Reusing US-05

[damoninja]

I keep a collection of pasta sauce jars for the same reason. I bought a $50 electric pressure cooker from Aldi and can sterilise around four jars at a time. Then tip one or two onto yeast cake and recover into the same jars. Top up with another jar, rinse, repeat etc etc. I've also been sterilising the odd jar of starter wort for topping up stepped starters without having to do a small boil first. Just got to remember to leave all the lids loose in the cooker and wear protective gear when handling. And let them cool slowly.

20131104_101936.jpg

I'm planning on doing the same... I just boil my jars in water for 20 minutes, gets the labels off nicely at the same time... In a second pot I boil the water that's going into the jars and scoop it up while it's still boiling.

 

[breakbeer]

Glad I read this thread, I've been using fresh packs of US 05 for years but now want to start re-using it as yeast is now the most expensive part of my brew

 

[of mice and gods]

Your yeast is more expensive than your grist?

you must have a hell of a secret there.

 

[damoninja]

Glad I read this thread, I've been using fresh packs of US 05 for years but now want to start re-using it as yeast is now the most expensive part of my brew

My thoughts exactly.

I've decided the next time I do it I'm going to do my brew the day before I need to harvest the yeast and no-chill it in some cubes so I don't need to rush.

Plus I've got some time off work so I'm going to make sure all my cubes are full so I can pitch some super easy brews when I'm back at work.

 

[Yob]

I'm planning on doing the same... I just boil my jars in water for 20 minutes, gets the labels off nicely at the same time... In a second pot I boil the water that's going into the jars and scoop it up while it's still boiling.

Technically, if you want sterile water, you need to boil it 3 times over 3 days, spores can survive a single boil and bud again.. hence the multiple boils, allowing enough time between boils for spores to bud.

I keep a 3lt milk container in the brew cupboard of such water I use for all my rinsing... for the good it does me, it at least makes me feel better about the process.

 

[breakbeer]

Your yeast is more expensive than your grist?

you must have a hell of a secret there.

Or I get really cheap grain & pay too much for my yeast

Actually, now that I do the sums the grain works out at roughly $8.25 per batch & a pack of US05 costs me about $7

Re using the yeast would almost halve my costs

 

[toncils]

That's awesome.Any secret to getting really cheap grain?


Just bottled a choc stout, very heavy on the cocoa. I'm in the process of rinsing the yeast, but I have a terrible feeling it's going to taint my next brew; a golden ale.

 

[breakbeer]

That's awesome.Any secret to getting really cheap grain?.

No secret, just keep an eye on the Bulk Buy section of this forum

 

[damoninja]

Technically, if you want sterile water, you need to boil it 3 times over 3 days, spores can survive a single boil and bud again.. hence the multiple boils, allowing enough time between boils for spores to bud.

I keep a 3lt milk container in the brew cupboard of such water I use for all my rinsing... for the good it does me, it at least makes me feel better about the process.

Huzzah! Thanks again Yob.

I've got plenty of time between now and my next brew so I'll give this a shot!

I've also got 2 cubes sitting here doing nothing except holding my star san between uses... I might just boil up a full pot or two and store in here between boils and before I transfer to my smaller containers.

 

[technobabble66]

Just need a bit of advice/re-assurance:

This is my first time rinsing.
After much reading, i followed what i thought was the same protocol as Wolfy, only to discover i messed up the lots of it.
I threw ~1.5L (wrong) into the yeast cake in the FV. Then swirled it vigorously & let it settle for 15min (wrong!), then poured the yeasty looking stuff into 3 vessels (a 700mL glass & 2x 1.25L PETs) - maybe 200-300mL in each (too much - looked ok at the time). Filled with sterile water. Shook vigorously & let sit.
Very Very Very slow to settle, so i waited a full 24hrs. It had dropped all the hops slop, a band of white (yeast i was hoping), and a truckload of stuff still in suspension. So a decanted off most of the suspension stuff & refilled with water. I've now done this twice & i still have a lot of stuff in suspension.

What i need to know is whether i decant/toss all the stuff in suspension, assuming all the yeast i want is in the white band above the the bottom hops layer?

I plan to brew today/now & are relying on this yeast - so basically, is the white layer 2nd from the bottom the yeast layer i can pitch straight into the wort (of one vessel & save the other 2 vessels)??

1st pic - First rinse after 30min
2nd pic - First rinse after 24hrs
3rd pic - 2nd rinse, after 24hrs to settle (including 8hrs in fridge)
4th pic - 3rd rinse, also after 24hrs to settle (including 8hrs in fridge)

 

[Yob]

The problem you face is that the stuff still in suspension is likely to be the less floculent yeast.. and an unknown quantity..

24hrs is way too long to be making the selection as loads of healthy yeast, having found noting to munch on will have settled down to the bottom.

Personally, I'd be pouring off the clear liquid at the top and giving the rest a good swirl and topping up to the 3/4 full level again, leave for 20 mins and decant the liquid to another container.. for 2 of those collected bottles.

The problem you will have then is that you will have a large volume of liquid containing your yeast that will require time to settle out.

