Yeast Washing Illustrated

[tamoore]

Here's the result of my first yeast washing.. it went pretty well.

I'm planning on brewing this weekend, and I'll need to make a yeast starter. Using the Mr. Malty calculator, I have to make a 1.47L starter for 1 smack pack....

How do I convert one of these jars to 'smack packs' to avoid over pitching?

Thanks!

 

[jalgayer]

good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?

 

[Beavdowg]

For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.

 

[scottlindner]

For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.

Hehe.. my first attempt (I was quick about it and didn't care if it was a success) was just the opposite of yours. I got just as much, if not more, but you can see color layers... so the washing didn't work so well.

I figure that a little trub isn't going to hurt me if I pitch reasonably soon. If not, I'll just dump it all or see if my dog wants to eat it.

Scott

 

[Grizzlybrew]

How do I convert one of these jars to 'smack packs' to avoid over pitching?

Thanks![/quote]

[quote="jalgayer, post: 2016880"]good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?[/quote]

I've got the same question!

[quote="Beavdowg, post: 2017688"]For some reason I'm not getting near as much yeast as you in the bottom of my jars as you guys are. I'm getting maybe a 5-10mm high pile of yeast in the bottom. I wonder if I'm being TOO careful in not including any trub when I pour it out and not capturing all the yeast.[/quote]

How long are you letting it rest for each stage before decanting? You may have too much settling out.

 

[400d]

good question. how do I know (or approximate) just how much yeast there is in one of the washed yeast mason jars? Is there a volume formula of some sort?

This is the same question that I have!

I also wanted to ask is it safe to keep washed yeast in plastic tight sealed jars?

 

[Grizzlybrew]

I also wanted to ask is it safe to keep washed yeast in plastic tight sealed jars?

I would make sure the plastic provides an oxygen barrier (to help keep the yeast dormant). Otherwise, I would use glass containers.

 

[Grizzlybrew]

Well, it seemed at least a few of us recently had this question and I'm sure plenty more had, have or will have the question: how many cells are in the harvest?

If the post in this link is reliable (which I think it is for the most part), then the following is true:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/why-not-pitch-your-yeast-cake-166221/

You can expect around 1 billion active cells in a ml of harvested slurry, depending on how much trub and break material makes it into the fermenter. My counts ranged from 0.5 billion to 2 billion, depending on style brewed and brewery practice. 1 billion is a solid average across a dozen different breweries, professional and amateur.

Thus, 228 ml of freshly-harvested slurry is the correct pitch for 5 gallons of 1.048 wort. Conveniently, that's only a few ml less than that found in one cup (8 fluid ounces).

So, it would appear that each 8 oz. (or half-pint) jar of harvested yeast contains approximately enough yeast for a 5-gallon batch or 1.048 beer. If you couple that with the fact that viability decreases with stored slurry, then one 8 oz jar of slurry pitched into a small starter should be appropriate for your (my) average 1.054 beer.

Read the post - there's a lot of good info in there. And... Denny was the first off the bat to comment on it!

 

[BBKing]

Awesome!

Before seeing this the whole "yeast farming" thing seemed a mystery to me.

The PacMan will live on!!!

 

[Grizzlybrew]

The PacMan will live on!!!

This was my thought exactly. I'm not going to wait another three years...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-pickles-174556/

 

[Robsbrew]

So let me get this strait. Im a noob too. I have an American ale I brewed on tue in my primary now. Im racking into a secondary on tue. Can I just go ahead and brew another batch and pour directly onto the cakes substance on the bottom (Im assuming that is the yeast and hops)? If I did happen to do this, would I even need to pitch more yeast? Or should I wash the yest like at the begining of the thread and make a starter and pitch from there?

 

[Grizzlybrew]

So let me get this strait. Im a noob too. I have an American ale I brewed on tue in my primary now. Im racking into a secondary on tue. Can I just go ahead and brew another batch and pour directly onto the cakes substance on the bottom (Im assuming that is the yeast and hops)? If I did happen to do this, would I even need to pitch more yeast? Or should I wash the yest like at the begining of the thread and make a starter and pitch from there?

There is another post on here explaining why you should never just repitch onto a cake. That being said, it's been done forever and probably will continue to be done forever I'm sure. The basic premise is that you are over-pitching the quantity of yeast that you need. Over pitching can do funny things to the way yeast acts just as under pitching-can.

So, if you are going to simply dump on top of a used yeast cake, realize that any grain, hop and protein matter from the previous batch(es) will still be in there contributing some flavors - think vegetal after a while. I wouldn't reuse a cake this way more than once or twice (and most people will say to brew stronger, darker, more flavorful, etc beers sunsequently if using this method).

The yeast washing (or rinsing, more appropriately) method illustrated in this post is super simple and so effective. Give it a shot and you won't be disappointed. Each 1/2 pint jar is almost perfect (yeast count) for your average beer although you should probably do a small starter to account for yeasties that go dormant permanently.

Hope that helps.

