Yeast Washing Illustrated

[actionjackson905]

Ok. So I attempted to give this a shot after a bit of reading (this post and others, plus a few videos) using a bit of my own innovation and know how. I ended up with 3L of solution, cold crashed the 3 jars and after pouring off the clear beer so that I had an estimated 50/50 solution/yeast ratio and ended up with about 300 ml after mixing all 3 parts together. I then put the yeast into 3 vials, thinking that I should end up with the same amount of yeast as the store bought versions. Problem I have is I ended up with approx 6 vials worth, even though I only had 3. So I put the remainder in a sanitized growler. Questions I have:

1. Is the amount of yeast I have due to the yeast multiplying, and does this seem to be a normal volume?
2 can I leave the yeast in the bottle with that amount of headspace?

FYI, my plan is to use a starter before using any of this reclaimed yeast.

View attachment 1423237474558.jpg

 

[stever1000]

I did this a bit differently as I was doing 2 batches in one day. I poured the yeast cake directly into 2 1-quart Mason jars and put them in the fridge, and pitched the rest of the yeast cake with my first batch.

That was last week, and it has settled in the fridge, with a large layer of beer on the top, and the rest of the stuff below. I can't really see the yeast, but I assume once it is washed (thereby diluting it from the trub) it will be easier to see and separate?

Is it okay to decant the beer, pour boiled and cooled water into the jars, and let the yeast slurry separate again, then transfer to pint sized jars? Or do I risk contamination by opening the jars and pouring the water in? The jars were pre sterilized before I originally poured in the yeast cake.

I've read the process but I'm still a bit unsure, and I don't want to make any mistakes

 

[mtnagel]

Sure that should work. But if you have a large beer layer over the yeast cake in the jars, after washing, you aren't going to end up with much yeast as you lose a lot by washing.

 

[stever1000]

Sure that should work. But if you have a large beer layer over the yeast cake in the jars, after washing, you aren't going to end up with much yeast as you lose a lot by washing.

Sorry I meant I would decant the beer so I would just be left with the yeast cake sludge in the quart jars, then continue as the directions say but add the water to the quart jars, then into pint jars.

 

[mtnagel]

Right, I understood that. I just meant that if you had a small portion of yeast cake at the bottom, after you go through the washing part, you will only end up with a small portion of yeast. It was just a heads up.

 

[drinkindinkins]

Sorry if has already been answered but does headspace in the jars matter? I only have a couple of those smaller mason jars and a few med sized. If I used the medium sized it would be about half full. Would this be a problem?

 

[stever1000]

Right, I understood that. I just meant that if you had a small portion of yeast cake at the bottom, after you go through the washing part, you will only end up with a small portion of yeast. It was just a heads up.

So you mean instead of having 1 quart of yeast slurry, I have 0.5 quart of yeast slurry and 0.5 quart of beer?
Got it now, thanks

 

[brewfarmDan]

Thanks Bernie. Long thread so I hope you are still there. I have ordered and should have a SS Conical Fermenter with a bottom drain for draining off some yeast. How would you change your method for this?

 

[bd2xu]

Sorry if already covered here, but if in a hurry and don't have time to boil water for washing, anyone worried about using bottled spring water or bottled purified water? I know bottled distilled water should be fine, pretty sure bottled purified water would be safe too, but not sure on bottled spring water...

The vessels would be sanitized in star san

 

[actionjackson905]

Sorry if already covered here, but if in a hurry and don't have time to boil water for washing, anyone worried about using bottled spring water or bottled purified water? I know bottled distilled water should be fine, pretty sure bottled purified water would be safe too, but not sure on bottled spring water...

The vessels would be sanitized in star san

Not sure about the distilled, I would not trust the spring water. I'm pretty sure the boiling process is to sanitize the water as well the vessels used.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Never use bottled water without boiling it.

 

[bd2xu]

Never use bottled water without boiling it.

I think bottled distilled and purified would be ok. Are you basing your comment on experience? I remember now I've topped off batches with spring water, when they came up a little short and high on gravity, and that hasn't been a problem.

 

[actionjackson905]

I think bottled distilled and purified would be ok. Are you basing your comment on experience? I remember now I've topped off batches with spring water, when they came up a little short and high on gravity, and that hasn't been a problem.

I would think using bottled spring water or distilled water for wort top up would be fine, but for yeast washing I'm leaning toward boiled sanitized water. Everything I have read about yeast washing mentions boiling your water and vessels before washing. Just my two cents.

