Propogating Yeast

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daveisbludging

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Guys,

I'm about to get into liquid yeasts but decided to test my propogation techniques on a Safale dried yeast first. Not to be a tight arse but I figured it was better stuffing up a $3 yeast then a $15.

Everything went well and I got 5 stubbies of yeast. Capped each stubbie and placed them into the beer fridge for later use.

When I went to reuse one the other day I stupidly shook it up before taking off the gap. End result was a gusher. Ok, lesson number one - don't shake up before uncapping.

Yesterday I uncapped a second bottle and same result - a gusher. Am I better off using 600ml PET bottles where the lid can be loosened slowly or would cooling the wort and yeast prior to bottling help?

Cheers.
 
did you let it ferment out first before bottling?? thats one tip. Then you refeed them before pitching.
 
When I propogate a yeast; I pitch the yeast to the wort and then collect several stubbies from the bottom of the fermenter after bottling the brew. I just give the fermenter a little swish after Ive gotten what I want bottled and then collect the stubbies.
When I want to use that yeast again, I pour off the liquid(after letting it come back to room temp) and pitch the slurry in the bottom of the stubbie to a DME/water mix and get it active again. Once active(maybe step it up[repaet process]) I pitch that to the new brew.
 
dave, you can release pressure in stubbies of yeast samples by gently lifting one crimp of the crown seal just enough to let the gas "phhst" out quietly without a gusher, much as you would do in bed with a new partner or in a crowded lift.

It is then a simple matter of running the capper over the crown seal to ensure a tight seal.
 
Good tip deebee.
I always let my starters finish 100% before bottling them, then I tend to add some freshly cooled boiled water - maybe 2 parts water to 1 part of the finished beer (really a guess coz the yeast slurry makes up a good part of the "beer" bit. That way I can shake the starter to unstick all the slurry before repitching.

I recently got a starter of a highly flocculative strain from a friend, and out of habit, shook the bejesus out of the stubby before opening it... lost about a 1/3 down the drain and about 1/16 into my eye! Luckily I was over the sink at the time. Next time, I'll release the pressure before shaking, then again before opening.
 
I use Grolsch bottles for my yeast starters and store them in the fridge after they appear to ferment out.

Even so often I open each one just to make sure there's no build up. Over a period of time there's still just a lttle bit of fermentation going on so just a bit of pressure building. I'm just a bit paranoid about one exploding or making a mess.

If you do it carefully you only need to touch the metal clip rather than the stopper itself so you're not getting your fingers all over the stopper.

Trev
 
I prefer to store mine in plastic bottles

And in a my CC fridge , near to 0c
 
Strange how an ale yeast will stop in its tracks if you let the brew drop below 15C but those little samples in the frig will just keep on ticking over at a few degrees above zero.
 
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