fermenting a batch yeast mass increases 4-5 times from the pitched amount. So one could easily pitch the harvested amount into 4-5 batches of similar size and gravity. Or 2-2.5 double-sized ones.

When storing in the flask like you do, or when crashing starters, I squeeze that foil down tight, to make a better seal while storing it. I also put a piece of plastic wrap over the foil, and tighten the whole cap with a rubber band.
Main reason for the layer of plastic wrap: I've found pin holes in the aluminum foil cap (holding it up to a light). My guess is Starsan attacks it.