Yeast harvesting via mason jar and blowoff tube

[WPStrassburg]

I was looking for ways to harvest yeast via the blowoff. I looked at the krausening write-ups about skimming off the top of buckets, but I don't use buckets and don't want to (not that they're bad, I'm just a clean freak and don't want to pop the top of the fermenter to skim yeast and expose it to my funky basement dwelling critters).

My idea ( if it hasn't been done already...)
-Like usual put my 1" blowoff tube in the fermenter.
-Instead of using a pail of starsan to route the blowoff to boil a canning jar and reserve half the boiled ro water in the jar.
-Punch two holes in the jar top, one large enough for the 1" id blowoff tube, the other for a stopper and normal airlock.
-Stuff the blowoff tube into the canning jar under the water level and let ferment proceed as normal.
-Krausen pumps into the jar and collects in the water and settles.
-Once the ferment settles pull the blowoff tube and rack to secondary or just leave in the primary with regular airlock as you normally would.
-Boil more ro and solid canning top to top off the collected yeast, or more smaller jars to split the yeast into.


Not sure how much junk other than yeast is going to go into the canning jar, so a "normal" wash and split may be required to clean it up a bit, but will this method give a good, sanitary collection method of yeast?

Save me the time if it's been done and failed or give me the encouragement to give it a shot this weekend!

 

[Grizzlybrew]

Sounds like a plan to me. There's also a plan for a yeast collection device in this month's issue of Zymurgy (the gadget issue).

 

[greggor]

Here is what I have been doing lately; on day 2 when the yeast is actively fermenting. I draw a small amount of wort out with a turkey baster it has been working great. I will sterilize the turkey baster by holding the tip in sauce pan of boiling water for 3 minutes while I draw some of the water into the baster.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Unless you are krausening, what are the advantages of harvesting krausen vs. harvesting from the bottom of the fermenter after racking, then washing? I get 6-8 brews from 1 yeast cake this way.

If you are krausening I don't think you would want it going into the water, you would want to add right away at bottling.

Not being contrary, I am truly interested in the differences. And don't you get a lot of bitter byproducts and hop particles in the krausen?

Cheers

 

[WPStrassburg]

May have screwed up terms a bit, but when I said krausening I meant just skimming the yeast froth from the top of the fermenter to save, not necessarily taking it right to bottle.

I've done normal washing quite a bit, but was just looking for an easier way and also heard the yeast in the blowoff may be a bit better compared to the more flocculant stuff that drops.

 

[dzlater]

jjjjjjj

 

[kanzimonson]

I've done the method you describe, except I use a carboy cover on top of a flask. You can collect at least 400-800mL of liquid if you try, so don't put too much RO water in their. In my experience, you'll definitely suck up a bit of the fermenting beer as well, and will get some fermentation in the new flask. I think the RO water is good to dilute it (especially if it's a stronger beer) and Jamil says that yeast is ideally stored under weak beer. Just know that you will definitely collect some trub as well.

 

[wyzazz]

Sounds almost like a Burton Union to me.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I would think you would want to let it blowoff a bit first so all that gunky/hoppy/truby crud blows-off and you get cleaner yeast. I read that somewhere but I've never top-cropped.

 

[DrawTap88]

Very good method for collecting the healthiest yeast possible for future starters/slants/plates.

I saw, somewhere, a flask with a usual stopper in it with an extra hole drilled in it to fit a racking cane. A blow off was attached to a racking cane and air lock placed in the other hole.

Found it. Check out post #13.

 

[karlisbeer]

Here's my two cents along with link to my method:

http://karlisbeer.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-cropping-yeast-from-carboy.html

I have done both top cropping as well as just dumping fresh wort onto previous brew's yeast cake, and have had good results with both. There's a few reasons why I like to top crop however.

First, I like to krauesen some of my beers. This is where you save some wort from the boil to be combined with top cropped yeast towards the end of fermentation. This new fermenting beer is added back into the carboy to kick up the fermentation again. The theory is that the newly added fermenting beer helps clean up some things in the first fermentation. (Can also be done to naturally carbonate in a keg) Don't know if it really works or not to clean up the beer, but seems like my beers, especially California Common do benefit.

Second, another theory is that if you capture the first yeast that starts to ferment on top, that is supposedly healthier more vibrant yeast and should yield more and stronger generations of reuse. If you are always dumping new wort onto old trub or collecting yeast from bottom without subsequent washing, you are collecting alot of other junk such as dead yeast, yeast that didn't quite do the job, and other unfermentables that settle into trub. Top cropping is much cleaner.

Cheers!

 

[WPStrassburg]

Very good method for collecting the healthiest yeast possible for future starters/slants/plates.

