Yeast Harvesting: A Novel Approach?

[Brulosopher]

@Bisco_Ben Nah, it's not really necessary. In fact, I just harvested from 2 smaller jars then combined them a couple day later with the boiled water. Worked great!
@Royale I really have no clue how you'd get an accurate cell count without using some sort of really nerdy lab equipment... which I kinda wish I had... but alas...

 

[ultravista]

Brulosopher - good stuff. I have saved some starter yeast before and also washed (well sort of) before too. I like your process and will start doing this for the next batch.

 

[onthedot]

When you are ready to make a 1000ml starter from the harvested yeast in the 250ml jar, do you use all of the yeast?

 

[Brewsday]

How about this??? Make the big "1st generation" starter (say 1.5 liter), pitch half to new wort, refill starter flask with saved new wort made that day, 2 days later harvest about 4 jars of "2nd gen"...over time, use 3 and when get to 4th, do this again and harverst 4 jars of "3rd gen".
I've been harvesting/washing yeast for a while but worry a little about generations as I've read things can start to stray in 4 or 5 gens. (that said I've yet to detect any issues)
Thoughts?

 

[Brulosopher]

@onthedot Yep, easy-peezy
@Brewsday Sounds good to me, do it and report back. I don't like having all the yeast lying around, so 1 jar is good enough for me.

 

[MaltyHops]

A pretty well written tutorial but I would be a bit concerned about the dangers of superheated water in microwaves.
Perhaps an alternative of boiling water and then put into a ehrlenmeyer flask and foil capped separately from cleaning/sanitising the mason jar would be safer?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheating
http://chemistry.about.com/b/2012/01/14/the-myth-about-superheating-water-in-the-microwave.htm

 

[Brulosopher]

@MaltyHops - Very, very good point. In fact, I've experience the superheat phenomenon and it's scary. For those concerned about it, I think your recommendation is a good one. For me, I'm comfortable with my current process. Another option is to put a wooden stir stick in the water when you put it in the microwave. Thanks!

 

[onthedot]

Well I am here to report that I tried this method and so far it is a success!
I am making my first starter with harvested-yeast. I am making this one 500ml larger so I can continue to harvest yeast perpetually
Is there a point when yeast has been over-harvested?

 

[Brulosopher]

@onthedot Some will say around 8 generations... but really, it's up to you!

 

[CsaintG]

Very nice article. Good pictures too.

 

[bufitfn]

Great article, thanks

 

[sorefingers23]

how long can i store the yeast in mason jars (without doing steps 5 and 6)before reusing them? and would i have to make a small starter before pitching?

 

[Brulosopher]

@sorefingers23 I would think 2-4 weeks would be fine; the deoxygenated water is simply a better medium for dormant yeast. I would definitely recommend making a starter before pitching- I always do. I just made a starter yesterday using yeast I harvested 2 months ago and it took off within 8 hours.

 

[onthedot]

I have the say that I love this method! I looked into a few different methods of recycling yeast and this is by far the easiest and most convenient so far!
One question: Is there a picture of the 'proper' amount of yeast in the final jar? I am not sure if I am cultivating the amount that I should, I think a visual comparison would really help both me and others.

 

[Brulosopher]

@onthedot I should take a couple pics and post them, but to answer quickly: I usually get about 1/2" of yeast at the bottom of the jar after a few days of settling.
Also, for those wondering about yeast viability, I found this on the White Labs website:
"Generally, when reusing yeast from a fermentation, half of the yeast dies in the first month. So by 2 months you only have 10-30% living cells. For White Labs Yeast, the yeast is lab grown with a special media and process, extending the shelf life. If you want to store yeast after fermentation, we would recommend a maximum of two weeks and releasing the pressure in your container every other day. Some people do go longer than that, but the results are mixed. It is also difficult without a lab to check the quality of the yeast before reusing."
Of course they would prefer if we never harvested our yeast! Oh well. I just made 2 starters, one from 3rd gen WLP002 and the other from a 4th gen WLP090- both took off quickly while on the stir plate and began vigorously fermenting 2 seperate IPAs within 8 hours. So...

 

[seatbelt123]

Bru - Thanks for the tip. This works great. I have more yeast than I know what to do with. I posted a few pics of this weekend's results here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/brulosophers-yeast-harvesting-testimony-377704/

 

[UofMontanaAlum]

I wanted to thank the OP for sharing this idea. It has taken the cost of buying a $6 smack pack out of almost all of my beers. I haven't purchased 1056 in months!!
I do it slightly different. Rather than pitching half the original starter into a fermenter, I toss the entire 2000ml flask in the fridge for a day. I then decant the spent beer off the top of that and split the remaining yeast cake up between 5 pint jars of boiled water. (I use the method from this thread to boil/sanitize my jars/water ... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/ ) A couple days before brew day, I pull a jar out and build a starter for that beer. When I get down to the last jar, I build another 2000ml starter and repeat the process of splitting it 5 ways.

 

[WileECoyote]

Well done Brulosopher, Great Idea and Great write-up, clean un-hopped yeast is exactly what Im looking for, as I also make all herb brews.
What do you use to make your starters with DME? or? and quantities?
Cheers!

 

[Brulosopher]

@WileECoyote Thanks, man! I use a ratio of 10 grams DME to 100 mL water; so for a 2.5 L starter that's 250 grams DME.

 

[thetmaxx]

Thank you, I was reading this while learning about yeast washing, etc.
But I would also like to point our the danger of superheating water in the microwave, it can happen, look it up on youtube.

 

[gamb0056]

Great article. One thing though, if you cap your boiled water and then shake it to sterilize the jar lid, you're most certainly reintroducing oxygen into the water.

 

[Brulosopher]

@thetmaxx: This is absolutely true, so be careful!
@gamb0056: Good point. I actually don't shake, but gently roll the jar so that the water touches all parts.

 

[doublehaul]

Is the 500ML jar you end up with the equivalent of a wyeast pack or white labs vial? So you would just make a starter with this for one batch, and make 500ML extra to repeat the process?

 

[onthedot]

I use Mr. malty to calculate my starters.
What is the yeast viability date for this method? Do you use the date stamped on the original package of yeast from wyeast/white labs? Or do you use the the date you most recently harvested from a starter?

 

[Brulosopher]

@onthedot I use the date I collected the sample. It's worked well so far.

 

[mkravitz13]

chiming in with others here on this magical post:
onthedot said:
"One question: Is there a picture of the 'proper' amount of yeast in the
final jar? I am not sure if I am cultivating the amount that I should, I think a visual comparison would really help both me and others."
my question is in the post below:

 

[mkravitz13]

so, for your mini yeast samples (the ones in sterile H2O), how do you figure how much yeast from your sample to add to your starter to meet your appropriate pitching rate for your batch of beer?

 

[Brulosopher]

@mkravitz13 That's a good question. Unfortunately, I don't think too terribly hard about this piece of it, particularly since the amount of yeast that ends up in the jar (I'll try to add a pic) looks to be a tad more than what comes in a vial. I make an ass out of u and me that there's roughly the same amount of healthy cells in my jars as there are in a vial. I've used numerous strains multiple times using this method and making a starter (I prefer www.yeastcalc.com) using the date I collected the sample as the "manufactured date." If/when someone decides to do a cell count, my ears will be open. Either way, my beers have come out absolutely fantastic using this method, better in fact than when I've started with a vial... this from some of my friends on tried and true recipes. So...
Cheers!

 

[d_striker]

What percentage of yeast solids would you estimate this method to yield?

 

[Brulosopher]

@d_striker I'm nowhere near smart enough to accurately answer this question. Umm, my best guess is "enough."