First attempt at yeast harvesting

[MyQul]

I re-hydrated and pitched some S04 yeast into a Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout (receipe from G.Wheelers book) and by today at 4.30 a nice krausen had formed.

As per instructions from various sources I have just skimmed off the brown protein scum. Fingers crossed by this time tomorow the krausen will have regrown and will be able to harvest some fresh yeast to pitch(from slurry, not gonna do a starter) in a couple of weeks time. :party:

 

[MyQul]

WTF!...... It's been about 1 hours since I skimmed the krausen off and it's grown back already!! :shock:

I haven't read anything about this happening, I was under the impression it would take up to 24 hours till I could harvest.

I have read SO4 if very vigorous fermenter and can completely ferment out in three days. When I rehydrated it, it was really vigorous, almost climbing out he bowl

 

[Brew2Day]

I've had yeast like that! I grabbed some slurry before xmas from a Wilko Light Golden Lager brew and it's been sitting in the fridge since washing it. Last night I siphoned off the excess liquid and spooned the yeast layer (as best as I could) into some cooled boiled water and glycerol in some test tubes and banged in the freezer. Hope it works out for you.

 

[MyQul]

Even though I sucesfully top cropped the SO4 I only collected about 7ml (dense slurry) of yeast. SO4 doesn't seem to be a good top cropper, so when I rack the beer off the yeast cake to bottle I will rinse the yeast cake to harvest instead.

Really enjoyed doing it and has given me a taste for harvesting and culturing yeast.
I'm going to harvest some Burton ale yeast in abut a weeks time from a couple of bottles of brakspear triple which my interweb researches state is the same as Whitelabs WLP023 liquid yeast

 

[clibit]

I've never top cropped, but my understanding is that highly flocculent strains like S04 are not ideal. They are better for 'bottom cropping', if that's a thing. It sounds logical.

I'm planning on using Wyeast 1318 some time soon and I believe this is really good for top cropping.

 

[MyQul]

I've never top cropped, but my understanding is that highly flocculent strains like S04 are not ideal. They are better for 'bottom cropping', if that's a thing. It sounds logical.

I'm planning on using Wyeast 1318 some time soon and I believe this is really good for top cropping.

I believe 'bottom cropping' is a 'thing' as I've come across the term to describe what a lot of people think of as yeast washing/rinsing.

The Burton Ale yeast I'm hoping to bottle harvest is supposed to be excellent for top cropping too.

What are you putting the 1318 in? I understand this to be the Boddington's strain of yeast

 

[Cwrw666]

In the past when I've wanted to accumulate a lot of beer fast, I have been known to make a kit up and ferment it, pour the beer into a PB, pour a new kit straight onto the yeast cake, ferment that, then do it again. The second kit was fine doing this, the third kit still acceptable but not so good. Obviously you're accumulating dead yeast as well as stray bacteria when you do this, hence possible `off flavours'.
I still do the same if I want to make a brew from a recipe - make a kit first, then make the brew using a scoop of yeast from the kit. Saves buying a packet of yeast and because the yeast is already active, you get a really quick fermentation.
So I guess all that is `bottom cropping'.

 

[clibit]

What are you putting the 1318 in? I understand this to be the Boddington's strain of yeast

Not exactly sure yet, but it will be a pale ale. I make mostly pale ales now. Nice and simple and my go to beers, I've realised. Pale malt, 5-10% caramalt or crystal, maybe some wheat, and then I vary the hops every time.

I'm not convinced from what I have read that 1318 is Boddington's. Wyeast have apparently said it comes from the Young's brewery in London. A lot of brewers in America seem to really like it, and the descriptions I've read on forums sound well suited to my tastes. Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood) and 1469 (West Yorkshire) are also on my to do list for later in the year.

 

[MyQul]

Not exactly sure yet, but it will be a pale ale. I make mostly pale ales now. Nice and simple and my go to beers, I've realised. Pale malt, 5-10% caramalt or crystal, maybe some wheat, and then I vary the hops every time.