 

[joshesmusica]

random question about this method, going all the way back to the original post:
if i were to just go with two jars instead of four, would I still need a starter? i don't have the equipment or really the desire to mess with starters. i know i could get many more generations out of yeast going with four and doing a starter, but i also don't have the space to be multiplying yeast like that after every brew anyways. i'm pretty satisfied if i can get two extra brew out of one generation of yeast.

 

[actionjackson905]

random question about this method, going all the way back to the original post:
if i were to just go with two jars instead of four, would I still need a starter? i don't have the equipment or really the desire to mess with starters. i know i could get many more generations out of yeast going with four and doing a starter, but i also don't have the space to be multiplying yeast like that after every brew anyways. i'm pretty satisfied if i can get two extra brew out of one generation of yeast.

I think i would stick with the 4L to be sure you get proper separation of trub from yeast. But you don't really need to use a starter once you get the separation, I did just to make sure the yeast was active, sort of put my mind at ease that I wasn't dumping dead yeast into a batch. But doing a starter isn't that difficult. All you really need is a flask, DME, sanitized water, yeast and a few days prior to brewing.

 

[actionjackson905]

Some good info here:

Watch "MAKING A YEAST STARTER" on YouTube
MAKING A YEAST STARTER: http://youtu.be/kEQBPeHfXD0

 

[joshesmusica]

I think i would stick with the 4L to be sure you get proper separation of trub from yeast. But you don't really need to use a starter once you get the separation, I did just to make sure the yeast was active, sort of put my mind at ease that I wasn't dumping dead yeast into a batch. But doing a starter isn't that difficult. All you really need is a flask, DME, sanitized water, yeast and a few days prior to brewing.

well i only end up with about 2L of yeast/trub from my 19L batches. Once I get these separated and decanted, I end up with about 1L or so of good yeast. I separate these into 2 mason jars, instead of 4 mason jars. Which should technically mean that I have twice as much in each jar right?

I also use this method instead of making a starter:
http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/12/no-more-wasteful-yeast-starters.html

so i'm wondering, with all that information combined, am I still going to be ending up with sufficient amount of viable yeast?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Ive washed 3 batches recently using the advice from the OP page 1. The inly thing I do is add a pinch of DAP to the wash. Ive read all the comments throughout this thread, and I guess, if I could share anything, jus dont overcomplicate this. If you want to, jus follow the OPs directions and find ways to make it easy work for you. Ive used washed yeast by this method at least a dozen times. Ive even used 1 year old Kölsch yeast. I always make 1 or 2 L starters. Works great!! And then I rewash it again. Prost!

 

[actionjackson905]

Ive washed 3 batches recently using the advice from the OP page 1. The inly thing I do is add a pinch of DAP to the wash. Ive read all the comments throughout this thread, and I guess, if I could share anything, jus dont overcomplicate this. If you want to, jus follow the OPs directions and find ways to make it easy work for you. Ive used washed yeast by this method at least a dozen times. Ive even used 1 year old Kölsch yeast. I always make 1 or 2 L starters. Works great!! And then I rewash it again. Prost!

Hitting the "Like" button. Well stated.

 

[SeraW]

Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster. Usually I can find answers to just about any question by reading through an existing thread, so I don't post much and do a LOT of reading.

That said, I have a few batches under my belt including one where I washed (a Saison). Currently I'm in the planning stages of a Chocolate Stout (for celebrating my Associate's Degree in June), and I was planning on doing a Cacao (in vodka solution) addition after the kräusen falls.

Any problems with washing the yeast on this particular beer? I'm hoping the cacao nibs will sink in with the trub and will be washed with it. Does anyone know for sure?

I don't currently secondary because I make 2.5 gal batches in a 3 gal Better Bottle, and I haven't been able to find a vessel that would work as a secondary that doesn't have way too much head space. So the cacao will go into primary (a method seen in several recipes) after main fermentation.

Thanks in advance, loved this thread and the illustrations!

 

[amiller]

This is great! Going to do it this weekend when I rack to secondary. One question though, what's the proper way to pitch this yeast into the next batch? Basically how can I make a good starter and ensure I have the proper cell count for the next batch?

 

[mtnagel]

This is great! Going to do it this weekend when I rack to secondary. One question though, what's the proper way to pitch this yeast into the next batch? Basically how can I make a good starter and ensure I have the proper cell count for the next batch?

Didn't you read post 2299?

Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

 

[amiller]

Didn't you read post 2299?



Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

That does make sense, but in addition to that, I am wondering what do I do with the yeast in order to pitch it into my next batch? Just let it warm to room temp mix with water and dump? Or if I need to make a starter, how do I do that?

