Yeast Cake

[flattop]

From a quick google on the ESB kit it says Recommended White Labs Yeast:Hefeweizen WLP300, i could swear it said SAAS on the foil pack.
Googled lallemand and i get the yeast profiles... like i said i think it's simply a comparison, the activity of the lager is slower than the dark.

I think your point is fair, the dark seems fast and the lager is probably fine, however the dark is not really fast its just robust, it seemed to continue bubbling strongly for days whereas the lager just seems to sit without a single bloop, as you said, different yeast profile.

 

[flattop]

Another question about harvesting yeast.
I know that you can harvest yeast from fermenters and home brewed and bottled beer but can you harvest yeast from your favorite commercial stubbie?
Say for example you buy a stubbie of Jolly Swagman lager and decide to culture it... can it be done reliably?

 

[buttersd70]

Another question about harvesting yeast.
I know that you can harvest yeast from fermenters and home brewed and bottled beer but can you harvest yeast from your favorite commercial stubbie?
Say for example you buy a stubbie of Jolly Swagman lager and decide to culture it... can it be done reliably?

yes and no. Easy to step up to a starter, and not that hard to isolate the strain if you play with slants; there is a but, though. the 'but' is that a lot of breweries don't bottle with the same yeast strain that is used for the primary fermentation....but if you have a particular brand in mind, a search on here or a post will usually get a response from someone that has done it or knows if that particular brand has the main strain in the bottle.

Coopers is a classic example; the strain in the bottle is the main strain, and reculturing coopers is in the article section....the same method would be used for any other brand that has the main strain in the bottle.

 

[flattop]

Already did that search and have a vague answer, i was more interested to see how reliable it is, after all if the bottling strain is different then the flavor would be different than if you had harvested the main strain. I did know about Coopers, it's more about other varieties from around the world.

 

[mynameisrodney]

This site has some info on different bottle conditioned beers including details on whether it's the same strain as primary. I doubt it's 100% accurate but worth a look.

Chris

 

[buttersd70]

top link, chris. A definate bookmark.

 

[flattop]

Yes plenty to look at there, i also had a squiz at culturing from a stubbie on a few sites, looks more complicated than i thought, with a lot of margin for foreign yeasts to strike.
I have read about just pitching a stubbie of your fave direct into the wort, but i suspect you would have to be lucky, and it would depend on the variety (how fresh how many cells etc)

 

[flattop]

Update on the lager, the SG dropped a few more points today and i sampled it, the yeast was from a Bavarian Wheat and the Coopers larger has taken on a nice wheaty style.
Its still too sweet 1030 and needs at least another 3-4 days in the primary but it's coming along nicely.

 

[Hashie]

A quick question on re-using yeast cake;

I currently have a robust porter (57.5 SRM) fermenting on the yest cake from a Summer Ale (11 SRM) and would like to use the cake again.
There has been a lot said about using progressively darker worts when doing this, but I can't find any reference as to why.
What difference would it make if I threw a ~20 SRM wort onto the yeast cake next time (that is after the 57.5)?