Or a turkey baster
So from the many pages I've read (Not all naturally) It seems a 1 pint mason jar of yeast is generally going to be fine for a starter with a normal gravity range.
My SG will be at 1.048 and I have 2 half pint glasses how do these look?
Why not just use an autosiphon and harvest the top layer that way?
I've thought of that. I still think draining the bottom and leaving only the yeast layer will be the most accurate. We'll see.Or a turkey baster
mtnagel said:I've thought of that. I still think draining the bottom and leaving only the yeast layer will be the most accurate. We'll see.
catdaddy66 said:Rather than look thru this entire thread I was hoping for some clarity on a yeast term...
Would this washed yeast be considered a "slurry"?
Thanks for the info...
Rather than look thru this entire thread I was hoping for some clarity on a yeast term...
Would this washed yeast be considered a "slurry"?
Thanks for the info...
You might also consider checking out the link in my signature called "Yeast Harvesting: A Novel Approach?"
Karkinos said:I wish I would've read your post before washing my yeast for the first time. From now on, I'm following your method.
zeg said:Yes. Also, the traditional correct term for this process is "rinsing," rather than washing. Washing refers to a procedure involving acids that does a more thorough job. I think this is still accurate terminology, though among homebrewers true washing is so rare that the distinction is mostly moot.
You might also consider checking out the link in my signature called "Yeast Harvesting: A Novel Approach?"
I've seen 6-12 months quoted but I know I've seen a few people push it even farther with success.Thanks zag. How long can the rinsed yeast last in the jars?
I've seen 6-12 months quoted but I know I've seen a few people push it even farther with success.
zeg said:From what I've read, I conjecture that the most likely problem would be a change in the character of the yeast rather than an outright failure. That might explain the discrepancy: the lab guys would be concerned with maintaining the specific characteristics of the strain, whereas most homebrewers would be content with minor variations batch-to-batch.
In any case, do be sure to make a starter. Probably pretty close to a must for any rinsed yeast.
ModernDayNord said:Rather than save 5 jars of enough yeast to build a starter, has anyone determined a good way to save enough yeast to pitch directly? Maybe combine the yeast from 2 of the jars?
I've recently used a starter (didn't used to) and was very impressed with the performance! I know the rinsed yeast need time to multiply before being pitched, so I'll need to change my pre brew routine to include making a starter 48 hours ahead of time.
Glad to help. Cheers!
A question about your method Bulosopher. And bear with me, I catch on real fast after a long time. So I may have missed something you already covered in your article.
Let's say I just want to collect multiple jars on a non brew day. I have a canner and have canned a large amount of starter wort that I currently use for my starters. Here's basically how I would imagine this going in my flask, capable of making 2L starters.
1. One vial/smackpack plus starter wort to 2L.
2. Grow as normal 24-48 hrs with O2 (my pre-made starter wort already contains nutrient)
3. Prepare/sanitized 4 1 pint mason jars.
4. Swirl yeast into suspension in my flask and fill each of the 500ml jars
5. Prepare 4 half-pint mason jars with boiling water in micorwave per your instructions.
6. Cold crash yeast over night while sealed jars are allowed to cool to room temp.
7. Decant each pint jar into 1/2 pint jars per your instructions.
If I get it right, I should be able to turn the one vial into 4 half-pints using this method. So I have 2 questions:
1. It looks like your method produces approximately 1/2 inch of slurry per half pint jar. How does this relate to a White Labs vial for the purposes of making a starter? Would this be considered equivalent to a single vial? A little more? A little less?
2. Let's say I harvest yeast from a commercial beer? I have a smaller (750ml or so) flask that I could use for a smaller step before I moved to my 2L flask. How much slurry would you recommend I grow from a bottle of beer before I make the large starter to split?
I ask because a friend was able to bring a couple of Heady Toppers back from a recent trip and we'd like to use your method to harvest some Conan.
Brulosopher said:Okay... let me first address what I've been doing slightly differently lately, it's a simple change. Rather than microwaving the small jars with water and letting them cool, I've been sanitizing them and using already boiled and cooled water that is leftover in my tea kettle. It has been working beautifully, so that's another option. Other than that, you're right on with my process!
Now to answer your questions (you may be disappointed):
1. No one with the skills has taken on the task of counting the cells yet, but according to Kai's stir plate calculator (at YeastCalc.com), there should be about 100 billion cells, which is exactly equivalent to WL and Wyeast.
2. I have no idea, perhaps someone much smarter than me would be willing to answer this question. If it were me, I'd use the dregs from all 4 cans of HT, build it up in a .5L starter, then pitch that slurry into a 2L starter. Or you could just send me a can for all the terribly hard work I put into this article :cross: (I've never had it and you can't find it out here on the West Coast).
Hopefully that helps. Cheers!
winvarin said:For your water change, I was going to make a change myself. I can my starter wort in a pressure canner. I was planning in just doing a batch of canned water the next time I make some starter wort. May be a little over kill but as long as I have the gear out, what's one more run of jars? Then I would have some sealed, sterilized water ready when I rinse the yeast.
vutoq said:I washed my yeast yesterday, refrigerated overnight and decided to brew today and plan on using the yeast I just washed.
From what I read, it is OK to pitch without starter since it was just cultivated yesterday?
Should I use two pint jar worth of yeast since I'm not using a starter?
FYI, the beer I'm brewing is around 5%.
Thanks in advance!
JonGrafto said:Has anyone done this??! Instead of my blow off into starsan, I have sterile water and am technically "top cropping" the yeast. Pretty sure this will be good to go.
JonGrafto said:Has anyone done this??! Instead of my blow off into starsan, I have sterile water and am technically "top cropping" the yeast. Pretty sure this will be good to go.
Isn't this pretty similar to the Burton Unions a lot of British breweries used to use?
That's brilliant!
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