I'm not convinced from what I have read that 1318 is Boddington's. Wyeast have apparently said it comes from the Young's brewery in London. A lot of brewers in America seem to really like it, and the descriptions I've read on forums sound well suited to my tastes. Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood) and 1469 (West Yorkshire) are also on my to do list for later in the year.

think you may be right about 1318 after doing a bit of googling, which is good as I will be able to culture it up from a bottle of Young's Bitter which is bottle conditioned and from what I could find is the primary strain.

I have cunning plan to get hold of liquid yeasts without buying them. I have found a few internet sources which list which wyeast/white labs yeast is supposed to be from which brewery. I also have a list of bottle condition beers which are supposed to be primary strains. So marrying up the lists I hope to be able to culture up various liquid strains from bottle conditioned beers. Bought a bottle of brakspear triple today which is supposed to be a bottle conditioned beer for the primary strain of Burton Ale yeast/WLP023.

 

[MyQul]

In the past when I've wanted to accumulate a lot of beer fast, I have been known to make a kit up and ferment it, pour the beer into a PB, pour a new kit straight onto the yeast cake, ferment that, then do it again. The second kit was fine doing this, the third kit still acceptable but not so good. Obviously you're accumulating dead yeast as well as stray bacteria when you do this, hence possible `off flavours'.
I still do the same if I want to make a brew from a recipe - make a kit first, then make the brew using a scoop of yeast from the kit. Saves buying a packet of yeast and because the yeast is already active, you get a really quick fermentation.
So I guess all that is `bottom cropping'.

Personally I'd be wary doing this as, as you say because of dead yeast causing off flavours (autolysis). The off flavours from autolysis are supposed to taste marmite-y/meaty. I plan on rinsing the bottom cropped yeast first rather than directly pitching onto the yeast cake.

 

[clibit]

I'd also be wary of believing any info you read about where yeasts supposedly come from. A pro brewer told me the liquid strains linked to Fullers are not Fullers, for example. He had samples tested when he was setting up, as he was looking for a yeast strain to use as a house yeast. I think it's wise to just use yeasts from whatever sources you can and decide if you like them. Grabbing them from bottle conditioned beers is a good way to get good quality yeasts, just have to make sure you get the pitching rates close enough and sanitation spot on. If you get yeast from a Fullers bottle, it's Fullers yeast!

 

[MyQul]

I whole heartedly agree with all of what you say. A lot of the info I dug up had the caveat 'supposedly' attached to it so as you say not wholly reliable. I plan on just really using the info as a guide to what flavour and properies profile I might expect, and if I like the yeast I culture up, reuse it.

I like the thinking in the yeast book that states you should use yeast based on flavour and properties (attenuation/flocctuation) profile rather than on style profile that way it doesn't matter whether White labs yeast X is supposed to be brewery Y's yeast.

 

[Cwrw666]

Personally I'd be wary doing this as, as you say because of dead yeast causing off flavours (autolysis). The off flavours from autolysis are supposed to taste marmite-y/meaty. I plan on rinsing the bottom cropped yeast first rather than directly pitching onto the yeast cake.

Like I say, it works ok for the second kit - but doing this of course as I used to do it, the second kit was actually finished brewing within the time most people would leave their first kit in the primary FV. The second kit ferments in no time at all. Of course it's not the same as bottom harvesting, then cleaning the yeast and developing a strain you can keep.
As I said, a third kit onto the same yeast was too much, though I don't think it was yeasty off flavours as you describe, more like slight acidic overtones which I'd guess were probably bacterial in origin. Perhaps more to do with dodgy sanitation processes. :lol:

 

[honeymonster]

I have cunning plan to get hold of liquid yeasts without buying them.

What about some kind of yeast swap? Like you send me a vial of a kind of yeast you have and I send you one that you don't in return. If a few people get involved it might be good way to build up a decent stash. That way the yeast will only cost the postage.

I'm not in a position to do something like this right now but it is something I'd be interested in when I get my kit up and running for BIAB.

Anyone done anything like this before?

 

[MyQul]

The top cropping wasn't that successful, although I enjoyed practicing the techniques. So I had a go at bottom cropping (rinsing) today. Went quite well and now have loads of S04, far more than I need.