Yeast washing too time consuming, looking for other methods

[troglodytes]

this is what i do https://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/yeast-harvesting-novel-approach.html

This approach has become my standard go to now. I used to waste a lot of time boiling, harvesting, sanitizing, etc. But this method is great for a couple reasons.

First off, I only have to sterilize/sanitize a 35ml vial, and since I always make starters with my liquid yeast anyway, I sure have about 20-50B extra cells to mix with some glycerine and throw in the freezer for later.

The second advantage to this method is what really makes it the best for my practice is the fact that whatever yeast I harvest out of the starter has never munched on anything stronger than 1.035 wort. Its like working with a clean slate every time. So I can make that 9% IIPA and go ahead and reuse the same yeast (from the starter) for a 4.6% APA. You really can't beat it.

 

[jcorn]

This approach has become my standard go to now. I used to waste a lot of time boiling, harvesting, sanitizing, etc. But this method is great for a couple reasons.

First off, I only have to sterilize/sanitize a 35ml vial, and since I always make starters with my liquid yeast anyway, I sure have about 20-50B extra cells to mix with some glycerine and throw in the freezer for later.

The second advantage to this method is what really makes it the best for my practice is the fact that whatever yeast I harvest out of the starter has never munched on anything stronger than 1.035 wort. Its like working with a clean slate every time. So I can make that 9% IIPA and go ahead and reuse the same yeast (from the starter) for a 4.6% APA. You really can't beat it.

On the norm I make 2liter starters to achieve my 220 billion cells. Could I make a 4 liter starter and only pitch half the slurry into my 5.25 gallons and jar the rest? Both slurrys would be 220 in theory?

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[Weezy]

On the norm I make 2liter starters to achieve my 220 billion cells. Could I make a 4 liter starter and only pitch half the slurry into my 5.25 gallons and jar the rest? Both slurrys would be 220 in theory?

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No reason you can't. At 4l, I'd consider making a proper, low gravity, low hop, beer for drinking as well as growing yeast!

 

[jcorn]

No reason you can't. At 4l, I'd consider making a proper, low gravity, low hop, beer for drinking as well as growing yeast!

Haha I like the idea but unfortunately I ran the numbers on homebrewers friend yeast calc and a 4 liter starter doesnt produce all that much more than a 2 liter starter. I would need around 460 billion cells to be able to cut the slurry in half. The 2 liter creates around 230, the 4 liter creates around 280. But, starting with a 2.5 liter starter and stepping up once with a 2.5 liter starter does make the cut and make it able to cut one vial or packet of yeast into two pitchable slurrys up to about 6% abv. Of course viabliliy would be a concern for a slurry that sits for weeks before use in the fridge although we would still be looking at a first generation strain.

 

[Weezy]

You can make a nice 2 gal batch size of beer with one 3lb can of LME

 

[jcorn]

This approach has become my standard go to now. I used to waste a lot of time boiling, harvesting, sanitizing, etc. But this method is great for a couple reasons.

First off, I only have to sterilize/sanitize a 35ml vial, and since I always make starters with my liquid yeast anyway, I sure have about 20-50B extra cells to mix with some glycerine and throw in the freezer for later.

The second advantage to this method is what really makes it the best for my practice is the fact that whatever yeast I harvest out of the starter has never munched on anything stronger than 1.035 wort. Its like working with a clean slate every time. So I can make that 9% IIPA and go ahead and reuse the same yeast (from the starter) for a 4.6% APA. You really can't beat it.

The only problem I see with this method is it seems very easy to underpitch your beer. Sure I could bump up a starter by a .5 liter more like what is given in the details but that is not going to give enough to be able to rob a whole pint of slurry away. Bumping a starter up by a .5 liter only gives maybe 20 billion cells. I would end up underpitching my beer I made my starter for by taking away a pint wouldn't I?

 

[jcorn]

You can make a nice 2 gal batch size of beer with one 3lb can of LME

You have already paid for it, might as well enjoy it

 

[AnOldUR]

Never did understand the obsession with starters on HBT. I'd much rather brew a 3-4 gallon batch of medium gravity beer and harvest the yeast.

The last time my stir plate saw action was when a friend borrowed it a year or so ago. :cross:

 

[troglodytes]

The only problem I see with this method is it seems very easy to underpitch your beer. Sure I could bump up a starter by a .5 liter more like what is given in the details but that is not going to give enough to be able to rob a whole pint of slurry away. Bumping a starter up by a .5 liter only gives maybe 20 billion cells. I would end up underpitching my beer I made my starter for by taking away a pint wouldn't I?

