Ok, so I’m taking the plunge and harvesting yeast for the first time. It’s a WLP001 from an IPA and I’m sure I’ll use it again if everything works out. Followed the Homebrew Talk video on You Tube. Sanitized everything…I mean everything including the kitchen counter. The primary fermenter was a 5 gallon, plastic bucket. I was surprised by the yeast left behind. It really wasn’t as much as I expected. I know I left some in the primary and honestly, the slurry is still settling in the collection jar. I just expected more yeasties. Suddenly thought a centrifuge would be awesome versus waiting on gravity. Any one using a centrifuge to separate yeast from trub?
Yes, and I’m doing cell counts with a flow cytometer O0
- Sent by my R2 unit
Only at the lab on 3 ml cultures. The biggest centrifuge I know about in our building will handle maybe 250 mls per container. Here is a pic of the inside of one of those that broke - good thing the outside remained intact while the inside shredded itself. The size of centrifuge you would need to pellet yeast in a 5-gallon batch . . .
Right and thanks. I was just kidding about the centrifuge, but wouldn’t it be awesome versus waiting on gravity?
On a more serious note, I got one fairly clean sample after a 2 hr settling period. The second was mostly water and suspended yeast. I sealed them up and set in the fridge overnight. Things cleared up. Sample #1 looks better, but still some hops from the pellets in there. Not a ton, but they’re in there. 2nd sample is much cleaner and I’ll decant the liquid.
Question - any profit in washing sample #1 again? Is it worth the risk of contamination?
I actually would love to have a centrifuge for commercial bottle conditioned beers. For me that’s a higher priority than one for my beers.
I wouldn’t rinse #1 again, but it’s your call.
Thanks, Tom. Decided not to re-rinse. Also decided to pick up “Yeast.” Have only read through the Intro so far, but I’ve heard good things about the book. I’m sure there has to be plenty of info in there on harvesting yeast as well.
Plan to use this sample in an IPA this weekend.
My old boss was a mechanical engineer who previously worked for Dupont designing centrifuges. He told me stories about doing this on purpose to test the housings. Fun!
Catastrophic failures can be fun! 