3 inches of slurry is a ton of yeast. That is way over pitching, hopefully it turns out ok.
Yeast Washing Illustrated
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3 inches of slurry is a ton of yeast. That is way over pitching, hopefully it turns out ok.
At least it was in a pint jar. 3" in a pint jar is probably 250ml compared to 500ml in a quart jar (just measured).
tre9er said:
I did exactly this last week. Less than 1 hour in warm water with yeast only 8 days old and it took off in 9 hours.
And, just because you don't see vigorous activity doesn't mean it's not working.
Pic of the WLP 566 Belgian Saison II I washed Friday. Its a lot of yeast IMO (pint jars). I'll have to check out the calculator someone mentioned above to figure how much to pitch into my next saison. I may do the ginger (OG 1.060) or the rye (OG 1.056) out of the May/June BYO.
Yep that is a lot of yeast. I usually split mine into 3 jars. Each one of those in starter could probably do a 10 gallon batch
Each one of those in starter could probably do a 10 gallon batch
Ha ha, yeah I'm not equipped for that kind of volume!
I've switched to using empty White Lab vials to approximate the cell counts when making a starter, I eyeball the volume in my stored vials against what shipped in the original vial when I bought it.
With this batch of washed yeast I add 2 of my vials to a 2 liter starter and that's typically good for 5-6% alcohol beer.
With this batch of washed yeast I add 2 of my vials to a 2 liter starter and that's typically good for 5-6% alcohol beer.
Viability decreases over time, but I know of brewers who've used 6mo. old yeast. I'd consider viability to be very low at that point, maybe 5-10%. Probably worth making a starter by then.
I've used 9 month old washed yeast but did take the time to do a starter that was stepped up to the appropriate size. At that point I might have been better off just buying a new pack but it was Pacman and I couldn't get my hands on anything fresh.
TangoHotel
Well-Known Member
Very helpful. I'm making my way through the thread. I was able to harvest some wheat yeast and Wlp001 earlier this month. Glad to see I can start saving some money in this hobby. It becomes expensive!
TangoHotel said:
Once you start washing yeast and bulk buying hops/grains you really start to see how much money you can save. It's nice spending $20 for ~5 gal of IPA.
TangoHotel
Well-Known Member
I have a crop of hops growing in the yard too. Hopefully I can get a good harvest out of them and cut the costs of buying some hops out. Bulk buys are definitely on the list of things to consider. :-D
TangoHotel said:
Growing them has been fun but I can't say I get enough to even put a dent in the amount I need for a year lol. Cool though to do a SMaSH and know those are your hops your tasting.
TangoHotel
Well-Known Member
I only brew about 50 gallons in a year. :-/ maybe I should ramp it up a little! This year I'm up to 25...
A SMaSH would be cool to see how their flavor turns out. Looks like I have some projects ahead of me!
I have Danstar Munich and Wlp001 to play with. Ohhh, What to brew what to brew...
I'm in the process of saving some yeast from a WY1214 cake, hopefully I haven't messed up.
On bottling day I boiled a pint of water before I started racking my beer for bottling. Boiled for 15 min then let it cool on a cold basement floor while I was racking and getting the rest of my bottling equipment around. Once I finished racking I made sure the boiled water was cool and it was.
I poured the water into the fermenter, swirled around and poured into (2) 1 quart jars. I ended up knocking over one of those jars. I let that rest while I bottled about 45 min to an hour after bottling and cleaning up. Ended up going out to dinner so the jar sat for a few more hours. Now it's been sitting for 2 days, had to get some other stuff done and forgot about this little guy
At this point about 1/3 of the jar is dark liquid, very much like the Dubbel that I made, and about 2/3 of what looks like trub, no real "white/beige" layer. Should I just dump it at this point or can I still give it a shake to attempt to get the "heavier" trub to settle to the bottom then decant into smaller mason jars?
On bottling day I boiled a pint of water before I started racking my beer for bottling. Boiled for 15 min then let it cool on a cold basement floor while I was racking and getting the rest of my bottling equipment around. Once I finished racking I made sure the boiled water was cool and it was.
