Left over yeast from fermenting

[user 15907]

Out of interest once you've finished with your fermenting barrel you have the yeast in the bottom, what do you do with it?

The wife is interested in using it for bread making but do you have to dry it out, use it wet and how long does it last?

Are there any other uses for it?

 

[CreweBrewer]

Yes you can use it for bread making. In Victorian times the local brewery used to top-crop yeast and supply it to the bakery. A starter needs to be made with it. Have a Google search on the subject :-)

Dave

 

[MyQul]

You can of course harvest it and chuck it into your next brew

 

[Cwrw666]

I've just bought some French Saison yeast - just under £7!!!!!! So I'm definitely going to be using that more than once.

 

[MyQul]

I've just bought some French Saison yeast - just under �£7!!!!!! So I'm definitely going to be using that more than once.

If you over build the starter you can use it at least 13 times (according to brulosophy)

 

[CreweBrewer]

If you over build the starter you can use it at least 13 times (according to brulosophy)

True. I've done it with a few different strains.

Dave

 

[Richie_asg1]

Could it be frozen in an ice cube tray for future brews? And does it need anything like a small picnic to help it out the other side? Sort of an instant starter bottle kit in the cube - just add water?

 

[Godsdog]

You can of course harvest it and chuck it into your next brew

Kegged a brew today out of the conical and an hour later after sterilising it brewed up another,it wasn't until I finished that maybe I should just have chucked the contents of the conical collecting bottle from the finished brew into the new one and saved on the yeast as they are both the same brews

 

[jceg316]

all these are good uses, but worst comes to the worst and you can't harvest it, spent yeast is also very good for compost.

 

[Godsdog]

all these are good uses, but worst comes to the worst and you can't harvest it, spent yeast is also very good for compost.

Up until this year before I went conical I always chucked the trub in the composter and my composter is teaming with worms

 

[Hoppyland]

The wife is interested in using it for bread making

Be careful doing this, as the stuff in the bottom of the fermentor isn't just yeast. I tried this once, used quite a bit of the yeasty stuff & the bread was noticeably bitter :-?
I'd agree with CreweBrewer that you'd need to make a starter, but I'd suggest rinsing the yeast first. Check out:
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/yeast-washing-yeast-rinsing-whats-difference/
Cheers
Bill

 

[Richie_asg1]

Up until this year before I went conical I always chucked the trub in the composter and my composter is teaming with worms

Good all round then. I compost for some veggies but in the summer it gets so hot it cooks everything down.

On a slightly different note; Anyone here keep horses? The large bales of hay ferment in their polywrap - horses love it! And smells alcoholic :mrgreen:

Interested in saving some to go again either in a bottle or frozen. Timing it seems is everything. What do the breweries do ?

 

[MyQul]

Up until this year before I went conical I always chucked the trub in the composter and my composter is teaming with worms

Yeast is very nutritious. I saw a youtube vid from the Fullers brewery once and they send gallons and gallons of the stuff to pig farms

 

[jceg316]

Up until this year before I went conical I always chucked the trub in the composter and my composter is teaming with worms

I never used to reuse yeast but it's something I've recently gotten into. This isn't great considering my wife and I have moved to rural Ireland and a lot of soil here isn't great. I would start composting yeast to get some much needed worms but I'd rather use it in my beer.

 

[MyQul]

I never used to reuse yeast but it's something I've recently gotten into. This isn't great considering my wife and I have moved to rural Ireland and a lot of soil here isn't great. I would start composting yeast to get some much needed worms but I'd rather use it in my beer.

The amount of trub at the bottom of an FV is far more yeast than you would need for a brew. You only need 200ml-400ml (depending how much overall trub you get) and I usually end up with about 3L of trub. Any remaining you could chuck on your compost heap to feed the worms