So, I have all this yeast.. now what?

[trq]

Thought I'd post in here just so I can get an opinion from some locals.

My second all grain (BIAB) brew is coming along nicely in my fermentasourous fermentor, and it's at the stage now where I'm thinking about removing the yeast from the bottom.

I just took some pictures, the last 4 images here: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/smash-apa-chinook/brew-logs/150369.

Now, I've never harvested from a fermentor before, and everything I've seen online has kind of described harvesting after the beer is removed from the top. In my case, I can sneak the yeast out from underneath by simply removing that little bottle.

My question is, will this yeast still need to be washed and separated?

To me, it looks pretty clear that that little bottle is one solid mass of yeast.

I'm thinking I can just sterilize some (3 maybe) containers and split the contents of that bottle into those containers. Do I need to put the yeast into some kind of liquid? Water? Wort? Beer? What?

Any help much appreciated.

 

[mr_wibble]

I have to answer your question with a question: What do you plan to do with the yeast?

Right now you can just remove and cap that yeast (with a sanitised cap), and put it in your fridge.
If you want to save and/or split the yeast - search on this forum for "Yeast Washing", there's a huge thread with great info and pictures.

Of course you could also just pitch that bottle yeast into a new brew, and this is much the same as pitching onto the left-over yeast at the bottom of a fermenter. If this brew is a dry-hopped-hop-monster, and the next brew was a lighter-flavoured beer, obviously some hop resins etc are in that yeast too, and it's not such a great move. But if it's a similar beer, no worries.

 

[trq]

Ideally, I would like to store this yeast for maybe a fortnight and use it in another brew (or 2?)

So, I need to "wash" it? I'll do some searching.

I was thinking I needed to do something like that. Thanks.

 

[trq]

Collected it and am now in the first round of "washing". Might be the only round I do.

IMG_1982

• trq
• 30/7/17

 

[Glomp]

Its tempting to get a fermentasourous just for the ease of yeast collection.

 

[fungrel]

I see you are using WLP001 in this recipe. If you have the facilities to, you could overbuild your starters and collecting yeast before pitching, rather than reusing the yeast (that have possibly been more stressed from the preceding fermentation) at the bottom of the fermenter. Most would say there is little difference in the final product, but i find that it's much easier to estimate cell count from an overbuilt starter than that which has trub and other proteins that precipitate from the wort during fermentation. There is some info that indicates that correctly harvested yeast has several generations in it before it starts to drift from its atypical characteristics, i have found that up to 5-6 generations is as far as i was happy with it when overbuilding starters. I haven't pitched beer yeast from trub more than a few so i can't comment on that. I've found top-cropping yeast strains produce the best harvested yeast. I would reccomend harvesting from the krausen in strains where this is possible.

 

[Rocker1986]

What Fungrel does is my standard harvesting procedure as well, partly for the reasons of yeast stress from being through all different worts, partly due to more accurate cell counts, and partly because I really can't be arsed going through all the rinsing shit if there's another method I can use to get reasonably clean yeast without needing to do that.

I got up to 9 or 10 generations with US-05 before it produced a fuckin' phenol city beer. I will limit it to 7 in future just to be safe. I managed about 13 or 14 generations over two years with Wy2001 before I retired it so I could try the 2000 before it was discontinued from regular sale. The 2001 was still producing excellent pilsners even after that long, and I wouldn't have replaced it if it wasn't for wanting to try the 2000. Got 1469 going around 8 or 9 gens currently after 1 and a half years or so and still fine, with 1272 up to around 4 or 5 gens. So yeah, at least in my experience the process works well for more than a few generations of re-use. I have no doubt that the yeast do change over the generations but until they produce a shithouse flavored beer I don't see any reason to stop re-using them.

 

[MartinOC]

Its tempting to get a fermentasourous just for the ease of yeast collection.

Very interesting method of packaging you've got there (obviously with a domestic vac-sealer). Care to share your process & thought-processes in doing it this way?

 

[S.E]

Very interesting method of packaging you've got there (obviously with a domestic vac-sealer). Care to share your process & thought-processes in doing it this way?

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/yeast-in-a-bag.95763/

 

[MJF]

quite impressive. using mason jars myself but only used liquid a dozen or so times so still figuring out what's best. Got the stirplate with the heat switch, gets too hot if you leave it on so I don't. Unsure how to utilise this function. Just kick starting it for 20 minutes perhaps or I may place a heat mat on to take the edge off, unsure if the magnet will penetrate. Anyway, for another day......9 months a year wouldn't really matter.