W34/70 From A Bottle

[fergi]

hi guys i am going to try again to culture up some of the 34/70 yeast i used in my germen lager,in the instructions it says to use dme but as i havent got any on hand can i just use the coopers brewing sugar that i have lying around instead.not much other use for it .i am starting with the yeast at the bottom of one of my longnecks that i have opened,im just experimenting here so its no big deal if it doesnt take off,although i eventually want it to work
cheers
fergi

 

[warrenlw63]

Fergi,

Probably better to grab some pennies and go with the malt extract. Sugar doesn't really have the nutrients for the yeast.

If ever I'm stuck for malt extract for starters I just dart up to the local supermarket and buy a generic beer kit $7.50 for 1.7kg pretty hard to argue with.

Warren -

 

[SJW]

I am not sure FERGI why u would want to do this with a 34/70 yeast u brewed yourself. I understand if it is just practice, if so i would go and buy a bottle of Duvel or Chimay, drink it first then try and culture it up and if it dont work just try again & again and again.

STEPHEN

 

[fergi]

thanks guys,yes its just to start practicing my yeast culture as i havent done this before.i hope once i get it going to then start getting a few different liquid yeasts .the reason i mention using the sugar was not to save the dollars but for me to go to the local brew shop or supermarket is about 60 klm,s so its not really economical.i have a can of WANDER draught that someone bought for me about 2 years ago but i never wasted my time doing it,would this be alright to use asthe malt or would it be out of date by now,according to the bottom it is 12 months past best by date
cheers
fergi

 

[SJW]

Go for it Fergi, I have used Saflager yeast that was 2 years out of date and it was fine. I know yeast and malt are very dif. but give it a crack.

 

[pint of lager]

What is in the coopers mix? If it says anything to do with sucrose, glucose and dextrose, it is useless for culturing with. Your yeast needs real malt sugars to grow and multiply.

If the only malt you have is an out of date tin and it is a 110 km round trip use the out of date tin. It will be a bit darker than when fresh. I sometimes use cheap supermarket kits to make starters with. Transfer the LME out of the tin into containers. I then put a container onto a set of scales and dollop out roughly 110 gms of LME with a spoon per every litre of water starter. If you have no scales, try and divide the LME equally between two jars, then, draw approximately where each 100gms ends.

Keep the yeast sachet and label it "out of date" and use a bit in the boil of your starter as yeast food. One sachet is great for a regular 23 litre brew, so use a 1/23 of the sachet per 1 litre of starter.