Yeast Culture

[Luke Gibbon]

I have been brewing for over 12 years however i have never cultured or re used yeast before.
I am paranoind i will stuff it up. On the weekend i pitched a Wyeast 2001 Urquell. (not used them before either)
Is it simply a matter of gathering part of the left over yeast cake from this brew after my 1st rack into a sterized coke or water bottle, top up with a bit of beer from the batch, seal and putting away in the fridge?
I was then going to get the yeast out from the fridge severall hours before i need it for my next batch to allow it to warm up, then simply pitch it as normal?
Not sure if it's that simple but this was the advice i was given, any pointers greatly appreciated.

 

[Zwickel]

I have been brewing for over 12 years however i have never cultured or re used yeast before.
I am paranoind i will stuff it up. On the weekend i pitched a Wyeast 2001 Urquell. (not used them before either)
Is it simply a matter of gathering part of the left over yeast cake from this brew after my 1st rack into a sterized coke or water bottle, top up with a bit of beer from the batch, seal and putting away in the fridge?
I was then going to get the yeast out from the fridge severall hours before i need it for my next batch to allow it to warm up, then simply pitch it as normal?
Not sure if it's that simple but this was the advice i was given, any pointers greatly appreciated.

yeah mate, thats right. That way Im using the yeast cake up to 6 times, sometimes 8 times in a row.

You dont need to warm it up for pitching, just pitch cold.

Yeast basically gets shocked when youre going to pitch warm yeast into cold wort, not the other way round.

Cheers mate :icon_cheers:

 

[Wolfy]

To be honest there are quite a few threads - and some heated discussion - on this topic, so if you use the search function you should be able to find them.
The general consensus is that if you wish to save the yeast for a period of time it's best to wash it before storing, but do a search, read the various threads, and then decide which method is best for you.

 

[Luke Gibbon]

great, thanks for the advise gents. I can't wait to get brewing again this weekend. Ta.

 

[~MikE]

check out this link: yeast farming

basically you're right, you can just take say a cup of yeast cake - chuck it into a sterilised/sanitised bottle, top it up with cooled boiled water (not beer) and store in the fridge.

if it's more than a month old, you'll probably want to make a starter with it.