How many times do you wash your yeast when harvesting?

[JonnyD]

As above really. What benefit does it have washing it more times or less times?

 

[pounsfos]

washing yeast is very good, especially if you have some hard to get yeast

I use my stuff about 6 generations then start a new batch, after about 6 or 7 generations the yeast are highly likely to mutate and possibly give you a different flavour (I got a real fruity note once)

There are article on it around here somewhere...

the great part is, when you yeast wash, you already have a colony ready to go, so no starters or anything, yeast take about 7 generations to adapt to some types of sugers, so if you are repeating a recipe, the yeast already know that suger, so alot less lag time :)

 

[evanvine]

Normally rinse 2-3 times to get rid of the trub and old ale etc.

 

[JonnyD]

thanks for the reply, just about to wash a WL yeast. sick of throwing them away and loosing money!

 

[JonnyD]

Also how do you store them? in the freezer?

 

[evanvine]

In 250 or 500ml PETs.
I don't use Glycerin, so the ferment can take up to 48hrs to get going.

 

[JonnyD]

i have got some sterilised urine sample pots and saved all my WL vials so i can make starters out of those. can you freeze yeast? saw something recently about frost free freezer storage and not being able to store yeast in that type of freezer?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

If you want to freeze yeast its best to mix with Glycerine...this will stop the cell walls from breaking down. With my expensive, harvested, liquid yeasts, I give them two months in the fridge, then make up a starter, cultivate and start again

 

[JonnyD]

Didn't realise you could keep them up to two months in the fridge. Might just do that then.

 

[JonnyD]

Also how much glycine do you use if you are freezing a vile?

 

[LeithR]

@JonnyD,
The recommended proportions are - 50% of the total made up of 50% water and 50% gycerine. The other 50%of the total is taken up by the yeast.

 

[rpt]

I think everyone here is talking about yeast rinsing, not washing. It's not the same thing.

 

[evanvine]

proportions are - 50% of the total made up of 50% water and 50% gycerine. The other 50%of the total is taken up by the yeast.

:wha: :wha:
How many 50%s are there in a 100%?????????

 

[rpt]

proportions are - 50% of the total made up of 50% water and 50% gycerine. The other 50%of the total is taken up by the yeast.

:wha: :wha:
How many 50%s are there in a 100%?????????

The 2nd and 3rd 50%s are of the 1st 50%. The 4th 50% is of the full amount. Is that clear?

i.e. 25% water, 25% glycerine, 50% yeast.

 

[evanvine]

Why didn't you say so in the first place!
No it was NOT clear!!

 

[rpt]

It wasn't me that said it. But I was happy to translate.

 

[evanvine]

Sorry rpt, never looked at the author.

 

[pounsfos]

yup you can store yeast in the fridge

I have stored mine in my fridge for 6 months and still had 80% attenuation for fermentation

I probably wouldn't go over 6 months though.... although have heard of some people doing more than a year... but not recommended

 

[rpt]

I have stored mine in my fridge for 6 months and still had 80% attenuation for fermentation

But that's not the only test of good yeast. If many cells have died then you would be under pitching with potential for off flavours etc.

 

[saccharomyces]

Zero! Yeast rinsing is an unnecessary step that has the potential to do more harm than good. I have covered the reasons why rinsing yeast with boiled water is a bad idea in other threads. However, put succinctly, yeast rinsing is a practice that is not supported by science. Trub is actually beneficial to the health of the yeast culture while in refrigerated storage, and green beer is a much better storage medium than boiled water. The best time to separate the yeast from the trub and green beer is immediately before one pitches. All one needs to do is to decant he liquid fraction of the crop and replace it with fresh cool wort from one's batch before swirling the yeast into suspension. The trub and dead yeast cells will rapidly settle leaving the viable yeast cells in suspension. One then pitches the liquid fraction into one's FV.