Starting Wyeast

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Specimen jar i got hold about 60ml. I can't remeber how OP does it but i did use it when i started. Now i just use 1.5L of wort and let that ferment out. Then pour off about 1.2L of fermented wort (and taste to see if all is good), then shake and distribute between me specimen jars. Come brew day i just make another 1.5L starter for Ales and then chuck that into the fermenter. That is the way i do it and it seems to work for me. If i am doing anything wrong i am up for addvice.
 
they sell them in box of 500 as a minimum. so yes its fun.
i might have one bag left ill check tomorrow if you want.
 
They would be a good size for freezing as well. A couple of months ago I started a thread on freezing yeast - I'm going to thaw out and use my first tube later in the week when I run up an Old Speckled Hen type and I'll bump that thread then with results.
 
After reading through this thread & Tony's thread on splitting smack-packs I've decided to split an activator pack that I have sitting in the fridge into 4 (3 to be stored, one to use at time of splitting). As I only brew 23 litre batches, would a starter volume of around 500ml be sufficient to get things underway, or should I be looking to increase the volume to around 1 litre?
Assistance from the brains trust would be much appreciated on this one, cheers.
 
they sell them in box of 500 as a minimum. so yes its fun.
i might have one bag left ill check tomorrow if you want.

If you have two or smiley pulls out i have been looking for some too :icon_cheers:
 
only one bag left apart from the one ive just opened guy smiley has first option
 
Sorry if this is already mentioned somewhere in the discussion, I read this about a week ago and can't remember if it was. Can you do this with a dry yeast lets say a US05? Sorry again if it was mentioned.

Cheers Damien
 
Sorry if this is already mentioned somewhere in the discussion, I read this about a week ago and can't remember if it was. Can you do this with a dry yeast lets say a US05? Sorry again if it was mentioned.

Cheers Damien
Damian,
I wouldn't bother trying to split dry yeast . For what it costs for a 11g packet , and with all the stuffing around you'd have to do to measure out yeast etc ( and keep eveything sanitry ) IMHO , it isn't worth the effort. At least you know when you open a dry packet that its sterile...
Believe me , there is pain associated with tipping a full batch of beer when your yeast wasn't up to the challenge....lol
:icon_cheers:
Ferg
 
7 years, 9 months still educating... Thankyou Batz, and apologies for anyone upset by bringing up old threads for educational purposes.

Just a quick question, I'm boiling my DME in a 2L Erlenmeyer, crash chilling to room temp and pitching the smack pack straight into it, not decanting into another vessel, waiting for activity and then splitting into separate containers for refridgeration.

Am I okay doing this method... Or should I really be transferring the wort into another sanitized vessel?

Thankyou
 
That's how I used to do it. Ferment a 2L starter out then split it in to 6 stubbies. On the last stubbie of yeast make another 2L starter with it and do the same. I've had no probs going 3-4 generations with the yeasts I've tried it with.
 
7 years, 9 months still educating... Thankyou Batz, and apologies for anyone upset by bringing up old threads for educational purposes.

Just a quick question, I'm boiling my DME in a 2L Erlenmeyer, crash chilling to room temp and pitching the smack pack straight into it, not decanting into another vessel, waiting for activity and then splitting into separate containers for refridgeration.

Am I okay doing this method... Or should I really be transferring the wort into another sanitized vessel?

Thankyou

mmmm. I think not really. A smack pack (age dependant etc etc) is good to go for 20 odd L batch. I would be saving the original smack packs contents into 4 seperate small vials (or similar). 1/4 of a smack pack into 2L wort and youre away. Then you have 3 unused, new, ready to go next time. Makes a 10 dollar wyeast into 4 'new' starters.
 
I see, my question was more to do with using the same vessel (Erlenmeyer) to boil and ferment in and hopefully reduce chances of infection on transfer to another container?

With the method you described, are you limiting your multiplication of cells. As compared with OP method?


