Good news. Yes i keep the slurry and reuse that. I have not tried drying it yet as i have never washed yeast. Perhaps it does not matter. I cant tell you what to brew but i can tell you what has not worked for me and that is low IBU beers. Although its traditional i dont have access to juniper which must make a massive difference. Also they are normally higher ABV and are boiled for a long time.
I will try something hoppy next time. Its hard to tell the yeast profile from a RIS to be honest but it does seem clean. The raw stout tastes rather grainy so i wont be making any more raw beers for a while. Give it another try in a few weeks.
RIS mk2 is fermenting away nicely with an OG of 1109. I just pitched some slurry into that. Did not make a starter.