Culturing Yeast

[ben_sa]

Hey guys

After speaking with Dave at Goliaths, He told me i should try a few different things, see what i think, One of those things was culturing Coopers Pale Ale Yeast

I have collected dregs from 6 stubbies, Poured into a glass, Didnt mix them,

I then boiled 1.7L water and mixed in 200g LME, whacked into a 2Ltr flagon and put an airlock in the lid.

24 hours and bugger all activity, its sitting pretty cool, and today i ran hot water (from tap) over and slowly but surely airlock activity started....

Should i just keep it warmer and see what happens? Or am i wasting my time

It looks like cold coffee with a layer or caramel in the bottom

Ben

 

[big d]

hard call without knowing your temps ben but if it started showing activity when warmed then i would continue with this.

 

[ben_sa]

Cheers Big D, i was thinking the same thing, I might go get a thermometer for it...... Make life a bit easier

 

[Linz]

Ive found that it usually takes 24-48 hours for the starters to get kicking properly. Mainly because the yeast is still cool from the bottle and the malt is too hot from boiling so the thermal difference/shock takes a little while to overcome.
The starter should reverse soon so that the "coffee" is at the bottom and the malt on top.

 

[Batz]

I've used Coopers Ale yeasts several times , the starters never show much activity , even when pitched they are slow to ferment out
I am sure yours will be ok , just step it up and sample a little before pitching

 

[johnno]

I've done 2 . A Sparkling and a pale ale. Each time I just used the drgs of one bottle. They are slow. But worked out fine in the end. Especially the Sparkling. I used that in a Brewiser Australian Ale kit with a kilo of dextrose. Even thouh the OG of the brew was quite low the beer tasted great.


cheers

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I then boiled 1.7L water and mixed in 200g LME, whacked into a 2Ltr flagon and put an airlock in the lid.

Did you cool your malt solution down first? If not you have probably killed the yeast.
Also, it is better to start with a smaller starter and step it up gradually. Use 500mls of water and 50grams of LME. Wait for activity to occur, can take 3 to 4 days depending on the bottle yeast viability, then step it up with another 500ml malt solution. Then step up again until you have as much yeast as you require.

C&B
TDA

 

[Trough Lolly]

[snip]
I have collected dregs from 6 stubbies, Poured into a glass, Didnt mix them,

I then boiled 1.7L water and mixed in 200g LME, whacked into a 2Ltr flagon and put an airlock in the lid.
[snip]
Ben

Ben...

Was the glass you used to capture the yeast clean/sterile or one out of the kitchen cupboard? Was the flagon sterile and at room temp?

Did you let the yeast warm up to room temp before pitching into your starter solution?

As TDA advised, did you cool the starter solution to room temp, or at least let it drop below 25C before pitching the yeast?

Did you aerate the starter solution? I use sterilised 3L PET bottles and give it a good shake (with a sterilised cap and not my grotty thumb!) before replacing the cap with an airlock. Remember, the yeast in the beer is at a low ebb and you need to rouse it but not kill it! It doesn't hurt to give the flagon a rouse every so often - the yeast obviously has plenty of nutrient, but needs oxygen as well.

Stepping is a good idea, but not essential - as long as you keep the starter solution at around 1.040 as you did. I've made 3L of starter from one 1028 smack pack and decanted the lot into 10 stubbies without any probs...

The trick in yeast cultivation - IMHO - is trying to minimise the shock on the yeast cell walls. Starter gravity, temperatures and air need to be considered throughout the process - as well as making sure that you have a sterile environment - the last thing you want to do is promote the growth of bacteria other than the yeast you want to cultivate.

Cheers,
TL

 

[Justin]

Ben, the bubbling in the air lock after you ran in under warm water was just the air in the jar expanding and therefore moving through the air lock. Same thing happens when you move a fermenter out of the fridge and then let it warm up.

JD

 

[ben_sa]

Hey Guys

Ok, Update:

After 36 hours, there is a nice scum gathering on top, the yeast cells are moving rapidly, and it looks like lemonade bubbles moving, Like heaps of little ones

Very happy now

BTW i should have explained better,

Once the soloution was boiled, I whacked it in the fridge and let come to room temperature, Then i added the dregs which were at room temperature.

THe stubbie they were in was sterilised, and i used one shot on the flagon as well.

There is airlock activity pretty constantly now, every 4 seconds approximately, and yeah, Things look to be in order

Questions:

Should i shake the buggery out of it in a few days time?

How long does this typically take and how do i know when its finsihed?

When i use it, do i throw the whole 2ltr's in? If so, should i fill my fermenter to 21L then just add the yeast, or do i make upto 25Ltrs?

Or dont i use all of it?

Man im still confused, Beer time :chug:

Ben

 

[Trough Lolly]

[snip]
Questions:

Should i shake the buggery out of it in a few days time?

How long does this typically take and how do i know when its finsihed?

When i use it, do i throw the whole 2ltr's in? If so, should i fill my fermenter to 21L then just add the yeast, or do i make upto 25Ltrs?

Or dont i use all of it?

Ben

Good work Ben,

Giving it a shake in the first couple of days should be enough - it will grow fine without too much disturbance. I shake it again at the end to distribute the yeast, especially when I decant into clean stubbies for storage after adding some to a brew.

Your airlock will let you know when the initial fermentation will be over - the yeast will eat through the malt solution in a few days, just like an unhopped normal beer would.

300ml of starter should be enough for a 23L brew - more if you want, but remember you are adding unhopped malt extract as well as the yeast to your brew. I prefer to add the yeast starter after you cool down the wort and then splash in the top up water to re-aerate the 23L wort with the yeast mixed in.

Stubbie off the rest for future brews!

TL

 

[ben_sa]

Sweet! And here i was thinking i had made this for one brew

Excellent!

Now im just stuck as to what to use it with..... I thought about a Grumpys ONE Pale Ale, BUt thats too easy lol, I wanna do something that i actually need to think about and work with.....

Time for me to enter the big bad world of Hops i think, Never dry hopped before, so thats on the cards....

Apparently Coopers have a Pale Ale out now so i might have a stab at that....

Ben

(im off to give it a shake, its been a day and a half)