I poured the water into the fermenter, swirled around and poured into (2) 1 quart jars. I ended up knocking over one of those jars. I let that rest while I bottled about 45 min to an hour after bottling and cleaning up. Ended up going out to dinner so the jar sat for a few more hours. Now it's been sitting for 2 days, had to get some other stuff done and forgot about this little guy
At this point about 1/3 of the jar is dark liquid, very much like the Dubbel that I made, and about 2/3 of what looks like trub, no real "white/beige" layer. Should I just dump it at this point or can I still give it a shake to attempt to get the "heavier" trub to settle to the bottom then decant into smaller mason jars?
I would think you'd be able to save it. But I would swirl it again to get everything in suspension and then wait the ~20 mins for some of it to settle and then decant the top layer and you should have some of the yeast in there. You can keep doing that swirl, settle, decant until you get as much as you need or you get bored. When you want to reuse it, I'd definitely make a starter to make sure your yeast is good.
I just washed some yeast from a porter I made on National Home Brew day. Our local brewery, Rivertown, gave us the yeast so if I like it, I may use it again. For some reason this stuff didn't want to settle very well, so I just let it sit in my erlenmeyer flask and every 30-40 mins, I'd pipet off the clearer layer at the top into my pint mason jar. I'd then swirl my flask and add more of the trub/water mix if I need to more to almost fill up the erlenmeyer. After several hours I had filled the pint jar and now I have a nice layer of yeast in the jar. I think that's what I'll do from now on to get less trub in there - pull from the top instead of trying to decant.
I just washed some yeast from a porter I made on National Home Brew day. Our local brewery, Rivertown, gave us the yeast so if I like it, I may use it again. For some reason this stuff didn't want to settle very well, so I just let it sit in my erlenmeyer flask and every 30-40 mins, I'd pipet off the clearer layer at the top into my pint mason jar. I'd then swirl my flask and add more of the trub/water mix if I need to more to almost fill up the erlenmeyer. After several hours I had filled the pint jar and now I have a nice layer of yeast in the jar. I think that's what I'll do from now on to get less trub in there - pull from the top instead of trying to decant.
Big_Belgian
Well-Known Member
Apologies if this has been asked / answered in this long thread, but I wonder why all the yeast washing articles, videos, etc. always use boiling in hot water as the preferred method of sanitizing. Is there any reason I can't use my Erlenmeyer flask and a few plastic jars (these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N48SCU/ref=biss_dp_t_asn), sanitized in star san?
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My understanding is boiling is sterilizing and star san is sanitizing. I heard on the Basic Brewing Podcast that you should be sterilizing when dealing with yeast. They talked about autoclaves and such. With that said, I don't boil my flasks that I use to rinse yeast because they are big and I feel like it's a waste of water and energy to boil them.
I do boil the small mason jars I put the yeast in and do use the boiled/cooled water when rinsing as it is supposedly de-oxygenated. My gut, my science background and some googling make me dubious that we are truly removing any/all the oxygen and even if we are, I bet that some/most/all the oxygen will get absorbed back into the water while it's cooling anyway.
I also star san the jars before putting the rinsed yeast in. I haven't had a bad rinse yet, but I've only done it a few times so far. Hope that helps.
I do boil the small mason jars I put the yeast in and do use the boiled/cooled water when rinsing as it is supposedly de-oxygenated. My gut, my science background and some googling make me dubious that we are truly removing any/all the oxygen and even if we are, I bet that some/most/all the oxygen will get absorbed back into the water while it's cooling anyway.
I also star san the jars before putting the rinsed yeast in. I haven't had a bad rinse yet, but I've only done it a few times so far. Hope that helps.
bumstigedy
Member
Whenever you can sanitize by boiling, you should since it is more effective than chemicals. The bad stuff can't hide from the heat. You could sanitize with star San and would probably be just fine. Another consideration is that you have to boil the water anyway to add to the yeast so might as well sanitize the jars at he same time.
I have a pressure canner that I use to make canned starter wort, so I usually kill 2 birds with 1 stone. When I make a batch of canned wort, I also can a few jars of just distiller water.
On harvest day, I pop the lids on the canned water and put them in a star San bath. The sterile water is used to rinse the yeast. Then I wipe the mouth of the canning jar with rubbing alcohol and flame it.
Rinsed yeast goes back in the jar and the star San sanitized lids go back in place.
