My Wyeast Method

[Dave86]

Well, I've been having my first wyeast experience with the 1968 yeast and so far so good. I wanted to see what other brewers thought of my method for growing starters, here goes:

1: Smack pack.

2: Once pack has swollen, sterilise (very thoroughly) a 2L pet bottle and prepare 500ml starter wort.

3: Combine the wort and yeast in bottle, agitate gently and leave covered with the lid slightly loosened

Here's where the technique my be at fault

4. Pitch most of the yeast (or as much as needed) and squash a decent amount of air out of the bottle but make sure to leave a decent amount (250ml) of yeast slurry in the bottle

5. Put bottle in fridge

6. Next brew, take bottle out, add starter wort and repeat



So, what do people think of this technique? I've done three batches using it now and want to get at least one more run out of the 1968 before I replace it with 1469. I know there is a chance of infection every time the bottle volume is reduced and fresh air is let into the bottle but is it a serious risk? Anyone tried something similar?

Cheers

Dave

 

[~MikE]

as long as you're adding sterile wort you should be fine as you're starting with a nice heap of cells. this is probably better than re-using slurry as you're not increasing the "generations" by nearly as much and you could probably push it to more brews than you otherwise could with yeast cake.

 

[Fourstar]

My thaught for this method:

After pitching the 1st amout of yeast. Chill the starter, pour off the 'beer' and top it up with sterile water. mix and let sit until you get a layer of trub.

Decant this into antoher container, chill, drain off all the water leaving the settled yeast behind.

Top up the bottle with the settled yeast with sterile water again. This will be beer free (relativly), simply then disturb to mix and then decant all of this into 300ml PET bottles filled to the brim and seal.

WHhen you want you're starter, decant off the sterile water, top up with wort/transfer to you're starter flask, get the starter going and then pitch.

Abit of screwing around but iwth them all individually stored in their own sterile solution, less chance of oxidisation occuring with the beer its stored under and there all ready togo.

 

[newguy]

Very similar to what I used to do (but I'm too lazy to do anymore). I'd build up a starter and pitch almost the entire thing, save for maybe 30ml. I'd then use the wort from that batch to step up the starter to approx 200-300ml and let it ferment out completely. Then I'd store it in a sealed beer bottle in the fridge. Next batch, I'd decant the liquid and step up the yeast again & repeat. I'd get 3 uses out of a single smack pack. Now I simply pitch onto the yeast cake from the previous batch. Told you I was lazy.

 

[Dave86]

Cheers guys

Might keep the 1968 on the go and see how long it lasts just out of curiosity, might need to find a few more bottles to build up a bit of yeast libary now :beerbang:

 

[jimi]

Well, I've been having my first wyeast experience with the 1968 yeast and so far so good. I wanted to see what other brewers thought of my method for growing starters, here goes:

1: Smack pack.

2: Once pack has swollen, sterilise (very thoroughly) a 2L pet bottle and prepare 500ml starter wort.

3: Combine the wort and yeast in bottle, agitate gently and leave covered with the lid slightly loosened

Here's where the technique my be at fault

4. Pitch most of the yeast (or as much as needed) and squash a decent amount of air out of the bottle but make sure to leave a decent amount (250ml) of yeast slurry in the bottle

5. Put bottle in fridge

6. Next brew, take bottle out, add starter wort and repeat



So, what do people think of this technique? I've done three batches using it now and want to get at least one more run out of the 1968 before I replace it with 1469. I know there is a chance of infection every time the bottle volume is reduced and fresh air is let into the bottle but is it a serious risk? Anyone tried something similar?

Cheers

Dave

Just make sure that "as much as needed" is! 1968 is excellent, but it needs a good volume to finish the job.

 

[raven19]

For my recent Amber Ale, I grabbed a Tablespoon of the yeast cake after racking the previous beer out of my fermenter, then stirred this into cool (12 degree - ish) sterile water in a sterile jar. Mix it up, leave it for 5 minutes, the trub falls out, leaving enough yeast in the liquid above to start my next beer straight away. In this case I actually whacked it back in the fridge for a week, then just reagitated it on brew day, let it settle, and straight into the fermenter (liquid ontop only, threw away the trub left in the jar). This method does lead to generations of yeast though...

I guess any method that leads to less yeast needing to be purchased will lead to more grain, and other brew stuff being bought - hence more beer... I like that idea... :icon_cheers:

 

[Dave86]

Yeah, I haven't had any problems to speak of with it. Constantly getting 70-75% attenuation, "as much as needed" obviously is! (I don't measure very accurately, just pour a good litre or so in! )

 

[SJW]

I just split the yeast cake up into 5 or 6 stubbies from the first brew. That way there a ton of yeast and I carbonate the stubbies too. I am just lazy, but it still works out very cheap.

Steve

 

[Stuster]

I grabbed a Tablespoon of the yeast cake

I'd say that's not really enough yeast. Definitely underpitching. I think more like half a cup of slurry is enough.

 

[Wardhog]

I just split the yeast cake up into 5 or 6 stubbies from the first brew. That way there a ton of yeast and I carbonate the stubbies too. I am just lazy, but it still works out very cheap.

Steve

Reading this makes me feel better, I'm currently on my first crack at a liquid yeast (Wyeast 1318 - love an ESB) and am pretty nervous about it. Eventually I'll get used to paying more than $4.50 for yeast

I made ~3L of wort using the 100g LDME/1L water boiled for 15 minutes plan. Smacked, puffed, pitched, let ferment down to 1.012, shaken to put yeast cake back in suspension, now in capped stubbies in the fridge. As I understand it, these will be good to use as is for about 2 months, after that I'll need to use them to make a starter before pitching. Have I got that right?

 

[SJW]

And the rest, I have had slurry stored in the fridge and its fired up after 18 months, and thats not even under sterile water, just the beer from the bottom of the fermenter all mixed up with the cake.
It ain't rocket science, just make sure your sanitization is top notch and u wont go far wrong. Obviously my method is simple and frought with danger and there is a thousand better ways to do it but it all come down to time V's results. And I ain't got the time to spend doing it other ways to end up with the same result......BEER.......

Steve