Harvesting yeast from Corny Keg Fermentors

[Cuzco_Brew]

Hi,

I am fermenting in a pair of Corny Kegs, no shortened dip tubes or any alterations made to them. Does anyone have any tips on collecting yeast from corny keg fermentors for re pitching.

I racked the beer from these into a serving keg the other day. And the first bit ran cloudy for only a few seconds, which surprised me as I was expecting a lot more yeast and crap to come out before the beer ran clear. When I opened up the fermentor it looked like most of the yeast cake was still in the bottom. Should I be collecting the first run off before the beer ran clear? This didn't seem like enough. Or should I be collecting from what was left in the bottom after I had racked?

I am due to keg another batch this week, and would like to collect the yeast for re pitching. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Zac

 

[misterpaperknife]

Sorry to resurrect a long forgotten post. I have been searching for a solution for this same problem.

I've tried a couple different methods but I have not been completely satisfied with any of them. There are too many benefits of fermenting in Corny Kegs to give up, but harvesting yeast has been tricky.

I have tried the method Cuzco Brew describes, however I have very surprised by how much of the yeast cake remains after transferring the clear beer.

I have tried pouring the yeast from the lid opening into a funnel. The result was yeast slurry pouring everywhere but in the funnel.

I have tried racking the entire beer, then adding boiled water to the cake to thin it, then transfer it with CO2. This may have worked the best, but I would like to find a easier process with fewer steps.

Other ideas I have but havn't tried yet:
1) After racking the beer, pour the yeast cake out through the Gas In post.

2) Gently swirl the keg before racking the beer - the idea being that the yeast cake blend with more beer at the bottom of the keg. When it starts to run clear, stop the flow, gently swirl again to collect the remaining yeast. I think the flaw to this is when I go to transfer the beer to the serving keg, it will be too yeasty.

Maybe I'm over thinking the whole process. Thanks!

 

[NZhomebrew]

To carry on the tradition of posting on this thread once every 4 years, has anyone come up with a solution for this? I am also trying to find the best way to harvest yeast from my corny fermentor..

 

[MSK_Chess]

A solution? while not addressing the problem directly have you guys ever thought of making a larger starter than you need and store a portion of the starter for the next batch. If you need 800ml of a starter, make the starter 1200ml (120g DME) and decant off 400ml into a sealed and sanitized container, store it in the fridge and use this to make your next starter. It has always worked really well.

 

[TexasWine]

To carry on the tradition of posting on this thread once every 4 years, has anyone come up with a solution for this? I am also trying to find the best way to harvest yeast from my corny fermentor..

Thinking out loud here. Shorten your gas dip tube so that it's flush with the inside of the keg. After transferring, leave just enough beer in the keg so that you can shake it and get the yeast into suspension. Attach a hose and picnic tap to a gas QD and put it on the gas out post. Flip the keg upside down and tilt it a little towards the gas post. Press the picnic tap, and voila, the yeast should come out.

If you didn't do a pressurized/closed transfer of the beer you will need to connect CO2 to the liquid post. But I'm assuming if you're fermenting in cornies, you've gotta be doing closed transfers as that's one of the biggest​ benefits.

Edit: or just overbuild your starter by a liter or so and you don't need to worry about all this yeast collection stuff.

 

[popsicleian]

A solution? while not addressing the problem directly have you guys ever thought of making a larger starter than you need and store a portion of the starter for the next batch. If you need 800ml of a starter, make the starter 1200ml (120g DME) and decant off 400ml into a sealed and sanitized container, store it in the fridge and use this to make your next starter. It has always worked really well.

Yep. I tried several different messy and marginally successful methods of harvesting before giving up and just making bigger starters. It requires a little more advanced planning, but it's much easier than any possible method of harvesting directly from my keg fermenters.

 

[MSK_Chess]

Yep. I tried several different messy and marginally successful methods of harvesting before giving up and just making bigger starters. It requires a little more advanced planning, but it's much easier than any possible method of harvesting directly from my keg fermenters.

I like it because you are always using practically virgin yeast. I was really wondering about lager yeast, How long can we store lager yeast? it must be pretty long of Oktoberfest yeast is stored all summer.