Good quality yeast

[jeg3]

So my HPA clone is fermenting with Wye Valley yeast I cultured from a bottle of Butty Bach.

The krausen is probably 4 inches high and is packed with what looks like really good quality yeast ripe for harvesting.

In the 20 brews I've done I've never seen a yeast head this good, it looks like a souffle. I've used Wyeast 1388 once before but all the rest have been S-04. There is no visible trub. It looks marvellous. I don't think I'll ever go back to using dry yeast again.

Depending on how the beer turns out this may become my stock yeast. I saved some of the cultured yeast before pitching and its stored in the fridge.

Also got a Wyeast 1968 in the fridge.

 

[MyQul]

Good show! How are you planning to harvest? The Wye Valley strain sounds like a proper top cropping strain. I'm going to be using a true top cropping strain too soon(Wyeast 1469) and will be rigging up a yeast collection jar to the blow off tube to collect krausen.

How did you know Butty Buch was bottle conditoned btw as I couldn't see any mention of there beers being bottle condioned. Or are all there bottled beers bottle condioned?

 

[jeg3]

Was looking in the supermarket and saw the Butty Bach states 'bottle conditioned' on the bottle. An email to Wye Valley confirmed that they bottle with the primary strain (although it's filtered first so the amount of yeast is specific and minute).

There's also a thread on here which mentions it - in fact it's your thread!

 

[jeg3]

Not sure I'm going to harvest yet. If I do it will be with a sterile spoon into a sterile jar!

 

[MyQul]

The Bottle Condioned Beer list? I didn't compile that list, just nicked it from another forum.
It doesn't mention any particular beers just, "Wye Valley (filtered but then bottle-conditioned with fresh, primary, single-strain)", so from that you can only make the assumption that all the Wye Valley bottled beer is bottle condioned. An assumption I wouldn't want to rely on. You did the smart thing and emailed the brewery before embarking on the culturing process

 

[jeg3]

Yeah I couldn't figure it out from the list and Google suggested that Butty Bach is bottled with their primary strain, but decided to ask anyway.

I don't know if any of the Dorothy goodbody beers are bottle conditioned.

I think even if it turned out the yeast isn't their primary strain, it still ferments well

 

[MyQul]

Don't see why thr brewery would tell you it was there primary strain and it wasn't plus all the other information suggests it's there primary strain too.

 

[jeg3]

I harvested the top inch or so.

I presumed it wouldn't last too long on its own so I put a bit of cooled boiled 1.04 wort in with it to protect it in the fridge. I'll let that ferment out first then put it in the fridge. I won't be using it for at least a month.

Reckon I could have harvested 500ml...!

 

[MyQul]

Your right, you need to use top cropped yeast within a few days unless you've done as you have and put the cropped yeast in some wort. I'm sure you know you'll need to make a starter when yo come to use it in a months time

 

[jeg3]

Yeah thanks. Your method for culturing the yeast worked a treat, thanks! 👍

 

[jeg3]

Well harvesting the yeast was a disaster. It exploded out of the top of the jar in spectacular style and made a right mess.

I decided to sling that lot and harvest some more. Put less wort in this time. We'll see...