Yeast question

[chris75]

Hello,

I had tried a batch of ale with used yeast from a previous batch. I had followed all the steps in yeast washing on the thread that was posted here and made very sure sanitation was a major priority.

I set the yeast out 3 hours at room temp before I pitched into primary.

It has been about 12 hours and noticed no action. The airlock is sitting still and haven't noticed anything happening in the carboy.

Wondering if I have done something wrong.

Here is what I did in the process

1 - sit out yeast at room temp. 68F degrees
2 - all steps with brewing beer
3 - cooled wort and added to carboy
4 - drained most of liquid out of yeast in jars and gave the rest a good shake.
5 - pitched into beer
6 - checked on hour 10 and noticed no action.

Some steps of beer brewing left out, but I am sure you know that.

Any help would be great. I would like to use old yeast, but not sure if I should try this again.

Thanks

Beer that was brewed = blonde pale ale
OG 1.054
ABV 6.5

 

[rsmith179]

Did you make a starter with this washed yeast? If not, you'll never know if that yeast is even viable at this point. Everyone will tell you to wait at least 24-48 hours before making any assumptions regarding the viability of your yeast in the batch. I would recommend checking the gravity in a day or so to see if it changes any. If the gravity does not, pitch some more yeast. This time, make sure that you create a starter to ensure that the yeast are active before throwing them into your batch.

 

[chris75]

I am sorry, but I have not done this before and I am not sure of how to make a starter. Could you please provide me some instructions.

I went by what was posted here and it just said to set out at room temp and pitch.

I am not sure the exact steps on how to make a starter.

Thank you for the reply.

Chris

 

[Yooper]

I'm almost certain that no one reliable said to just take out saved yeast and pitch. For liquid yeast (even not saved yeast, but liquid yeast in general) it's almost always advisable to make a starter. Sometimes you can get by without one, but it's usually better to make a starter. For yeast that's been saved for a while, it's a good idea to make a starter to "wake it up" as well as ensuring viability.

To make a starter, simply bring two cups of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup DME. Cool. Pour into sanitized jug/growler/big jar. Pour in yeast. Cover with sanitized foil and shake to mix. Give it a shake every so often as you walk by it. In 24-48 hours, you should notice quite a bit of yeast accumulating on the bottom, and the starter should be fermented out. You use this now by either swirling it up and pouring in the whole thing, or if you're making a "big" beer, you can add more wort to it.

That's all there is to it! To see how big of a starter is recommended, there is a great pitching calculator on mrmalty.com that can is really helpful.

 

[rsmith179]

Give it some time though.. Just because you didn't use a starter, please don't think your batch is ruined. It may just take some time for the yeast to replicate enough to start the fermentation process that actually creates the CO2. Don't even look at it till Sunday to see if it's bubbling away. It'll be just fine.

 

[chris75]

Thank you guys so much for the info. I will give it some time and I will also try this again, but with making a starter.

You have been very helpful and thanks again.

Cheers

 

[Bob]

Unless you harvest and wash the yeast immediately before pitching, it's really not viable enough to pitch direct. JZ writes:

When the yeast is fresh and healthy off an previous batch, viability is maybe around 90%+.

My experience bears that out. Harvested yeast needs to be used quickly.

If your harvested yeast was much more than a few days old, its condition is not optimal for direct pitching. You lose approximately 25% viability every seven days after harvesting. After two weeks of storage, you really need to rebuild the colony with a starter.

It's still not that hard. I don't like pitching active starters, so when I build starters I step the starter until I get enough, then crash-chill it. Decant all but sufficient wort to leave a slight layer of beer on the settled colony; it'll keep for a few days like that without excessive loss of viability. When pitching time comes round, I simply let it warm up, swirl the starter vessel, thinning the slurry with the layer of beer, measure out the amount I need for pitching, and pitch. Works a treat.

Good luck!

Bob