Does anyone do this? Benefits?
Done it before.
Benefit is getting yeast that is not commercially available to homebrewers. It does take research because some breweries will bottle condition with a strain different from their house yeast.
Personally I think it is too much of a hassle. You have to start with a small weak (1.020) starter and step up multiple times to get a pitchable amount.
Bell’s Oberon is a good example. You just cannot get the citrus taste without the yeast. I harvest yeast from a 6 pack, make a 1.020 starter, wait till starter is spent, chill, decant. Combine with another 1.040 starter and pitch when ready. It’s a little time consuming but worth it.
The benefit is getting a strain you might not have commercial access to but having done it I’m with Steve, not worth the hassle for the same reasons
Back in my early days of homebrewing, I thought I’d give this a shot. I very carefully saved yeast from each bottle of a sixpack of Sierra Nevada Porter. The beer turned out great. I had no idea at the time that I was culturing up one of the most commonly used brewing yeasts available… ;D
I like to culture up dregs from exciting sour beers I drink. Although I mostly do this by carefully pouring the beer into my glass leaveing .25 inches behind (or until I see dregs starting to pour. Spray the mouth of the bottle with star san and pitch it into a carboy half filled with beer I keep in the spare bathroom.
I also cultured up a steam beer yeast from a local brewery and had decent luck. I had the impression this beer had different yeast character than what I was getting with the white labs or wyeast cultures but I don’t know if that’s true or my imagination.
Yes sir, I have cultured Bells house ale yeast many times with good results. It is a little orangy.
It’s a fairly easy process but takes some time and sanitation is really important. I have a few Belgian strains I’ve cultured and use/have banked in my brewery.
If there is a strain you want then you should start building up a culture from a bottle at your first opportunity rather than waiting for the time when you need the strain because you might end up waiting a few weeks to grow up appropriate numbers for a full batch of beer. You can always save your culture in your fridge until you need it.
Yep. Works great for sour beers. My most successful attempts have been with Jolly Pumpkin, but I haven’t found them around here for a while. I carefully pour some weak wort directly into the bottle with the dregs and cap it with aluminum foil, then step that up after a few days.
I do it with sour dregs pretty often. I’ve also done it for my own homebrew that used a seasonal strain that wasn’t currently available. It’s not something I do regularly, but it works. I think it’s well worth a try, even if it’s just for the fun of it. It is a good skill to know as a homebrewer.
Kyle has an excellent step-by-step post on his blog about how to do this: