Wyeast 3068 Question

[SJW]

I am about to pitch a smaked pack of Wyeast 3068. It is nice and healthy as it fully swelled up in a couple of hours. Normally with wyeast I split the first yeast cake up into 6 stubbies and carbonate as normal and store cold for future use. So would this method be fine with this yeast or should I take a few drops from the pack and store in a test tube? I guess my question is........is this considered a first generation one the pack has swelled? It should be a nice clean yeast cake as I only used 30g of hops and kept most of the trub out.

Steve

 

[newguy]

I routinely reuse my yeast to get 3 batches from one pack. Pack -> starter -> 1st batch -> reuse yeast cake for 2nd batch -> reuse yeast cake for 3rd batch. The third batch has the same banana/clove character as the first....at least that's been my experience.

A word of caution - don't oxygenate your wort if you like the banana ester this yeast can produce. If you oxygenate, expect more clove than anything. And even gently splashing your wort counts as oxygenation with this yeast. Pitch a larger amount to compensate for the lack of oxygen if you decide to go that route.

 

[white.grant]

Hi Steve

I just ran a series of 6 weizens off the one smack pack of 3068 -- hefe/dunkel/weizenbock/dunkel/dunkel/hefe, I was basically pitching one straight after the other finished and harvesting more or less of the yeast cake.

I had heard that 3068 doesn't like to sit around inactive -- think it was on a Jamil show podcast which is why I tried to keep it on the go. I have a sample in the fridge from the first hefe and I plan to start it up to see how it goes early in the new year.

I noted a definite change in the ester profile by the second last dunkel but I think I was managing the fermentation process a little better (ie cooler). It was still vigorous, right to the last.

cheers

grant

 

[Ronin]

Hi Steve

I just ran a series of 6 weizens off the one smack pack of 3068 -- hefe/dunkel/weizenbock/dunkel/dunkel/hefe, I was basically pitching one straight after the other finished and harvesting more or less of the yeast cake.

I had heard that 3068 doesn't like to sit around inactive -- think it was on a Jamil show podcast which is why I tried to keep it on the go. I have a sample in the fridge from the first hefe and I plan to start it up to see how it goes early in the new year.

I noted a definite change in the ester profile by the second last dunkel but I think I was managing the fermentation process a little better (ie cooler). It was still vigorous, right to the last.

cheers

grant

Hi Grant,

I heard the same Jamil show episode, just after I had grown some 3068 I had in my fridge for over 2 years...it took off a bit slow in the starter but the yeast ended up healthy and made one of the best beers I've made. I still got heaps of clove and a tiny bit of banana (kept it at 20C), so I didn't think the esters changed from it's long hibernation. Just yesterday I grew another one from a 6 month old stock. I don't think it's as sensitive as that podcast suggested.

James

 

[white.grant]

Hi Grant,

I heard the same Jamil show episode, just after I had grown some 3068 I had in my fridge for over 2 years...it took off a bit slow in the starter but the yeast ended up healthy and made one of the best beers I've made. I still got heaps of clove and a tiny bit of banana (kept it at 20C), so I didn't think the esters changed from it's long hibernation. Just yesterday I grew another one from a 6 month old stock. I don't think it's as sensitive as that podcast suggested.

James

Hi James,
thanks for the info, I'm glad to hear that.

cheers

Grant

 

[Tim F]

I've found that harvesting yeast slurry from my fermenter with this one produced much less banana flavour as opposed to splitting it into slants and starting a new 1st generation starter each time.

 

[SJW]

I suspect it's got a bit to do with the fact that when pitching a stored portion of the yeast cake you would be pitching a lot more yeast than the first time with just the pack. This could be why there is less banana flavours and a slight change in yeast profile.
I pitched mine without a starter into a 1.050 Dunk. at 18 deg C. It took off after 10 hours and is now chugging away at about 19 or 20. I will just split the yeast cake and bottle with a little dextrose and see how it goes.

Steve

 

[Ronin]

I suspect it's got a bit to do with the fact that when pitching a stored portion of the yeast cake you would be pitching a lot more yeast than the first time with just the pack. This could be why there is less banana flavours and a slight change in yeast profile.
I pitched mine without a starter into a 1.050 Dunk. at 18 deg C. It took off after 10 hours and is now chugging away at about 19 or 20. I will just split the yeast cake and bottle with a little dextrose and see how it goes.

Steve

I agree with the overpitching thing...I think I read somewhere, might have been brew like a monk, that the belgians specifically underptich (comparatively) to enhance the esters produced.