This is my first time washing yeast. Need help identify the layers. Is the bottom layer trub or yeast?
I’m thinking I need to do a wash again...do I keep the middle layer?
I've been doing exactly this for a while, storing the slurry in boiled 4 oz jars. It has been working well so far.IMO, washing yeast is a waste of time and effort. Instead just scoop up the yeast slurry from the fermentor and put it into a sanitised jar in the fridge.
The viability from this is completely fine. You'll get an extra 50ml of trub or whatever, but that doesn't affect anything.
Some people say that the yeast is better protected by having a layer of beer above it vs a layer of water. The alcohol helps keep critters out.
You're best off not washing the yeast at all. Many brewers collect the trub from primary after packing the beer and simply transfer it directly into pint-sized (or similar) mason jars. Store it in the fridge until your next brew day. You can usually just pitch the slurry directly from the fridge, but if its getting beyond 3-4 weeks old, consider making a small starter. You shouldn't get any off-flavors or other side effects using this method.
Ideally the yeast would have been roused in a starter and bubbling away for a day or two before you pitched it into fresh wort. 24 hours lag time isn't a big deal, it should be bubbling furiously within another 12 hours. My very first batch took a full week to start fermenting, it was an AG kit with really old dry yeast but eventually it took off like a rocket and made a pretty good beer. RDWAHAHB.Thanks guys! I combined the jars and washed it one more time. Got a pretty nice layer of yeast in the bottom (about a third of the jar). I decanted top layer and pitched it directly into the fermenter last night (IPA, OG 1.055). No action in the airlock yet (been little less than 24 hours). Should I be concerned? Have another jar of yeast that I could make a small starter with...
I only will consider washing if I want to use recycled yeast from widely differing styles of beer (slurry from a stout for a pale ale).
This is probably good advice for brewers who are interested in repeatability or competitions. There are many of us that never brew the same beer twice. And if my pale ale had a little roastiness (which I've never detected) I'd just consider it a bonus and drink on.I reuse yeast for brewing the exact recipe it came from.
I agree with you. I use my slurry mostly for the same beer. I wash the yeast if I intend to use it for a different style.I humbly disagree. I would not recommend using the slurry from a stout for a pale ale. There is too much residual roast and black malt flavor and color for a pale ale to mask.
The same can be said for using a hoppy slurry to use for a stout. They're not compatible.
There has been article's in BYO that have "recommendations" on the yeasts from varying beer styles to use, naturally, going from plain old beers to hoppier and darker brews.
I use the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method. I reuse yeast for brewing the exact recipe it came from.
This is probably good advice for brewers who are interested in repeatability or competitions. There are many of us that never brew the same beer twice. And if my pale ale had a little roastiness (which I've never detected) I'd just consider it a bonus and drink on.
I brew because it is the only way I can afford the variety that I crave. When I go to a restaurant, I never order the same thing twice and once I have tried their whole menu, I go somewhere else.All us us threw darts at the board to see what we would brew next, but eventually you will settle down to under 7 house brews.
I humbly disagree. I would not recommend using the slurry from a stout for a pale ale. There is too much residual roast and black malt flavor and color for a pale ale to mask.
The same can be said for using a hoppy slurry to use for a stout. They're not compatible.
There has been article's in BYO that have "recommendations" on the yeasts from varying beer styles to use, naturally, going from plain old beers to hoppier and darker brews.
I use the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method. I reuse yeast for brewing the exact recipe it came from.
All us us threw darts at the board to see what we would brew next, but eventually you will settle down to under 7 house brews.
... I would not recommend using the slurry from a stout for a pale ale. There is too much residual roast and black malt flavor and color for a pale ale to mask. The same can be said for using a hoppy slurry to use for a stout. They're not compatible...
When is this supposed to happen?? I have brewed 98 beers since July 1, 2011 I have used dozens of different yeasts. Once washed, a couple of times slurry, quite a few from my frozen yeast bank. But, I have never yet brewed exactly the same brew twice.
Added: And the next one is going to be with a wild yeast (I think) that I have gotten off a Hibiscus flower. After that I have a Mesquite smoked ginger beer to try. Who knows? But I will certainly pass 100 beers with no two the same. Too many ideas to try.
The only time I've truly "washed" yeast was when I wanted to use the yeast strain I'd used in a stout for a pale beer. Call me stubborn, but I was determined to make it work rather than buy new yeast.
I put the slurry in a fridge, and every day for a few day's I'd pour off what had not settled to the bottom and add some fresh sterilized water (I didn't sterilize water every day, I boiled about 1.5 gallons of it at the beginning of the process).
This was all actually very easy to do, and after a few days the darkness of the stout was gone. It only took a few days, maybe 4? In the next beer I could not taste anything from the stout, nor see any color contribution.
Another random question. After transferring the beer from the primary...how long can I wait to collect the yeast/trub? I have two batches that I kegged on Thursday night which I haven’t gotten around to collecting. Buckets are empty, but there is still a nice yeast cake at the bottom of each. They are sitting in my fermentation chamber at 68 degrees. Should I just throw them out?
Another random question. After transferring the beer from the primary...how long can I wait to collect the yeast/trub? I have two batches that I kegged on Thursday night which I haven’t gotten around to collecting. Buckets are empty, but there is still a nice yeast cake at the bottom of each. They are sitting in my fermentation chamber at 68 degrees. Should I just throw them out?
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