First Attempt At Yeast Farming...

[doglet]

1. If I wasnt going to top up with sterile water once splitting how many vials do you think I need to buy for each of the two different packs?

2. Im presuming I will get double the amount from the Blue 125ml Pack?

[post="123857"][/post]​

1. Depends on the size of your vials. I only topped up with water to reduce the head space. My vials are I think 30mL.

When the yeast settled down I got about 1cm of yeast at the bottom of the vial for most of my yeast although the Belgian Ale is about 3cm (?). I'll post more pics tonight to show the difference in colour and typical amounts in each vial.

2. Activator Pack - about 95mL yeast, Large gold foil - about 40ml-ish

 

[Steve]

Cheers Doglet. Where did you get your vials?
Steve

 

[Airgead]

I just wish I had started my yeast farm when the whitelabes Australian Ale was still available.

[post="123186"][/post]​

Andrew

I was under the impression that the white labs Australian ale was the coopers strain. Last tiem I checked Brewsters Yeast had an Australian ale available on slants.

Edit : I just checked again and they have at least 2 Australian pale ale strains plus one they specificaly label as coopers. One of their Australian strains is numbered WL9 which means it is a copy of WLP009 - white labs Australian Ale.

Cheers
Dave

 

[doglet]

Steve, I was selling some test tubes in late Feb in this thread. I can also set up another bulk purchase if others are interested.

The details about where I got mine from and cost are:

Southern Cross Science Pty Ltd in Adelaide.

Ph: 8277 1541
email: [email protected]

Part No. TPP8027-UU (30ml container u/label nat cap)

Cost was $75.41 inc GST for 500.


I consider these to be a 1 use item for yeast as they are boiled and I can't guarantee their long term 'robustness'. At 15 cents each you are still saving heaps from splitting your yeast.

 

[doglet]

Here is a photo of the 6 yeasts I split up after being in the fridge for 4 days.


The 5 from the left were all Activator packs and made up 6 vials. The 1 on the right (1318) was a large gold foil pack and was split into 4 vials.

Each pack was split as evenly as I could using a 10mL syringe. Each variety batch was then topped up with cooled boiled water to the same height. Looking at my photo I can see my standard height between each variety batch varies.

As you can see the Belgian Abbey 1214 has lots of bedded down yeast. Maybe an indication of the work this yeast needs to do to get through a high gravity wort. I will make sure my starters for them are big and active.

The resulting colours of the yeast and liquid is also interesting and something I can't really explain.

PS - Sorry for the thread hijacks. A mod can separate the yeast washing from the yeast dividing if they want.

 

[Duff]

I just wish I had started my yeast farm when the whitelabes Australian Ale was still available.

[post="123186"][/post]​

G'day Andrew,

I have some in my stock, if you are in Sydney at some point or can work out a way to get some to you I will.

One of my favourites :chug:

Cheers.

 

[James Squire]

Steve and Doglet,

Dont be concerned about the 'hijack' as I dont consider it to be that. I started this thread with the hopes that I could get some interesting conversations going in regards to "who does what and how?" when it comes to farming yeast.

Keep on keepin' on guys, im hungry to learn all i can about such an interesting topic!

Cheers

JS

 

[Steve]

Cheers for the Info and Pics Doglet. I think I'll just go and buy 12 glass vials and split the two packs into them. They are tall (about 150mm) and I think 50 cents each. I'll just suck it and see. I think I will now also put cooled boiled water in to top them up.
Cheers
Steve

I feel a Canberra yeast swap coming on

 

[NRB]

I store mine completely differently - I have a fine dusting in the bottom of my vials of sterile water. There's plenty of yeast there in reality. All I have to do is shake up the tube to suspend yeast, culture on agar (or perhaps in a couple of millilitres of sterile wort) then select colonies to grow in sterile wort. There's no need for a thick mass of cells on the bottom and if anything, the larger the mass of yeast the greater the chances of autolysis etc.

My profession allows me easy access to sterile syringes and needles, so any transfer I perform is done with an aseptic technique.

 

[Darren]

Here is a photo of the 6 yeasts I split up after being in the fridge for 4 days.
View attachment 6922

The 5 from the left were all Activator packs and made up 6 vials. The 1 on the right (1318) was a large gold foil pack and was split into 4 vials.

Each pack was split as evenly as I could using a 10mL syringe. Each variety batch was then topped up with cooled boiled water to the same height. Looking at my photo I can see my standard height between each variety batch varies.

As you can see the Belgian Abbey 1214 has lots of bedded down yeast. Maybe an indication of the work this yeast needs to do to get through a high gravity wort. I will make sure my starters for them are big and active.

The resulting colours of the yeast and liquid is also interesting and something I can't really explain.

PS - Sorry for the thread hijacks. A mod can separate the yeast washing from the yeast dividing if they want.

[post="123895"][/post]​

Hope you used a new syringe between packs?

cheers
Darren

 

[doglet]

Hope you used a new syringe between packs?

