Does this look normal? bry 97

[Mickcr250]

I saved some of the yeast cake from my chubby cherrub pale ale (Bry-97) and just noticed there is lumpy stuff on top. I have done this a few times before but usually just settles out nice and flat, is this something i should be worried about? I had a quick sniff and it smelt alright to me but I am still unsure can anyone put my mind at ease

 

[timmi9191]

Make a small starter with it. If that tastes fine - I'd say all is good

 

[Yob]

Did you use a floccing agent like brewbrite? this can lead to some 'junket like' break in the FV and is nothing to be worried about. If it exhibits that in a starter Id be a little more concerned.

 

[Mickcr250]

No I didn't use a flocking agent, hmmm oh well I will make a starter and see how we go

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[Armstrong]

Is paying $4 - $5 for a fresh yeast beyond your means?

I seriously don't understand why people bother saving yeast cake from previous brews and risking bring contaminants with it

 

[wombil]

It's fun.

 

[Bribie G]

Some of the liquid yeasts don't develop their full character until their second or third fling (got that from the Whitelabs guy who gave a lecture at the Bris Conference a couple of years ago). As well as being nearly the cost of the grain bill in some of my brews, it pays to get four or five brews.

However as Armstrong says with a pack of dry yeast for a few dollars, super-viable, cell walls conditioned and ready to go, there's not much benefit in saving it. I don't think I've ever saved dry yeast in my entire career.

The only benefit I could see is that with a lager yeast such as S-23 you might want to pitch big. My odd lager is Wyeast anyway.

 

[QldKev]

Is paying $4 - $5 for a fresh yeast beyond your means?

I seriously don't understand why people bother saving yeast cake from previous brews and risking bring contaminants with it

It's not always just a price issue. I find my beer on a second generation onwards yeast cake are better. Also reusing the yeast cake saves me time on the day. I just dump the beer into a keg, tip out the excess yeast cake and pour in a fresh cube. Also increase the viable yeast count by using it on a smaller beer, then hitting up gen 2 with a high gravity beer without the need for starters is awesome. I do agree it is an increased risk of infection.

 

[Camo6]

I like to wear a labcoat and pretend I'm a scientist!

There's a heap of reasons for doing this which have all been discussed on some recent threads. Some yeasts are seasonal and not readily available. Some yeasts get better with subsequent generations. Some people like to experiment and complicate their hobby. And some people are tightarses and like to save a buck. I do it for all the above reasons though I mainly only do it with liquid yeasts when brewing back to back nowadays.

 

[warra48]

I agree $4 to $5 for a dry yeast for each batch shouldn't be beyond the resources of most brewers.

However, when we spend $12 to $13 for a liquid yeast, and then use more resources to build it up with a starter culture, it makes economic sense to me to use it for more than a single batch.

I don't live where I have ready access to liquid yeast, so I tend to brew the same style for 3 or so batches consecutively. Harvesting and reusing the yeast cake from my previous batch has worked perfectly well for me in my circumstances.

I totally accept there is a need to be very careful with my harvesting and sanitation regime.

 

[Mickcr250]

Well I have a fresh pack of yeast in the fridge just in case but I don't see the point in throwing out good yeast. If after the starter I'm not totally convinced its good I will use the new pack.

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[Dunkelbrau]

Is paying $4 - $5 for a fresh yeast beyond your means?

I seriously don't understand why people bother saving yeast cake from previous brews and risking bring contaminants with it

If he's harvesting it with sanitation in mind, it's no more risky than making any other starter. I always keep a few packets of dry yeast in the fridge for backups/unplanned brew days, but I try and get liquid - pretty expensive if you brew every week! That's like $500 a year if you brew 3-4 generations with each yeast.. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Mickcr250]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ZSHotcr4s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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[Mickcr250]

Check this out I took it out of the fridge and came back an hour later and this is what its doing

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[pcmfisher]

Starters? Liquid yeasts?
The man is using BRY97.

 

[Bribie G]

I think the liquid yeast was being discussed to illustrate that whilst liquid yeasts are good candidates for recycling, dry yeasts aren't really worth it ... not a case of one size fits all. However the thread did stray because the OP wanted to know what the lumps were.
On topic, I reckon they are just lumps :super:

 

[wbosher]

While I agree that it's not really worth re-using dry yeast to save money, I've found it to be good practice for using liquid yeast. I'd rather get the the processes down using cheap yeast, and get the the **** ups out of the way, before using more expensive liquid yeast.

I've now successfully reused US-05 (unwashed), and washed MJs Burton Union yeast to re-pitch into a cheap kit. If this goes well then I'll get some 1469 and split that, or save some slurry to wash and re-use.

A little OT though...

 

[Mickcr250]

Ok so I pitched it into a 1l starter and it went nuts and overflowed about 3 times but after I chilled it down and tasted/ smelt the wort it tasted fine so I pitched it into an IPA today I will keep you posted

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