motleybrew
Well-Known Member
I searched around and couldn't find threads dealing with my question, so here goes:
My last batch (an APA) was done with a starter of Nottingham washed from a previous batch. After I bottled, I washed out the yeast but did it much more methodically than in the past. The result - a whole lot more yeast saved than I planned for. The bottle in the pic below is one of two of the same size that I saved. As you can see, there is a rather large amount of yeast...not a bad thing!
My question is this: My equipment limits me to ~5 gallon batches. I don't brew too many large beers (the largest was a weizen bock at 7.25%). So, typically the amount of yeast I need isn't great. I've gotten into the habit of just making a 1L starter and throwing that in at peak fermentation. But, I want to make sure that I am not A) wasting yeast, and B) overpitching.
So, using MrMalty's yeast calc, the slurry feature would still be what I use even though from what I can see, I have one solid layer of yeast? Further, can I take a few grams of yeast from that bottle and save the rest (as long as I keep my instruments sterile)? I'm trying to dial in my practices for proper yeast pitching rates and such.
My last batch (an APA) was done with a starter of Nottingham washed from a previous batch. After I bottled, I washed out the yeast but did it much more methodically than in the past. The result - a whole lot more yeast saved than I planned for. The bottle in the pic below is one of two of the same size that I saved. As you can see, there is a rather large amount of yeast...not a bad thing!
My question is this: My equipment limits me to ~5 gallon batches. I don't brew too many large beers (the largest was a weizen bock at 7.25%). So, typically the amount of yeast I need isn't great. I've gotten into the habit of just making a 1L starter and throwing that in at peak fermentation. But, I want to make sure that I am not A) wasting yeast, and B) overpitching.
So, using MrMalty's yeast calc, the slurry feature would still be what I use even though from what I can see, I have one solid layer of yeast? Further, can I take a few grams of yeast from that bottle and save the rest (as long as I keep my instruments sterile)? I'm trying to dial in my practices for proper yeast pitching rates and such.
