Re-pitching technique...

[miguelpanderland]

Loads of information in this thread now.  Wow.  Thanks for all the help everyone.  The days of endlessly buying vials of yeast are coming to a close…

[davidgzach]

@miguelpanderland

I’ve already got the yeast decanted in the fridge.  When saving yeast from the carboy I used boiled (and then chilled) water before transferring to the storage containers.  Total volume of slurry is probably around 3 cups.  At this point it’s been in storage for two weeks.  To “rouse” the slurry with a starter, how big of a starter would you make?

The forum is a huge bonus!

I looked back and if the slurry is only two weeks old, you are probably good to go without a starter and a cup of slurry direct pitched.  Just warm to pitching temp and bombs away.

[ynotbrusum]

@davidgzach

Just warm to pitching temp and bombs away.

Okay to do, but not necessary if going from 40 or so to pitching temperature (assuming pitching temperature is 60 or so for ales and 45-50ish for lagers)…

I use slurry all the time and try to time my brewing to allow harvesting on the day of brewing, with yeast collected at fermenting temperatures (I don’t do a diacetyl rest for this reason, among others).

[corkybstewart]

@davidgzach

@miguelpanderland

I’ve already got the yeast decanted in the fridge.  When saving yeast from the carboy I used boiled (and then chilled) water before transferring to the storage containers.  Total volume of slurry is probably around 3 cups.  At this point it’s been in storage for two weeks.  To “rouse” the slurry with a starter, how big of a starter would you make?

The forum is a huge bonus! 
Just warm to pitching temp and bombs away.

Be careful when warming a slurry.  I took a 1 pint mason jar out of the fridge and didn’t open it immediately.  5 minutes later(if that long) I heard a strange noise and saw that the lid of the jar had pooched out and the ring was distorted. Another couple of minutes and I would have been picking glass shards out of my face, it was almost bombs away…
Open the lid a little to allow any pressure to bleed off peacefully.

[bluesman]

@tomsawyer

@bluesman

@a10t2

@bluesman

I like to rinse the yeast cake upon harvesting to remove any trub or hop particles to mitigate any potential bacterial infection.

That’s an interesting thought. Is your concern that the trub might be contaminated (which seems unlikely since it’s been boiled), or that it might be a food source for bacteria?

IMO, The latter…I like to keep out any potential competition. If the significant portion of the slurry is yeast and water, there is a lot less potential for bacterial contamination and off flavors.

Why do you think theres any contamination in a trub or hops?  If there were you’d see it growing in the beer.

I’m not saying that there is contamination, but trub is a food source for potential bacterial contamination.

[davidgzach]

@corkybstewart

@davidgzach

@miguelpanderland

I’ve already got the yeast decanted in the fridge.  When saving yeast from the carboy I used boiled (and then chilled) water before transferring to the storage containers.  Total volume of slurry is probably around 3 cups.  At this point it’s been in storage for two weeks.  To “rouse” the slurry with a starter, how big of a starter would you make?

The forum is a huge bonus! 
Just warm to pitching temp and bombs away.

Be careful when warming a slurry.  I took a 1 pint mason jar out of the fridge and didn’t open it immediately.  5 minutes later(if that long) I heard a strange noise and saw that the lid of the jar had pooched out and the ring was distorted. Another couple of minutes and I would have been picking glass shards out of my face, it was almost bombs away…
Open the lid a little to allow any pressure to bleed off peacefully.

A good point.  I keep my slurry in 1qt Powerade containers.  You need to burp them every week or so and make sure to burp them every hour or so when warming to pitch.  I typically take the slurry out of the fridge on brew day, place on the counter and burp every time I pass.  I warm for ales and just place in the lager fridge at 50F for lagers.