Edit: possibly not multiplication but rather growth of cells?
 
mmmm. I think not really. A smack pack (age dependant etc etc) is good to go for 20 odd L batch. I would be saving the original smack packs contents into 4 seperate small vials (or similar). 1/4 of a smack pack into 2L wort and youre away. Then you have 3 unused, new, ready to go next time. Makes a 10 dollar wyeast into 4 'new' starters.

This is what I do. Works triffically and means you use Gen Zero yeast each time.

Don't smack the smack packs before splitting and you'll fill 4 30ml vials easily

I tend to do 3 or 4 smack packs at once... only takes a few minutes and 12 30 ml vials is much easier to store than half a slab of stubbies ;)

And who's had a friend complain about that really yeasty flat beer at the back of the beer fridge... somehow the same doesn't happen to the yellow lidded vials ;)
 
I see, my question was more to do with using the same vessel (Erlenmeyer) to boil and ferment in and hopefully reduce chances of infection on transfer to another container?
Yes, use the same vessel

With the method you described, are you limiting your multiplication of cells. As compared with OP method?
Nope, 1/4 of a pack is good for 2L wort. Should reproduce enough to pitch into a 23L batch. Pour off excess liquid first. Swirl it up, pitch into fermenter. Wort at right temp on top, aerate and wait.
 
This is what I do. Works triffically and means you use Gen Zero yeast each time.

Don't smack the smack packs before splitting and you'll fill 4 30ml vials easily

I tend to do 3 or 4 smack packs at once... only takes a few minutes and 12 30 ml vials is much easier to store than half a slab of stubbies ;)

And who's had a friend complain about that really yeasty flat beer at the back of the beer fridge... somehow the same doesn't happen to the yellow lidded vials ;)

Just clarifing what you said about liquid yeast. You grab a smack pack and divide it into 4. (Do you smack it 1st to mix the little satchel, if not what do you do with the satchel?) So you leave them in the fridge in jars as is (how long do you think they will keep?). Then on brew day, you grab 2L of chilled wort. Mix it with the yeast. Drop it into the FV and then the rest of the wort on top. Aeriate.
Does this sound about right?

Here is the thread on the subject
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=45866

I use 30ml sterile plastic vials, they're about 2cm wide.

I have found its better NOT to smack the smack pack. This keeps the yeast cleaner, saves time waiting for the smack pack to fully ferment, and means you get about 25-28mls of yeast etc in each vial, rather than slightly overflowing. The yeast is clearer too.

The little sachets of wort/nutrient can be added to you starter volume.

You make a starter. The problem is you're making a starter with only 25% of the yeast that you normally would, this means if you want to do this you may want to build yourself a stirplate and possiby do a double step starter.

I have splits from smack packs which are approaching 12 months old, they should be fine as long as you build them up properly. I'm currently about to build up a 6 month old vial. This will mean I do a 500ml starter on the stirplate, then add another 1.2L on the stirplate, then chill and decant the spent wort, then stir up the remainder and pitch.

I don't pitch the full starter volume as with a stirplate its heavily oxidized and nasty beer that I don't want in my final beer :)


Now, I don't start the starter on brewday. It takes a few days to build up the yeast to pitching rates, and as I no-chill, I collect the kettle dregs and strain that to get my starter wort, then more than a few days in advance I build up my yeast in a starter.

Once built up the yeast will keep in a fridge for at least a week. Come fermentation day, i pitch the yeast from that starter

splitting_wyeast.jpg

Here I am splitting 3 well-swolen wyeasts into 12 30ml vials. I no longer smack the wyeast packs before splitting.
 
I have a wyeast 3068 for a hefeweizin I wanted to brew. I had a look at it the other day in the fridge and it is already well swollen up.

Does this mean it has been "smacked" already in the fridge somehow? If it has been activated how do I know for sure? and how quickly do I need to use it?
 

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