 

[jalgayer]

When you say each 1/2 pint jar... are you implying that the 1/2 pint is ALL yeast? Ot yeast at bottom with beer on top? Because I havent seen anyone harvest and get a full 1/2 pint of yeast. Thanks for clearing me up.

 

[DanPoch]

When you say each 1/2 pint jar... are you implying that the 1/2 pint is ALL yeast? Ot yeast at bottom with beer on top? Because I havent seen anyone harvest and get a full 1/2 pint of yeast. Thanks for clearing me up.

Yeast at the bottom of the jar, and liquid on top.

Ideally with washed yeast it would be clear boiled and cooled water on top.

 

[brew hoperator]

I have fairly hard water and after I boil the mason jars, lids, and tongs I noticed that there is some small granular white material. The material is not not there before I boil and I thoroughly wash and rinse everything before I boil.

Does anyone know what this is? And is it still okay to use for washing?

 

[Phunhog]

I believe that it is calcium that has precipitated out. I get the same thing when I wash my yeast. I don't think it will hurt anything.

 

[cravej]

My first attempt. I filled (8) 8oz. jars and got very different results between all of the jars. Should I just dump the ones that are mostly trub?

 

[oldschool]

If you use washed yeast, how would you ever know how large of a starter to make if you don't know how much yeast you start with? This seems like a cheap way but inconsistant.

 

[Palefire]

My first attempt. I filled (8) 8oz. jars and got very different results between all of the jars. Should I just dump the ones that are mostly trub?

I wouldn't - you can wash those jars again. Wait for things to settle, pour out the liquid on top, add more boiled (and cooled) water, shake and decant. You might want to combine the yeast from the jars that have the trub in them - together they'd give you one nice jar of yeast.

 

[BigB]

I just used some yeast I washed back in early January...It was my first attempt. I had a good starter and a fantastic fermentation going this morning.

 

[cravej]

I wouldn't - you can wash those jars again. Wait for things to settle, pour out the liquid on top, add more boiled (and cooled) water, shake and decant. You might want to combine the yeast from the jars that have the trub in them - together they'd give you one nice jar of yeast.

Thank you!

 

[bizzle]

So I washed my yeast for the first time last night, all went will except I dropped the jar on the carpet! Didn't break but I'm pretty sure that I oxygenated the water pretty good (it wasn't full all the way) is this going to be an issue with the yeast?

Thanks in advance, great thread!

 

[Ki-ri-n]

Couple of questions. I read most of the posts but may have missed this if it has been covered before.......

1. Is there any reason why you couldn't Star-San the jars/lids instead of boiling them? When I boil all of mine together, they get a scale of film on the jars (calcium?). Could I just fill them with boiled water after SS?

2. When you put the lids on the first time, they actually form a vacuum on the jars. Do you need that?! After you open them up to decant and use the jars again, you don't have a vacuum on the lids any more. Is that OK or not??

 

[vincemash]

If this is what your containers look like, would you still need a starter? or could you just pour off the liquid and drop a few blobs into your fermenter.....seems to me this is more than enough yeast for a 10 gallon batch

 

[HalfPint]

If this is what your containers look like, would you still need a starter? or could you just pour off the liquid and drop a few blobs into your fermenter.....seems to me this is more than enough yeast for a 10 gallon batch

Technically, you could do that, but it's not the best way. You see, the yeasts are in hibernation mode when you've been storing them like this. You must wake them up before pitching. I ALWAYS use a starter.

 

[scottlindner]

Technically, you could do that, but it's not the best way. You see, the yeasts are in hibernation mode when you've been storing them like this. You must wake them up before pitching. I ALWAYS use a starter.

This largely depends on your objectives. If you just want to save money and you always pitch a vial straight into the fermenter, a starter isn't necessary. If you use a starter for the other reasons, like your post suggest, than a starter is still necessary even though you don't need it for population purposes.

Scott

 

[Hopheader]

I just tossed both (a little over-excited, oops) of my half-full 250ml jars into a brew last night and 14 hours later is foaming out the top of the bucket, chuckle..... More than enough yeast there for sho'.

Jfriah.

 

[Shane23]

I just wash English ale yeast from a pale ale and I couldn't get it to mix well. The yeast stayed clumpy and after putting it into the jars it almost looks like water with minimum trup. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a way to test one of the jars to see if I do infact have some yeast in it?

 

[DanPoch]

I just wash English ale yeast from a pale ale and I couldn't get it to mix well. The yeast stayed clumpy and after putting it into the jars it almost looks like water with minimum trup. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a way to test one of the jars to see if I do infact have some yeast in it?

I didn't have the clumping problem but my last lager I could only rescue a little yeast, so I made 1L starter with what little I had and saved the yeast from the starter.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bentpirate]

I am wondering the same question about rinsing the jars with star-san vs. boiling. I also have hard water etc... I have a few jars that I tried this idea with in the fride currently. I was thinking of making a starter and check the results before pitching... Has anyone else tried this? Would I be able to recognize off smells from the starter?