I collected yeast, after racking my Session IPA, into 500ml mason jars. I collected 4 jars. I have 25ml of yeast cake, and the rest beer. I have a very thin creamy color on top of the 25ml yeast cake. Is this the good yeast, and the rest is dead yeast and proteins?
I plan on brewing an American Pale Ale and repitching with this harvested yeast. I’ve used Mr. Malty repitching calculator and need 225ml of yeast. Seems I’m way short of this amount.
The harvested yeast was US-05, it was harvested on 02/24/2018.
Search “yeast rinsing,” this is how you separate the good yeast from non-yeast material. I collect my whole slurry in one half gal jar, rinse, and end up with around 4 oz of good slurry, about right for lager pitch rates. You might need to use all you collected to separate enough good stuff. But try it. Harvesting, rinsing and repitching (you can go many, many generations) is a great way to have good, healthy, well adapted yeast.
I collect slurry and store it under the beer the slurry came from. I use Mr. Malty to estimate how much to pitch (though often exceed Mr. Malty by 2-3x.) I find this way easier than rinsing. I pitch the unrinsed slurry after decanting the beer.
I don’t store the slurry very long. Usually, 2-3 weeks max. But, you can store longer and make a starter from the slurry to rejuvenate before pitching.
I asked a similar question a few months ago and got some great feedback from “Todd H.” who seems to have a technical background in yeast genetics. It appears that from a biological perspective, it may be better to keep the yeast in the beer that it was taken from. I like that simple is better
Really? I mean I’ll believe you of all people Denny , but it seems at least if you rinse you know how much good yeast you’re repitching vs just how much stuff, though it may not separate all bacteria or petite mutants. How many generations are you going without rinsing? I’d hate to waste (minimal) effort!
I am not Denny, but I agree with his assessment. As for yeast generational anecdotal evidence, I took a pilsner yeast out 25 generations by simply re-pitching successively without any problems. I gave it up when I wanted to try different yeasts. I now don’t count how many generations are used, because it rarely exceeds 5 or so.
Hmm. I’m Pilsner guy, I like to go a good 12-15 gens, but I’m not obsessive about that part. Just that yeast in the first couple gens never makes the best beer. So, I figure since rinsing takes me all of 20 minutes, only 2 or so active, I won’t stop rinsing. Not what I call a PITA, just a habit. Unless somebody thinks there’s any actual harm in the practice?
One brewer’s PITA is another brewer’s ultimate joy. I have tried just about every method of handling yeast from chucking dry yeast straight from the package to plating and propping single colonies. Including yeast rinsing. The most effective-efficient method FOR ME has been active starters from smack packs.
I used to buy into the beer improving with more generations theory. I just didn’t find it in my brewery. I don’t doubt that people are finding improvement, it’s just that I’m not.
We all seem to have a strange desire to get everyone to brew like we do. But we ought to keep in mind that there are several good methods and we each find our joy in slightly different ways.
Hear ya, Jim. Guess I’m not really trying to get people to do it my way, just offering an option that works. OP seemed to intuit that all the layers in his jar might not be equal. Which could be true but insignificant, I guess! So I really want to know if there’s a good reason NOT to do what I do. (For me the real PITA is making a starter every time instead of just chucking it out of a jar. I’m open to chucking STRAIGHT out of the jar w/o rinsing!)
I am definitely grossed out by trub and all the non-yeast on the bottom of my fermenter and in the slurry I collect. However, over the years, I have learned, if it sinks to the bottom of the fermenter and doesn’t get served in my pint, it’s generally not a problem.
With that in mind, I don’t mind pouring some trub and hops from a previous batch into my current batch. All that non-yeast stuff settles out and seems not to effect my new beer.
Regarding how much slurry to pitch, Mr. Malty addresses the non-yeast content. I just slide that bar all the way to the right. I figure my slurry is particularly nasty, since I don’t whirlpool and I don’t do anything to keep spent hops out of my fermenter. I just pour everything right into the fermenter and pitch yeast.
Robert, IIRC I’ve gone 5-7 generations without rinsing. I may have been able to go longer, but I have so much yeast around I’ve never tried. As to the amount, I eyeball it and wing it. Always remember, malted barley WANTS to become beer. It’s less fiddly than many make it out to be.
Thanks, Denny! You’re right, I’ll know what makes me uncomfortable risk-wise. Just for kicks, next time I think I’ll skip the rinse and relax, don’t worry, pitch the yeast.
EDIT Great time to try a new approach, as I’ve got 1st gen in the fermenter now!
I’m not opposed, but it hasn’t come up. I generally repitch 3-5 days after harvesting so I don’t worry about vitality. That’s darn fresh yeast. If a have a hiatus and go longer than I’m comfortable with, I make a new starter from a smack pack. But a contingency plan I do want to try is, instead of a new starter, just pitch some of the longer-stored slurry into a quart or so of chilled wort at the end of the brew and oxygenate; my fermenter spends 4-5 hours in the fridge cooling the last few degrees to pitch temp, so pitching the jar then should essentially be what you call a vitality starter, right?
By vitality starter I mean active. 100ml of thin slurry in 1000-1500ml of about 10%, 1.040, oxygenated no stirl plate. Do that morning of brew day and pitch the whole thing that evening.
I figure I’d have a handy supply of wort once I’ve brewed, and if 5 hours doesn’t get it to high kräusen (that’s usually the timing for my starters, though) I could wait a bit longer. 12°-13°P instead of 10°P would hardly matter, and no “foreign” wort. It’s just a plan I’ve had in mind as an alternative to a brand new starter, I think in principle we’re on the same page. I will probably try it whenever I let my yeast sit a while. But darn it, I just keep brewing all the time!
EDIT I have 1st gen in fermenter now but not because of a hiatus. The yeast in the jar (only a few generations in) had packed down, and a day later started releasing CO2 and rising up like a sponge. Having never witnessed this behavior in my old friend 34/70, I didnt take my chances that something might be abnormal. (The beer I harvested it from seems fine, abundance of caution.) I almost used the method above with a smackpack, but realized I had just enough time to make a regular starter (O2, not stir) and settle it out before brewday. Old habit, good yeast, in kräusen in ~14 hours at 52°F. Vital enough.
Just admit it. You don’t want to try it. It’s ok. What works for you, works for you. That’s cool
Edit: usually people try method X but with 9 different twists not suggested in method X, and then claim method X doesn’t work. I rather someone just say “no, I’m not doing it” than change it up 6 ways from Sunday and claim it’s BS