 

[mtnagel]

If you have enough cells that you need based on the estimation, then you can pitch what you need directly. Yes, let it come up to room temp before pitching.

If you don't have enough cells or you want to wake up your yeast before pitching, there is nothing wrong with making a starting before pitching.

 

[Dlou84]

I went and bought 6 pint mason jars yesterday and and 4 pint jar to do this exactly as described. I am racking today so I was prepping for it yesterday. I boiled everything for twenty minutes and then tried to fish everything out. It didn't go well and all my lids got stuck in the four pint jar! I didn't feel good about the sanitation so I tried again. All went well but afterwards I noticed a lot of dirt at the bottom of each jar (I boiled outside). I am sure this probably isn't a huge deal but why risk a batch if I am worried about the sanitation?

So it didn't go according to plan (sigh). I will probably just use star San on the jars today and boil some more water inside to use. Just thought I'd share the experience. I am really good at getting lids or corks stuck inside things like fermenters!

One question...he says that when u are ready to use the yeast to decant the water and pitch the yeast. What exactly is meant by that? Doesn't seem necessary.

 

[flars]

I went and bought 6 pint mason jars yesterday and and 4 pint jar to do this exactly as described. I am racking today so I was prepping for it yesterday. I boiled everything for twenty minutes and then tried to fish everything out. It didn't go well and all my lids got stuck in the four pint jar! I didn't feel good about the sanitation so I tried again. All went well but afterwards I noticed a lot of dirt at the bottom of each jar (I boiled outside). I am sure this probably isn't a huge deal but why risk a batch if I am worried about the sanitation?

So it didn't go according to plan (sigh). I will probably just use star San on the jars today and boil some more water inside to use. Just thought I'd share the experience. I am really good at getting lids or corks stuck inside things like fermenters!

One question...he says that when u are ready to use the yeast to decant the water and pitch the yeast. What exactly is meant by that? Doesn't seem necessary.

I just use the Starsan solution for sanitizing, and store under beer.

If you have a pint jar with 200 ml of yeast and 200 ml of water, the total volume of the jar, 800 ml, is 50% non-yeast. If you need to pitch 100 ml of yeast for the correct pitch rate, swirl the contents of the jar and pitch 200 ml of the yeast and water solution. 50% of this solution will be non-yeast, water, and 50% will be yeast. What is left in the jar will be water on top of the remainder of the yeast.

 

[DanPoch]

One question...he says that when u are ready to use the yeast to decant the water and pitch the yeast. What exactly is meant by that? Doesn't seem necessary.

To decant the water simply means to pour the water off and leave the yeast slurry behind. This should be done because even though the water was boiled and is 'clean' when you harvested the yeast you want to minimize the amount of unprepared liquid in your beer.

Also when doing this method, it is a good idea to always use a starter. One never can tell what is happening at the microscopic level with the yeast that is harvested and making a starter will at least give you the piece of mind of knowing you have active yeast-beasts willing to work for you.

 

[hoppypoppy]

Can I just boil the water and pour the water into mason jars that were sanitized in StarSan as opposed to the sanitizing them in boiling water?

 

[flars]

Can I just boil the water and pour the water into mason jars that were sanitized in StarSan as opposed to the sanitizing them in boiling water?

The jars I use have been stored with a little Starsan solution in them, after previous yeast storage. I give them a quick hot tap water rinse, resanitize with Starsan solution, and fill with yeast.

 

[stonebrewer]

Can I just boil the water and pour the water into mason jars that were sanitized in StarSan as opposed to the sanitizing them in boiling water?

It depends on what YOU want to do. If you are okay with sanitizing, then you can skip all the boiling. You are boiling to STERILIZE not SANITIZE. The difference being sterilization kills all micro organisms while sanitization kills most of them. It is up to each person to decide the level of risk they want to take with their beer. Some want the least risk approach, some want the least work approach. Many brewers, myself included, have taken the short cut of using Star San to sanitize and not bother with sterilization. I have never had an infected beer in doing it this way, but who is to say I won't? As a new brewer, most of us over sanitize and sterilize anything that comes in contact with yeast. As you get more experience, you tend to realize you don't have to be that paranoid and start to back off some of your early practices. For instance I started out sanitizing my big stainless steel spoon I used to stir wort with, until one day I realized that **** is boiling and this is a waste of time and StarSan...I also used to boil my yeast jars, but like others on here I now just store Star San in them, then rinse and add yeast. YMMV!