Reusing Yeast?

[Crunched]

I just racked an ale to secondary and decided to keep the yeast slurry and read up on how to re-use it. After a lengthy search, I can't find any specific info (as searching for anything with the term 'yeast' produces alot of results).

Anyway, I've stored it in a sanitised glad-wrap bag for now in the fridge. What can I do with it? How can I reuse it?

 

[newguy]

If you reuse it quickly (a few days tops), then you really don't have to do anything. Beyond that, say a week - 2 weeks, oxygenate your wort really well, then pitch. Beyond that, starter.

 

[Crunched]

Cheers. So I can store it as long as I want and then just make a yeast starter with it a couple of days prior to brewing?

 

[peas_and_corn]

If you are keeping it for a while many people would recommend you 'wash' your yeast, where you allow the solids to settle and then you pour the 'good' yeast off for your starter. I personally am a lazy man, and I just drop my new wort onto the yeast cake from the brew that came before it.

 

[Fents]

^^ out of intrest do you wipe/wash the krausen ring off the feremter before dumping the next batch on the cake?

 

[razz]

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_makingastarter.cfm
Good info from Wyeast. Just follow the steps for making a starter.

 

[peas_and_corn]

^^ out of intrest do you wipe/wash the krausen ring off the feremter before dumping the next batch on the cake?

I really should do it each time, but sometimes I forget, which is somewhat negligent of me.

 

[muckey]

I'm not quite that lazy

I have often saved yeast from a fermenter and kept it in a sanitised container until ready to pitch a new batch. Normally because I dont pitch straight away

You can wash the yeast, but for the short time I've kept yeast I haven't bothered and I have always repitched into the same beer anyway

1 word of caution, be a bit carefull how much you use when repitching, if you use all of it you'll likely be overpitching and it can be difficult to keep the ferment temperature under control.

 

[SJW]

IMO. If it was a pretty clean brew ie not too much crap got into the fermenter I just swirl the dregs around after kegging and bottle as usual into a stubbie and even add dextrose to carbonate it. This will keep for years under co2 pressure. Then when u come to brew again just pour off the clear beer and pitch the yeast, or even make a starter up to see it fire up, but half a stubbie of Lager yeast slurry is heaps for any Lager brew. As long as it smells good and tastes good.

Steve

 

[ikern]

IMO. If it was a pretty clean brew ie not too much crap got into the fermenter I just swirl the dregs around after kegging and bottle as usual into a stubbie and even add dextrose to carbonate it. This will keep for years under co2 pressure. Then when u come to brew again just pour off the clear beer and pitch the yeast, or even make a starter up to see it fire up, but half a stubbie of Lager yeast slurry is heaps for any Lager brew. As long as it smells good and tastes good.

Steve

Other than dumping staight on to an existing yeast cake this is the simplest alternative I have seen. I am assuming you allow the yeast to carbonate before refridgerating?

Cheers,

Soz

 

[Bribie G]

I have made a series of brews using Nottingham Yeast. I bottle, not keg, and at the end of the bottling session add a litre of sterile water and swish the empty fermenter around to get a runny liquid and then bottle a 1.25 sterilized PET out of the tap and just whack it straight into the fridge and keep till next brew.

To revive, on brewing day I let it warm up to room temp and pop a sugar cube or two dissolved priming lollies into it. It usually starts working within an hour or two and by the time I'm ready to pitch it's going wild and ready for action. A couple of brews ago I let it go too long and it sprayed the laundry while I was pitching!

I would only risk doing this three times before starting from scratch with a new packet of yeast but it has worked like a charm and the new brew kicks off very quickly.

I wouldn't want to keep the bottle for more than a few weeks but I have one in the fridge right now and might keep for 3 months out of interest and risk it, as an experiment.



Edit: I usually squeeze all the air out of the PET and as you can see some CO2 has gassed out of the liquid and there has been a little bit of residual fermentation which has filled the void with CO2 but the bottle is quite soft.

 

[KGB]

Good tips guys, I'll definitely be trying this one soon. I like the idea of the PET, I keg and dont actually own a capper (just grolsch bottles which I guess would be fine as well).

BribieG: do you pour off the "beer" from the top and just use the yeast slurry? or use the whole shebang?

 

[Crunched]

Agreed, great tips. I'll be doing another ale in a couple of days, so might get a starter going tomorrow with this one.

 

[SJW]

Other than dumping staight on to an existing yeast cake this is the simplest alternative I have seen. I am assuming you allow the yeast to carbonate before refridgerating?

Cheers,

Soz

Yes, for a few days though, Its not that important, as we aint going to drink it!

 

[kram]

I'll be switching to PET like BribieG after having two LC Pint bottles nearly sever my head off. I've had more close calls with yeast slurry bottle bombs than I have had with those filled with beer.

 

[Bribie G]

BribieG: do you pour off the "beer" from the top and just use the yeast slurry? or use the whole shebang?

No I just put in the sugars and after a while it starts 'churning' and sending little bombs of yeast up to the surface then sinking down again like a mini volcano, better than watching an aquarium of tropical fish :lol: so I just let it do its thing and pour the whole lot in.

 

[white.grant]

.... Beyond that, starter.

Yep, let your nose be your guide - starting the yeast lets you know what you're in for. If its off you'll smell it then, not later....

 

[Batz]

Yep, let your nose be your guide - starting the yeast lets you know what you're in for. If its off you'll smell it then, not later....

In fact drink it!
I turn off my stir plate and let the yeast settle,I don't want the stale beer on top so I sample it !
If it's off you'll know,otherwise it will taste ok,well OKish

Batz