I have never washed yeast from a batch to reuse. But I do grow yeasts from a vial and rinse/store multiple jars if I know I am going to brew several beers with the same yeast.
Though I don't see anything that would prevent you from using canned water as a sterile water source when rinsing yeast from the carboy.
On harvest day, I pop the lids on the canned water and put them in a star San bath. The sterile water is used to rinse the yeast. Then I wipe the mouth of the canning jar with rubbing alcohol and flame it.
Rinsed yeast goes back in the jar and the star San sanitized lids go back in place.
I have never washed yeast from a batch to reuse. But I do grow yeasts from a vial and rinse/store multiple jars if I know I am going to brew several beers with the same yeast.
Though I don't see anything that would prevent you from using canned water as a sterile water source when rinsing yeast from the carboy.
bumstigedy
Member
Boiling at atmospheric pressure doesn't achieve high enough temperature to sterilize. You have I use the pressure cooker o get to that temperature.
I agree that sterilizing would be better for longer term storage. The other thing to consider though is that the longer the yeast is stored the lower the viability,
I agree that sterilizing would be better for longer term storage. The other thing to consider though is that the longer the yeast is stored the lower the viability,
Thanks for the info. Guess I need to add a pressure cooker to my xmas wish list (man this hobby is expensive ).
).HollisBT
Well-Known Member
bumstigedy said:
Boiling will do the job for what we are trying to accomplish.
HollisBT
Well-Known Member
mtnagel said:Thanks for the info. Guess I need to add a pressure cooker to my xmas wish list (man this hobby is expensive
No you don't, see above. You never hear about anyone using a pressure cooker to boil their 5 gallon batch of beer, do you?
I agree. I only have the canner because my wife mentioned that she wanted to start canning vegetables. Seeing an opportunity for a SWMBO approved purchase that would also have a use in my brewery, I pulled the trigger before she could give it any further thought
jeepinjeepin
Well-Known Member
HollisBT said:
That's the difference between sanitize and sterilize. Sanitary is fine for a batch of beer that hopefully won't last long and will have acidity and alcohol to help protect it. Sterile is better when dealing with yeast, especially when storing small amounts for extended periods of time.
TangoHotel
Well-Known Member
Win! I wish mine would pick up canning too!
Thanks again for this thread. Using my first ever washed yeast (WLP004 Irish Ale) for Jamil's Irish Red. Its bubbling away joyfully in primary. Took about 24 hrs to come to life in starter, but when it did it produced a lovely thick white krausen. Saved $6.75! Pretty cool to be able to do this. As someone else said, it also adds yet another dimension to this hobby which I am enjoying so much.
Pretty cool to be able to do this. As someone else said, it also adds yet another dimension to this hobby which I am enjoying so much.TangoHotel
Well-Known Member
Thanks again for this thread. Using my first ever washed yeast (WLP004 Irish Ale) for Jamil's Irish Red. Its bubbling away joyfully in primary. Took about 24 hrs to come to life in starter, but when it did it produced a lovely thick white krausen. Saved $6.75!
That's awesome! This is a great hobby. You can get lost in all the different aspects of it. Brew on!
Peruvian802
Well-Known Member
I just washed Nottingham yeast from my last blonde. It made 4 pints. I made my first starter as well and pitched it today. It blew off the airlock and I scrambled to the hardware store for some 1 1/4" OD tubing! Looks like it works. I like saving money.
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I tried to wash yeast once a while back, but it didn't come out very good. I'd like to start again. My problem was, there was too much hops and sh it. To do it right, do you need to rack to a secondary, because I don't?
el_caro
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No need to rack to secondary.
Any problem just dumping some trub right into a starter? I did this today and tasted some trub, noticed some hop bitterness but didn't bother washing. Guess I can't see why hops being in the trub would affect anything
Djuhnk said:
A little wont hurt but the idea of washing your yeast is to separate your yeast from the trub.
catdaddy66
Well-Known Member
Quick question... Does US-05 flocculate high? I ask because I bottled my last batch (American honey ale) and quarter sized clumps of white material I assume is yeast. I thought 05 was moderate flocculation.
Months on end, though viability goes down after the first few weeks.
I think the key is no matter how long you choose to store them... Before using them make a big fat starter with the slurry. That way you know your good to go.
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