Leftovers from yesterdays brew session

[JoppaFarms]

Brewed my first AG batch yesterday and due to ordering constraints I am left with 1.4lbs of Castle Pils and 0.5oz of Sorachi Ace. Using BrewersFriend it looks like I could make a 1G SMASH of sorts....only problem is I'm missing yeast. I don't want to waste these ingredients and the hops are opened and will eventually go bad. Can I brew this stuff and seal it up some-how that it would be good to go in a week or so when I can get more yeast?

I thought about repitching the saison yeast from the batch that I brewed yesterday once it's finished, but I don't know if I can wait that long before it would go bad.

Any suggestions?

*EDIT* I have 1G glass jugs, but no airtight seals on them. Foil/rubber band? Would that work? I have stoppers but they're all drilled for airlocks.

 

[DocScott]

I'd throw your ingredients into the freezer and wait to get your yeast. If you have a vacuum sealer use that, but if not, put em in zipper bag and try to get as much air out. Should be fine for a week or two while you get more yeast.

Brewing then trying to seal your wort I think is riskier for picking up infection. You could also mash it today, wait for yeast and then do your boil once you get it.

You have options. If you need to order yeast, why not order a few more ingredients and make another full batch?!

 

[JoppaFarms]

All good suggestions, I may mash it and wait, but as I said the hops are already open and I really have no good way of "resealing" them other than a ziplock and a fridge/freezer. You make a good point about getting more ingredients when I order yeast anyway. I may be able to go by my LBHS (AHS) next weekend when I'm there which would save me on some shipping since I have to make the trip to Austin anyway. I should have just ordered an extra dry yeast to have on hand anyway. I gotta remember to do that next time!

 

[Phalanx]

Why not take some of the Kräusen of the batch you brewed yesterday (and should be in vigorous fermentation by now) and use it for your mini SMaSH?

 

[JoppaFarms]

OH, another fantastic idea. I'm not sure if it's kicked off totally yet, I didn't make a starter but the temp did free rise from 65 to 68 over night in my chamber. Are there threads on how to do harvest from the krausen without ruining both batches? I'd be really pissed if my first all-grain batch got messed up because I was trying to be greedy with my 1G leftovers batch, especially after everything went so darn well for a first run.

 

[ktblunden]

Open hops in a ziplock into the freezer will keep just fine. I would just wait until you have a chance to get yeast. In a week or two you will notice no degradation.

 

[JoppaFarms]

I went ahead and brewed a 1G SMaSH with my leftovers yesterday (Sunday) with the intention of top cropping from the Saison I brewed on Saturday. This is currently what the Saison in the ferm chamber looks like. Should I wait another day for more kraussen before I try and top crop or should I go ahead?

 

[tre9er]

OH, another fantastic idea. I'm not sure if it's kicked off totally yet, I didn't make a starter but the temp did free rise from 65 to 68 over night in my chamber. Are there threads on how to do harvest from the krausen without ruining both batches? I'd be really pissed if my first all-grain batch got messed up because I was trying to be greedy with my 1G leftovers batch, especially after everything went so darn well for a first run.

You're pretty close. In a matter of hours it will probably be even better. You want gooey, sticky stuff. Get a stainless spoon with slots or a stainless mesh wonton scoop, and sanitize. Skim the top of the beer gently and put yeast into sanitized jar. For a 1g batch you only need like 50ML or so. That yeast will be ready to rock on your 1g batch provided you let it warm up to room temp for an hour or two when you brew.

 

[JoppaFarms]

Here's what I plan on doing. I have a measuring cup that is in sanitizer. I'll (very carefully) use the cup to scoop off some of the kraussen being careful not to get too much wort/beer. I've got some water boiled and cooling that i'll use to sort of mix in with the kraussen in the measuring cup so it will pour easier (I'm assuming it's going to be thick and stick to the side of the measuring cup). Then I'll pour it slowly through the opening in my 1G jug using the pour spout on the measuring cup. Anyone see anything terribly wrong with these steps?

 

[JoppaFarms]

So, just using the steps above I went from nothing to this in less than 8 hours. So far so good.

 

[tre9er]

You're good to go man. Nice show.

 

[JoppaFarms]

Between the time I took that photo and now (about 5 hours) its has really rocketed. I think it's because I'm just letting it free rise to whatever temp it desires (hey it's a saison right? ). It's bubbling ferociously now. I'm pretty excited that this actually worked. My 5G batch, on the other hand, isn't doing much. The temp is at 21C (69-70F) right now and I think it's a bit too low for this yeast right now. I had planned to start at 68 (which I did) and now it's been 2.5 days and was expecting it to take off much more than it did by now. But, I'm letting it rise now slowly so I'm sure it will get going when it warms up a bit.

 

[JoppaFarms]

Not that anyone is all that interested in my situation here but I am excited and want to share anyway. First AG BIAB brew plus a 1G SMaSH with the leftovers, top cropped yeast from the 5G brew to pitch into the SMaSH and it worked. This is only my 3rd batch (well 3 & 4 I suppose). Approximately 18 hours after pitching...

 

[tre9er]

Top cropping is by far the best, easiest way to harvest clean, healthy yeast. I won't wash yeast again.

 

[Phalanx]

This looks really awesome man! I'm glad it worked so well
I would top crop more often, but I usually have 4 to 5 weeks between my brewdays.

 

[tre9er]

This looks really awesome man! I'm glad it worked so well
I would top crop more often, but I usually have 4 to 5 weeks between my brewdays.

You can harvest and store the top-cropped yeast just like "washed" yeast, in mason jars, etc. in the fridge. It's just more pure yeast to begin-with.

 

[JoppaFarms]

I'm the same way. I wish I had the space, equipment, and money (and people to share the beer with haha) to brew frequently enough to top crop. Pretty simple thing to do really. Makes me interested in starting a yeast bank and "house" strains. Man this hobby is so ridiculous....ferm chamber, brew equipment upgrades, keezer, kegging system, all grain, yeast starters, yeast bank.....I'll never be finished adding to my "brewhouse"!

 

[tre9er]

I'm the same way. I wish I had the space, equipment, and money (and people to share the beer with haha) to brew frequently enough to top crop. Pretty simple thing to do really. Makes me interested in starting a yeast bank and "house" strains. Man this hobby is so ridiculous....ferm chamber, brew equipment upgrades, keezer, kegging system, all grain, yeast starters, yeast bank.....I'll never be finished adding to my "brewhouse"!

Trust me. I built a make-shift brew stand from scrap wood, have a huge 17.5G cooler mash-tun, 12.25g electric brew kettle, e-HLT, ferm fridge, keg fridge, 5 kegs, grain mill, IC chiller, pre-chiller......

Now I'm buying camlock fittings, disconnects, pumps, building a counterflow chiller, thinking about clean-in-place or a keg/kettle washer.......

It. Never. Ends.

 

[tre9er]

On the subject of top-cropping, you can just top crop *all* of the yeast on top of your beer and put it into a sanitized mason jar, then put in the fridge. It's the same as preserving any other harvested yeast, except you're getting cleaner, healthier yeast to begin-with.