The other option is just to wing it and pour off the clear liquid on top of, say the jar with the green lid, give it a good swirl and pitch the lot. you could try tipping as much as possible out and adding back say 300ml and trying to let the shit settle and 'try' and get the clean stuff but I dont like your chances and will be hit and miss anyway.

It takes a while to get the procedures and the right equipment down pat mate, keep at it.

 

[technobabble66]

Thanks Yob,
Yeah i was worried about selecting the poorly flocc'ing yeasties.
But i thought i was meant to get ~4 layers - hops, dead yeast/trub, good yeast, floaties/liquid.
So i wasnt sure if the last 2 layers are represented in the liquid stuff still in suspension, though the time taken to get to this stage is ridiculous!

What did i do wrong, do you think?

Are you saying the 2nd layer from the bottom is the one i want & basically just toss all remaining liquid, or i should try to save the lower ~1/3rd of the liquid also? I guess it's complicated slightly by me wanting to pitch one of them & save the other 2.

What i was thinking was the 2 PETs i'll save - so keep fluffing around with rinsing them.
The glass jar i was going to pitch later today. So: toss all the liquid. Pour in ~300-400mL sterile water, shake, let sit for 15-30min to let the hops settle out a bit & pour in all remaining liquid as the pitching yeast.

I think that's what you're saying, correct?

Do you reckon there's enough yeast in the glass jar by the look of it?

Apologies for the 20 questions!! :unsure:

 

[technobabble66]

Faaaarrk - just cooked my mash while typing the above post!!! :angry:

Did a 7min rest at 52°C & was ramping the urn up to 66°C. I checked it after 5mins - got to 56°C. Left it for what i thought was another 5 mins - suddenly up to 73°C. Pulled the bag & chucked in some cold water to drop it back to 65°C after a couple on minutes. Hopefully the Beta is still viable & the Alpha still has some stuff to work on when i do my 72°C step in an hour.

It's a S&W Pacific Ale clone, so hopefully it'll still be ok!
Maybe the yeast doesn't matter so much any more ^_^

Bugger, bugger, bugger!!!! :angry:

Anyways, back to the yeasties, nothing to see here...

 

[Camo6]

If you can see a white line of yeast on your trub you've waited too long. You want to collect this yeast while still in suspension. Trub and hops settle quickly and once they do you want to get the good stuff off the top of it. Leave some liquid behind rather than pour trub into your new vessel. This liquid should then be allowed to settle overnight or rinsed again.
Sounds like your pushed for time though. If you can pour off most of the liquid from the left bottle top up, shake and wait for the trub to settle (10-15mins) then keep the liquid on top which has all the yeast. Pitch this liquid and hope for the best. Sorry, chilling a saison atm so on phone.

 

[technobabble66]

Thanks Camo6

Between you & Yob, i think i've now got enough of an idea what to do here. Or at least i'm confident enough to have a crack at it.

Good luck with the saison!

 

[Camo6]

Sorry, didn't see Yob's post and couldn't make out pics too well outside. You got loads of yeast in the middle and right bottles too. I'd go with Yob's advice and just pitch the yeast and trub. A bit of roughage works wonders. Good news is I finished the saison. Hit my volumes but was down 2 points on OG. Close enough for me. Keen to see what this belle saison can do.

 

[technobabble66]

...
What i was thinking was the 2 PETs i'll save - so keep fluffing around with rinsing them.
The glass jar i was going to pitch later today. So: toss all the liquid. Pour in ~300-400mL sterile water, shake, let sit for 15-30min to let the hops settle out a bit & pour in all remaining liquid as the pitching yeast.
...

Did this.

I pitched the yeast in the glass jar about half an hour ago.
After ditching the liquid, i added 400ml water, let sit while i continued brewing. After a few hours, I tossed 50-100ml of clear liquid at the top. Re-shook the jar. Let sit for 10-15mins, then pitched all liquid into the FV, minus about 50ml of crud in the bottom.

Thanks to Yob & Camo6 for their help.

Fingers crossed !

 

[pist]

Just my personal opinion, however for the cost of a new packet of yeast, i think this outweighs the risk of infection/spoilage. I personally would not entertain the idea of reusing yeast.

 

[Yob]

Practicing on a cheaper yeast like 05 is a good way to learn the procedures without stuffing up liquids, by the time the methods are down pat and liquids come along, everything falls into place easily.

Another reason for doing so is the performance of yeast gets better with usage, at the 3-5 uses, yeast has become climatised to your brewery and is really cranking along. (Well it does for me anyway)

all in all, its just another facet of what is an amazingly diverse hobby.. you don many coats to be a home brewer

 

[technobabble66]

Yep. Spot on, Yob.
I hate risking an infection, but this seemed the best way to learn how to rinse yeast on a cheaper packet & a pretty straight forward brew. And I'm keen to see what round 2 brings.

I re-used BRY-97, btw.

9 hrs later there's no sign of activity. Boo! I was hoping it'd fire quickly as one of the improvements people seem to get on the 2nd use of the yeast.
Fingers still crossed!