I saw, somewhere, a flask with a usual stopper in it with an extra hole drilled in it to fit a racking cane. A blow off was attached to a racking cane and air lock placed in the other hole.

Found it. Check out post #13.

I've seen the double stoppers before and thinking of those while looking at my flasks sitting next to my fermenter is what got me thinking of this.

I was thinking the mason jar since the top would be easy to punch out for the bigger 1" blowoff, but I may start with the flask and stopper or carboy cap.

Most of my hop pieces end up here

so hopefully I don't have much make it into the fermenter. All my cold break does end up in the fermenter, so I'll have to see how much of that goes through with the blowoff.

 

[WPStrassburg]

Here's my two cents along with link to my method:

http://karlisbeer.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-cropping-yeast-from-carboy.html
Cheers!

Karl, your's was one of the google results once I got the right search terms. Good writeup!

 

[kanzimonson]

.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

I have so many responses to my own question:

-the jolly green giant took a dump in your kettle
-it's a new GIANT type of hop pellet
-it looks like you chopped off a leprechaun's arm

and so on

 

[WPStrassburg]

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

I have so many responses to my own question:

-the jolly green giant took a dump in your kettle
-it's a new GIANT type of hop pellet
-it looks like you chopped off a leprechaun's arm

and so on

5 oz of hops stuck to something like this

from inside of this

http://www.pall.com/pdf/LMOHP.pdf

Sitting in my slop sink after finishing up my Rye IPA

 

[kanzimonson]

So I'm guessing that's mostly dry hops after fermentation?

Ever consider reusing dry hops as boiling hops in the next batch? Seems like you have an easy way to do it...

 

[DrawTap88]

Found this on my lunch bread today. Build your own Burton Union.

 

[Hermit]

Somewhere on this forum is a picture of someone doing pretty much what you are talking about and I mentioned it in a recent post.

 

[AnOldUR]

My version:
Set it up this morning.
That's a glass carboy with a carboy cap under the sweatshirt.
It's blowing off as I type with Wyeast 1469.
My only fear is that it clogs and blows the top off.

 

[WPStrassburg]

So I'm guessing that's mostly dry hops after fermentation?

Ever consider reusing dry hops as boiling hops in the next batch? Seems like you have an easy way to do it...

That was from the boil kettle! I whirlpool to keep most of the hops in the middle, but tip it at the end to get all the wort out that I can and that pulls the hops into the filter, but I still get super clear wort into the fermenter.

Would the Burton help with the hops and trub or would it mostly collect them? I'm thinking that when washing yeast the first thing to settle is the trub and hop pieces, so the Burton may end up just collecthing more of that junk and returning the nice non floccing yeast back to the fermenter.

Two stage Burton maybe? First one collects all the blowoff from the fermenter, then drains into the second which is just yeast and beer with the airlock on the top of the second one? (Burton and a half?)

The rye from this weekend's brew is slowing down so I'm going to pull the blowoff tonight and see how much "stuff" I've collected in the blowoff bucket to get an idea of the potential. I normally just barely stick the tube into the fermenter, so next time if I stuff it to just above the beer surface I should be able to get even more yeast.

 

[WPStrassburg]

From La Petite Brasserie

The ideal time to top-crop is shortly after active fermentation has kicked into high gear. Give the yeast enough time to move any hop material to the side of the fermenter, but don't wait so long that the yeast mat has fallen too much back into the beer, or you might not find yourself with enough skimmable yeast to fill your jar.

Good idea to remove the hop material!

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

For the record I peek into my ale pails once and a while and have never had a problem. It would be SO much easier to just scoop a cupful of krausen out... You could be done in like 10 seconds...

 

[DrawTap88]

For the record I peek into my ale pails once and a while and have never had a problem. It would be SO much easier to just scoop a cupful of krausen out... You could be done in like 10 seconds...

But it wouldn't be as "cool" or "gadgety."

The only real reason to not do that is that you expose the yeast to nasties in floating around in your fermentation room.

 

[Grizzlybrew]

I will sterilize the turkey baster by holding the tip in sauce pan of boiling water for 3 minutes while I draw some of the water into the baster.

Try Starsan and that 3 min becomes 30 secs and no wasted energy. I mix up a couple of gallons on brew day, use it that day, and then save it for any other processes during the course of that beer and onto the next batch.

I would think you would want to let it blowoff a bit first so all that gunky/hoppy/truby crud blows-off and you get cleaner yeast. I read that somewhere but I've never top-cropped.

Depending on the end-boil procedures, you could filter out the majority of trub before entering primary and this may not even be a concern.