Coopers Yeast

[ntboozer]

The following question is posted with the knowledge of the possible risk of being shot down in flames and told in no uncertain terms to 'search the site'.....which I have done and am still chasing the wisdom held by some out there.
My plan is to consume a few Coopers pale Ales over the next hour or so......no problem with that...... I would like to keep some of the yeast rich dregs.
Plan of attack
- decant stubbie as gently as possible into glass leaving an inch or so in stubbie
- swirl remainder in stubbie and pour into sanitised 'plastic coke bottle'
- repeat process 6 or so times
- store coke bottle in fridge for future use
- in a few weeks start to add small amounts of wort
- build up a good starter and pitch into brew

Question - will yeast sample store OK in fridge for a few weeks and have I got the above process right (or is it right off the mark)?

Cheers
nt
:beer:

 

[Kai]

It will probably store fine for a few weeks, but why not drink the beer just before you need to start reculturing the yeast? Less chance of an introduced infection growing that way.

 

[PostModern]

What you're suggesting will work just fine.

 

[Airgead]

Question - will yeast sample store OK in fridge for a few weeks and have I got the above process right (or is it right off the mark)?

Cheers
nt
:beer:

[post="128630"][/post]​

NT

That wiill work fine but I would pour your samples into 100ml or so of sterile (or close to it wort so they build up a good population before you store them. There isn't a whole lot of viable yeast in a bottle 9especially if it has been sitting in a shop for a while) so you could end up with an infection if yyou don't get a good healthy population before storage.

Just boil up about 10g of DME in 100ml water. Let it boil for 5 mins then pour into your sanitised contaioner. let that cool to room temp then tip in your samples. Let that sit for a day or two and you should see some activity. Once it has fermented out (probably < 5 days) you can store it in the fridge. Let it ferment out before storing as that will force the yeast into dormancy. if it is still fermenting they may not go properly dormant and may stress and mutate. or just die.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Bazza]

ntboozer
I've done this before and your method looks good; when I pitched my culture the reaction was explosive. You may well need a blow-off tube! I went down the morning after pitching and could hear a high pitched squealing noise as the lid was under so much pressure. The brew was not a bad result from memory...just keep it cool.
Bazza

 

[AngelTearsOnMyTongue]

Hi all.

Very interesting reading.

Can I ask? why would you do this rather than just buy a qualitry yeast?

The thrill of the chase?

ATOMT

 

[Steve]

Because every bottle of coopers has delicious re-usable yeast just sitting at the bottom of the bottle ready for you to use in your own Pale Ale :beerbang:
Cheers
Steve

 

[AngelTearsOnMyTongue]

Because every bottle of coopers has delicious re-usable yeast just sitting at the bottom of the bottle ready for you to use in your own Pale Ale :beerbang:
Cheers
Steve

[post="128884"][/post]​

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................

 

[Bazza]

Hi all.

Very interesting reading.

Can I ask? why would you do this rather than just buy a qualitry yeast?

The thrill of the chase?

ATOMT

[post="128881"][/post]​

Correct
It's good fun to culture the yeast from a beer. $15-$20 buys one yeast. $15-$20 buys a couple of six packs of coopers that you can drink AND get some good yeast out of it. All good mate.

 

[AngelTearsOnMyTongue]

Correct
It's good fun to culture the yeast from a beer. $15-$20 buys one yeast. $15-$20 buys a couple of six packs of coopers that you can drink AND get some good yeast out of it. All good mate.

[post="128911"][/post]​

I will have to give this a go.
Of course that means I wil now have to buy some beer.

Carrying on from that, I presume I can "recycle" yeast from my own brews too?

Does this follow the same method? DME + Water > Boil > Cool in sterile container> open beer > Pour to glass retaining tail end > pour tailend into sterile culture medium previously prepared. ? :huh:

Yes?...No?

ATOMT (God I love that emoticon)

 

[Vangleator]

Certainly will work, the results are more consistant with a Coopers ale than with the imported wheats, Belgians etc, that may be too old by the time that they come to your next of the woods. :beerbang:

 

[Stuster]

You can recycle your own yeast from bottles, ATOMT, but the yeast cake has so much more yeast it's easier to recycle the yeast from there. (As well as the yeast being in better shape at that point.) Have a look at Chiller's excellent thread on yeast farming, at this link or airlocked at the top of the Common Ground forum. I tend to do runs of 2-3 beers now and pitch some of the yeast from the last beer on the next batch. Much easier than making starters for every brew.

Let your yeasties live longer and party in your wort.

 

[PostModern]

I presume I can "recycle" yeast from my own brews too?

[post="128918"][/post]​

Yes, but the reason it works so readily from Coopers bottles is because they repitch after fermentation and filtering to ensure fresh viable yeast is in the bottles for bottle conditioning. Generally the yeast in HB bottles has gone thru primary fermentation, then secondary then bottle conditioning. It's not always in the best shape. You can always bring it back to life, of course. It just takes longer and benefits more from oxygenation, nutrients and ideal starter wort gravity.

 

[Vangleator]

I kept a Wyeast (Thames Valley) going for 3 years, and still winning prizes in it's third year from selected bottles kept from the previous year's batch. Didn't work with some Wyeasts though, some were dead after only six months in bottle. It's worth a try using last year's yeast, it can expand the range of yeasts to use at no added expense.
Using a Coopers ale yeast is a great way to learn about culturing yeasts at no expense (a failure with a Wyeast packet for whatever reason is not cheap), as you have already enjoyed the beer, :chug: now enjoy the yeast in the next brew. :beer:

 

[colinw]

There are other good reasons for using the Coopers yeast from Coopers Pale Ale:

- your beer gets that distinctive Coopers taste.
- it is a very vigorous and reliable fermenter
- you get to drink some Coopers Pale Ale or Sparkling Ale
- you are supporting a family owned Aussie brewery that still makes decent flavoursome ale

Win/Win for everyone really (except Lion Nathan and Carlton/Fosters)

My best ever kit beer was made with Coopers yeast, recultured from a couple of stubbies of sparkling ale. It was just a Coopers Draught can kit, 500g of DME, 500g of dextrose and a small amount of Pride of Ringwood hops, and made a beer sort of like a lower alcohol version of the sparkling ale. Yummy!

On this topic, I presume the Coopers Mild has this same yeast in it, and would probably be in even better condition being a lower alcohol beer than the pale ale.