If I..Could Save Yeast..In A Bottle.......

[brewit2it]

I love it when my 7 year old gives me an idea and I think, "dang..why didn't I think of that?"

I was racking my Kolschner Urquell to the keg with my auto-siphon and when all the beer was out, the yeast cake looked really clean so I said out loud, "man, I hate to waste this yeast but I don't have a batch to pour on it". And he says "why don't you save it?" I've never actually saved any yeast or washed yeast, but have poured the next batch on a yeast cake with good results. I tell him "I would but I don't have any jars to pour some in". He says "you could use a bottle". Again, I think, hey that's not a bad idea, but not to be outwitted by someone who's favorite show is Spongebob Squarepants, I counter, "it's going to be hard to pour it in, and I would need a small funnel and it will probably clog". And he says "why don't you use your tube thingy".

And I'm thinking I wonder if that will work? So I Star Sans a bottle and the outside of the 3/8 ID tubing that is still connected to the auto-siphon in my carboy and stick the tube in the bottle and start to pump the siphon and sure as **** it pumps the yeast nicely, 3 or 4 pumps and the bottle is full with the star sans foam pushed out the top. So I say, hmmm, I wonder if I should save another and he says, "yeah, do another". At this point I'm thinking "who am I to argue with him?" So I fill a second bottle, star sans a couple bottle caps and cap them up, lable the bottles with yeast type and date and toss them in the drink fridge.

Now as long as they don't explode or someone doesn't crack one open thinking it's a brew, I may have just found my new way to save some yeast after racking to a keg. No pouring, nothing extra to clean or sanitize other than a couple bottles and caps. Pretty sweet.

 

[calebawilson]

That's where I keep alot of my yeast a guy gave me a case of corona bottles and instead of throwing them out I just use them for yeast.

 

[Calder]

Just don't cap the bottles, if you keep them for a while they will explode. Stick an airlock on them, or a loose fitting cap (foil).

 

[calebawilson]

Mine are capped have some there are months old as there in the fridge there's no problem. Yeast sleep when to cold.

 

[arturo7]

If I could save yeast in a bottle,
The first thing that I'd like to do.
Is to save all the yeasts,
From each beer that I brew.
And them watch them,
As my cultures grew.

 

[phenry]

I figure if you store your yeast in the fridge it will be fine, even if capped. That said, I will still always wash my yeast cakes with sanitized water, and take a slant from each batch.

Slanting each lets me exactly draw the line at the batch where the yeast experiences and unfavorable mutation. Or a favorable mutation that can be used in further batches.

Also, don't be knocking on Spongebob. I still watch it, and I'm less than a year away from getting my BS in environmental engineering. I figure it's better than Jersey Shore.

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

You can also use sanitized 2 liter soda bottles. You don't have to worry so much about explosions because the bottles will expand a little.

 

[jd3]

I use square narrow mouth nalgene bottles for my yeast washes. They are wider mouth than a beer bottle, but not mason jars. I've been pleases so far.

 

[MBasile]

Yeah, I've been sticking yeast in 22's for awhile now. Not sure if your 7 year old thinks like a 24 year old, or if I think like a 7 year old...

I use square narrow mouth nalgene bottles for my yeast washes. They are wider mouth than a beer bottle, but not mason jars. I've been pleases so far.

I used to do that, but then my nalgene would alway smell yeasty.

 

[jd3]

These are the clear lexan bottles. I've not smelled anything. They always clean out fine with bleach then air dry.

 

[dshaggy]

Kids are pretty smart sometimes. I save my yeast in regular 12 oz bottles, but put an airlock on each. That way I don't have to worry about bottle bombs, even though it's probably fine to cap them. I also save about 1 liter of wort each time I brew and freeze it. Making starters is easy, I just have to plan ahead a little.