I cleaned and sanitised my work area and the syringe between packs. The technique might not be completely foolproof but I don't have the resources to do it any better.

 

[Trough Lolly]

I believe Ross splits the pack before smacking it using a syringe. I think he may be right to split before smacking. The yeast are ready to go, with the right cell resources to grow provided by the culturing done by wyeast. It seems better to keep them asleep rather than waking them up with the nutrients and then putting them back to sleep again. Anything to add, TL?

[post="123093"][/post]​

G'day Stuster,
With aseptic techniques, this is a great method for maximising the utility of each smackpack, as Ross already suggested.

Re the autolysis, it doesn't matter if the yeast is in wort, beer, sterile water or a chocolate milkshake - if the yeast is not dormant and the temp and composition of the solution does not kill the yeast, autolysis will inevitably occur. The trick is to cleanly decant the yeast from the smackpack and store the yeast dormant (ie, in the fridge) otherwise the cells will look to feed and if they run out of nutrients, will breakdown in order to feed -> autolysis...

Cheers,
TL

 

[goatherder]

The trick is to cleanly decant the yeast from the smackpack and store the yeast dormant (ie, in the fridge) otherwise the cells will look to feed and if they run out of nutrients, will breakdown in order to feed -> autolysis...

Cheers,
TL

[post="124222"][/post]​

Is using a sterile syringe and sharp and piercing the smackpack bag a clean way of decanting the yeast? After sterilising the bag surface with alcohol first?

 

[doglet]

Is using a sterile syringe and sharp and piercing the smackpack bag a clean way of decanting the yeast? After sterilising the bag surface with alcohol first?

Pretty much what I did. I wiped down a pair of scissors with alcohol wipes and then the Wyeast package and cut the top off. This way I could be sure that I didn't pierce the smackpack of wort inside. I have collected these wort packs and will use them in a small flask with the vial of yeast. I'll give this about 24 hours before stepping up a into a large flask with a 1.5L wort.

TL or anyone - Do you think I need to boil that first smackpack of wort or just put it straight into a sanitised flask with the yeast vial? I assume that smackpack is sanitised already.

 

[Duff]

If you need to reuse a syringe between packs, wipe it in alcohol and flame it over a gas stove until it glows, let it cool slightly, wipe it again and flame it again. Wipe down the area you are working with alcohol and you'll be should be fine. Not every one has a laminar flow hood in their home .

I use the same vials as you doglet, give the thread a swab and run a flame around the rim of the vial before and after adding your yeast.

Cheers.

 

[Steve]

Jeez now you lot are getting a bit technical :blink:
I was just going to put everything, vials, lids, scissors, smackpacks in a few litres of idophor/water solution for half an hour and then put everything except the smackpacks into my little boys milk bottle steamer/steriliser that goes in the microwave :lol:
Cheers
Steve

P.S. That'd be ok wouldnt it?

 

[Weizguy]

Not every one has a laminar flow hood in their home .

[post="124268"][/post]​

Has anyone got one of these in their home?

Can anyone point me at a cheap, but effective, one?

Steve,

You're prob OK to clean and sanitise like that. As has been said earlier, you absolutely need all the gear and "sterile technique" when dealing with micro quantities.

 

[Airgead]

Not every one has a laminar flow hood in their home .

[post="124268"][/post]​

Has anyone got one of these in their home?

Can anyone point me at a cheap, but effective, one?

[post="124338"][/post]​

Weizguy

You really don't need anything like that for working with yeast. None of the micro labs I have ever seen use hoods for working with yeast. They are more commonly used when working with potential pathogens.

I cook everything for 10 minutes in a second hand pressure cooker and clean down work surfaces and hands with alcohol (usually just meths). My inoculating loop is flamed in a metho burner till it glows. Vials etc are wiped with meths before I open them and I am always careful not to touch the lip or sides with the loop when I am transfering yeast.

Pretty low tech stuff and it works well.

Cheers
Dave

 

[goatherder]

Yep, like Airgead said. Alcohol (metho), fire and a pressure cooker.

For a bit of extra protection, make yourself up a glovebox.

Buy one of those clear plastic storage containers from Big W. Cut two holes in the side, big enough to fit your arms into. Tape a pair of rubber gloves into the holes and you have yourself a glovebox. Before working in it, place all your equipment inside it and drown the inside surfaces with Glen 20. Put the lid on, wait 10 minutes, and you have a pretty sterile area to work in. A bit awkward, but clean enough.

I used to muck around with growing edible mushrooms from spores, I never had a contamination problem using the glovebox and the methods Airgead mentioned.

Flaming things is a bit impractical inside the glovebox - just stick with an alcohol wipe, or use two different innoculation loops.

 

[Ross]

It certainly pays to take all precautions available to you - But I simply sterilise everthing, spray some non-rinse sanitiser in the air, cut the corner off the packet & pour directly into the vials. Not had an infected starter yet, but yes it's possible...

Cheers Ross