Liquid Yeast Dormant, Need Help Quick!

[big78sam]

Hope it turns out well for you. It's worked for me twice now (with good feedback from all who've tried it so far) so with some minor tweaks it's made it onto the regular brew list.

The caramelisation took me more than 2 hours so I hope it's good. I didn't want to risk it burning so I spent almost all of that time sitting on a chair next to the stove stirring it. I think I should have used a big flat pan. It would have been much quicker.

 

[manticle]

OT:

I caramelise mine in a frying pan on the stove while I'm doing the boil outside. It requires frequent checking but there's a particular point at which you need to watch it super closely. Prior to that it's just boiling and reducing wort.

It's hard to describe but I'll try. If you took a wort and boiled it, then someone put detergent in it while you weren't looking - it's a little like that. The bubbles seem to get much slower forming and larger in size. When you dip a spoon in, the wort should coat the spoon as it cools. You can then take it right down to toffee (ie drips will solidify as you lift the spoon out of the wort). This is the crucial moment because the window between toffee and burnt is minute. You should almost be scraping the sides of the pan when it's at its best. Even if you think you burnt it, let it cool (please let it cool) then taste a bit (please let it cool) once it's cool (please let it cool). It takes ages to get to the large slow bubbles stage though.

Let me know how you go with head retention. I do have some issues with that at the moment that may relate to the caramelisation process. Head forms beautifully but just doesn't stay.

 

[rude]

wyeast is about 16 bucks a pak around here

I'm a typical jewmunger (sorry all jews) just a bit of Aussie slang but I dig around in the non wanted box of wyeasts over 6 months old half price too

Now sometimes these things are half swollen allready but with a good smack & I'll tell ya thats hard because being half swollen the nutrient pack is a slippery little sucker

Then I wait sometimes jeez I recon 5 to 7days sometimes for a full swollen pack

Then as said before 1035 wort starter 1.5 litre with the odd swirl for me in my chiller at 19c

Usually no krausen in the first starter but the slurry build up at the bottom is a dead give away its done.

Wait a few days chill in the fridge smell taste before pitching usually pour off the wort at the top & admire the yeast flavour

Then comes the fermentation handling another story

 

[gwozniak]

I had a bad experiance with liquid yeat once. Ordered some from across the state. By the time it got here it took way to long to activate. It was dead!!! Ended up with some crappy beers after pitching emergency dry yeset. These liquid yeast is fregile as all. Take good care with them

 

[jakester]

Ok, have been reading up on what to do with my yeast but i have limited time as i want to rack my beer tomorrow some time. I now know most of you start farming from the pack, while the strain is clean and unharmed, not after the first brew like i thought.
Having not read all the posts in the yeast section, but will get there, it seems like Chillers original method might be the way to go but that post was written 6 years ago and was wondering is this still a preferred method or is there something that is more practised now to collect off the yeast cake?
I want to brew again on the weekend, and no chill so preparing the yeast for two batches will be what i am after, i know i can use the whole cake straight away but can i halve it and use it for the two 20L batches that i will brew, that is if the yeast seems in good condition. If 3 brews is all i get out of the pack it is still cheaper than buying saf packs and will be more ready for my next liquid yeast one day.
Cheers in advance.

 

[manticle]

There's a million ways and you can get more than three.

There is slanting which is splitting up the original pack.

There is top cropping which is scooping out some of the krausen during ferment (very healthy yeast)

There is re-using slurry.

There is brewing immediately on whole yeast cake.

All have their pros and cons. If you want to re-use the yeast cake my method is as follows.

Boil a litre or so of water and allow it to cool.
Sanitise a vessel (I currently use longnecks but I've recently bought some pyrex test-tubes so I take up less room in the fridge).
After bottling/kegging throw boiled cooled water in fermenter, swirl and then half fill 2 or 3 longnecks, cap and refrigerate. Don't forget to label and date.

As I said - my method. There may be things others might recommend (some people wash their slurry etc). Works for me. Each of those longnecks is worth at least a brew each and from those brews I can both top crop and re-use slurry again. People suggest yeast is only re-usable for several generations (usually around 5) . I've not yet tried to push it too far so I can't comment.

 

[jakester]

Thanks Manticle, that explanation was exactly what i was after. You always seem to come up with the right advice for the new comer like myself.
Just a question though, do you just throw the whole bottle in that you have collected, tip any liquid out or do you make a starter to test the viability of the yeast?
Cheers for the much needed advice.

 

[manticle]

I almost always make a starter - anything could have happened to the yeast in that time and you could just be throwing in an infection or bunch of dead yeast cells.

My method (and again there are many and there are probably better ones than mine) is as follows.

Remove yeast from fridge and allow to come to ambient temp.
Boil water, mix in dme and cool until below 25 deg (I prefer around 18-20)
Swirl yeast slurry and pour into dme mix. Because the yeast has been dormant and it's just boiled cooled water, there's no need to pour the top off. Whisk furiously.
Cover and let stand until krausen appears. Make sure it tastes and smells ok (like yeast, bread or beer/malt is ok. Like pants and arse is not).
Pitch.

Alternatively you can let it ferment right out. If the temps during ferment are high, you'll need to pur the top of the beer off and just use the slurry beneath. This is generally what you'd do if you were tryng to build up the cell count.

I've not yet started to use calculators like Mr malty to calculate the exact amount of yeast I need. This method seems to work well for me so far (always fires up very quickly) although I probably should be a bit more accurate with higher gravity brews and build up if I need to. It would be worth your while reading up on extending my methods a little and doing them properly. I'm a bit rough sometimes and while it works for me, there's no harm in gaining a better understanding.

 

[jakester]

I was just going back over all the posts in this thread to try and drum it all into my thick skull. I just read one of your posts where you say you do always make a starter, sorry for the dumb question!
Your answer looks great and simple enough even for me to follow.
Wish i could shout you a beer mate, thanks!

 

[manticle]

If we all got punished for asking dumb questions, I'd be in an iron maiden with attached thumbscrews and a codling grinder.

 

[jakester]

:lol: Manticle, love it. I suppose we all have to start somewhere right.