The reason I love this method is because I am harvesting unstressed yeast and I can ensure that I don't over or underpitch. For example, my last brew was at 8.3% (OG of 1.081). I was using WLP002 which was a new strain for me and I one I'd love to use again in the future. I needed ~300B yeast cells to pitch the correct amount so I made a 2.1L starter creating (calculated by yeastcalc) 377B cells. I decanted & pitched 5/6th of the starter and froze the other 1/6th.

Now I know I have anywhere between 20 and 50B cells in a vial, and lets say when I use it, its only 50% viable. At worst case scenario I'd make a 500ml starter then step to 1.5L. Boom, I've got my 300B cells for another 8% brew. If I was going for a beer with OG 1.060 as my next one I would skip the 500ml step and just do a 1.5L starter and I'd have the perfect pitching amount.

EDIT: As I was writing, I realized that not everyone has a stir plate. If you use the intermittent shake method of starter aeration, this method would not be for you as the amount of starters you'd have to make would make it very cost and time ineffective.

 

[julioardz]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but sometimes I harvest yeast during active fermentation. I don't do sealed fermentations. When I used a bucket, I usually placed the lid loosely on top. Now, I ferment only in my brew kettle covered with the lid (This is all to streamline my process). So once fermentation is more than half way done, I open the lid, scoop yeast from the krausen into a large mason jar and top it off with some of the fermenting wort. Everything is sanitized of course. Then I store that in a fridge with the mason jar lid loosely place so that it can continue to release CO2. Once all CO2 is released, I seal it up and save until the next batch.

More often though, I save some of the yeast cake after bottling. I keep it in a 1 gallon glass jug with a bit of the beer it fermented until I'm ready to use for another batch. I then decant the beer, bring the yeast up to fermentation temperatures, slosh it around, and pour a liter or two into the next batch.

I usually begin to see active fermentation within a few hours after pitching the reused yeast with either one of these methods. I've done 5 or 6 generations this way without a single problem.

Edit: I should add, this is for my usual recipes which range in OG from 1.048-1.058. If I'm trying something new or with an OG well above 1.060, I will use fresh yeast, starter, or whatever else to be a little more sure of my cell count.

 

[kombat]

I am assuming that only the top portion of the cake contains yeast though right?

I presume it depends. I use a process which prevents virtually any trub from making it from my kettle into my fermenter, so I consider the trub content negligible, and treat the entire mass as though it were all yeast.

If the cake splits into 4 different jars and you did not use a jar within one week of capture you would need a starter,right?

Some would say so, but in my experience, I've successfully pitched directly from the jars several weeks after capture and had fermentation take off quickly and vigorously, so to be honest, I don't bother unless it's been more than a month.

 

[julioardz]

Some would say so, but in my experience, I've successfully pitched directly from the jars several weeks after capture and had fermentation take off quickly and vigorously, so to be honest, I don't bother unless it's been more than a month.

Looking at my brew notes, I regularly reuse my saved yeast cake 4-6 weeks later without a starter. I've done a few here and there that were up to 8 and 10 weeks later. I don't remember having any problems with those either.

 

[iowabrew]

I almost always just top crop yeast. Obviously certain strains are better suited for this, but US05 seems to top crop nicely as does any british strain obviously.

 

[jcorn]

The reason I love this method is because I am harvesting unstressed yeast and I can ensure that I don't over or underpitch. For example, my last brew was at 8.3% (OG of 1.081). I was using WLP002 which was a new strain for me and I one I'd love to use again in the future. I needed ~300B yeast cells to pitch the correct amount so I made a 2.1L starter creating (calculated by yeastcalc) 377B cells. I decanted & pitched 5/6th of the starter and froze the other 1/6th.

Now I know I have anywhere between 20 and 50B cells in a vial, and lets say when I use it, its only 50% viable. At worst case scenario I'd make a 500ml starter then step to 1.5L. Boom, I've got my 300B cells for another 8% brew. If I was going for a beer with OG 1.060 as my next one I would skip the 500ml step and just do a 1.5L starter and I'd have the perfect pitching amount.

EDIT: As I was writing, I realized that not everyone has a stir plate. If you use the intermittent shake method of starter aeration, this method would not be for you as the amount of starters you'd have to make would make it very cost and time ineffective.

I absolutely love this method but not having a stir plate kills me for it. Is it possible to make a stir plate large enough to turn a 1 gallon flat bottom growler?

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