Yeast washing layers

[BarryBrews]

^I do the same, only I drain the kettle without aeration into a holding vessel and let it settle in a temp-controlled fridge set for pitching temp. Anywhere from 2 hours to overnight later, I'll siphon off the trub into the fermenter, aerating only at that point.

I leave the wort in the kettle because it's already sanitized. I do lower the post boil/whirlpool wort temperature as low as possible, usually < 60F, for maximum cold break to occur. The next day the clear wort is gravity fed through the RIMS for reheating and enters the fermenter at pitching temperature. Crystal clear wort at temperatures up to 98F for kveik NEIPA's. It's also nice leaving the wort sitting on all those whirlpool hops overnight. I prefer to oxygenate the wort after it's in the fermenter too, I feel there's much better control and I use the opportunity to mix the yeast in at the same time.

 

[z-bob]

I washed two of the jars of yeast in my fridge. They were the same strain, one jar used in beer and one in cider, both recently, so I dumped them together into a half gallon jar and filled it with water. I let it sit out for 20 minutes or so and poured off a jar of the clean yeast still suspended in the water. I tried to pour a second jar but started getting crud from the bottom way too quickly while there was still a lot of yeast left. So I poured the second jar back and mixed it up again and let it rest for a half hour. (and I should have added a little more water because it was pretty thick) When it separated, instead of trying to pour off the top layer I used a big turkey baster to suck out most of the bottom gunky layer (which also was starting to get a thin line of clean yeast on top) When there was just a little of that left, I poured everything into the smaller jar.

I still have 2 jars in my fridge, the same size as before. But in a day or two when all the clean yeast is settled out (it has already started settling) I can pour off most of the water, and transfer the yeast to several tiny jars.

Next time I will use the turkey baster without trying to pour off anything first.

I really didn't need to keep this yeast; it is K-97 and I have a jar full that I harvested off the top of the primary. But this was good practice, and it didn't matter if I screwed it up