Yeast Harvested from My Secondary

[BierMuncher]

Last night I bottled my APA and after about 9 days in the secondary, I had about 1/4" of nice white yeast sediment. (I've heard mixed opinons on using secondary yeast...for the most part favorable.)

I went ahead and transferred that into an empty sterilized beer bottle and capped. It yielded about 1/2 a bottle.

3 Questions:

1) Is that enough yeast to pitch into another 5 gallon batch?
2) How would I test this yeast, say in a week or two, to make sure it is viable for another session?
3) I have it stored at 32.5 degrees right now. What preparation would you go through to make it "pitch ready" for the next batch?

Thanks. I'm trying to get this hobby to a more affordable level. :cross:

 

[Yooper]

You'll definitely want to make a starter a few days before your next batch. Bring the yeast up to room temperature and make a starter. Then, you'll know if your yeast is viable, as well as have enough yeast to pitch.

I've never saved yeast from the secondary (only the primary), but the technique would be the same.

 

[cweston]

I went ahead and transferred that into an empty sterilized beer bottle and capped. It yielded about 1/2 a bottle.

Warning--unless you washed the yeast (and maybe even if you did), it is quite likely that you are going to build up *alot* of CO2 in that capped beer bottle.

I recommend transferring it to a jar with a lid which you can loosen several times over the next week or so to relieve to pressure.

Even if the bottle holds, it will likely erupt yeast slurry like a vocano when you pop the cap off a month from now.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

I've heard that flocculation makes the secondary yeast harvest less desirable, but I really don't know. Having said that, I've successfully used the secondary harvest several times. It's cleaner than the primary without having to wash it... as much...

 

[Dr Malt]

Yeast in the secondary fermenter has been exposed to more stress than those from the primary. They are in a higher alcohol environment and have less nutrients. Thus, many of the yeast have gone into a metabolic resting stage ( G zero) or die. Thus, I would bring the yeast to room temperature, wash with room temp sterile water and make a starter with sterile wort. You may need to allow the starter to go a few days to allow the viable yeast to increase in sufficient numbers for pitching. If your yeast viability is really low, you may need to first grow yeast in a smaller volume of wort, say about 100 ml for a day or two and then transfer into a larger pitchable volume like 800 ml. I have not used yeast from the secondary I am only going on my knowledge of yeast handling and yeast biology.

A way to test your yeast for visability other then trying to get it to grow requires a microscope and methylene blue stain. Dead yeast stain blue in methylene blue so you can mix a drop of stain and yeast on a microscope slide and observe them under a microscope. The microscope does not need to be high powered as yeast are fairly large and easy to see.

I hope this helps.

Dr Malt

 

[BierMuncher]

Warning--unless you washed the yeast (and maybe even if you did), it is quite likely that you are going to build up *alot* of CO2 in that capped beer bottle.

I recommend transferring it to a jar with a lid which you can loosen several times over the next week or so to relieve to pressure.

Even if the bottle holds, it will likely erupt yeast slurry like a vocano when you pop the cap off a month from now.

Yeah, I'd already planned on releasing pressure and recapping every few days. I might just go ahead and put into a quart mason jar...maybe with a fermentation lock attached.

 

[brewhead]

Warning--unless you washed the yeast (and maybe even if you did), it is quite likely that you are going to build up *alot* of CO2 in that capped beer bottle.

I recommend transferring it to a jar with a lid which you can loosen several times over the next week or so to relieve to pressure.

Even if the bottle holds, it will likely erupt yeast slurry like a vocano when you pop the cap off a month from now.

i heard a lot of this kind of advice before i started capturing yeast. in practice though i have never had any of the above symptoms. i use 20 corona bottles and fill them with the slurry.