Liquid Yeast

[calumscott]

I might be getting all carried away given that I've only done a single AG so far but...

People say that liquid yeasts are the bees knees so I'm curious to try it.

For example if I brew this Lia Fail clone attempt I'll want to use something that will give me the right Scottish flavours in there - like WLP028.

But, at six and a half quid a pop, that's about the same cost as the grain bill!

So what's the best way to get value from it?

1) Pitch the whole thing and harvest from the yeast cake after fermentation?
2) Use a little of it to make a starter and just keep the rest of the vial in the fridge to make more starters?
3) Any other yeast wrangling processes I don't know about?

Thanks!

 

[puravida]

I used it for the first time myself on Saturday.
I just pitched it in but I'm interested to hear how to harvest afterwards too!

I've re-used yeast cakes before just by dumping fresh wort into the remains of a recently racked FV but never tried to save it.

 

[calumscott]

I've re-used yeast cakes before just by dumping fresh wort into the remains of a recently racked FV but never tried to save it.

That's the thing - until I've got a good stock of beers built up, I wouldn't want to just keep brewing Scottish ales one after the other to get my money's worth... But I would want to keep the yeast for a brew in the future.

 

[Aleman]

Save it in the bottles and recover as required.

 

[calumscott]

Save it in the bottles and recover as required.

So pitch the whole lot and culture from the bottle dregs when I want to do another one? Makes lots of sense that...

...I could even put representative bottles under lock and key (well, sort of...) as a yeast bank.

 

[Aleman]

Save it in the bottles and recover as required.

So pitch the whole lot and culture from the bottle dregs when I want to do another one? Makes lots of sense that...

...I could even put representative bottles under lock and key (well, sort of...) as a yeast bank.

I collected a load of 250 ml bottles specifically as yeast samples . . . I've recovered yeast from the bottom of a bottle that I brewed in the late 80's . . . So as long term storage goes it does work, just takes up much more space than slants or distilled water storage

 

[calumscott]

Save it in the bottles and recover as required.

So pitch the whole lot and culture from the bottle dregs when I want to do another one? Makes lots of sense that...

...I could even put representative bottles under lock and key (well, sort of...) as a yeast bank.

I collected a load of 250 ml bottles specifically as yeast samples . . . I've recovered yeast from the bottom of a bottle that I brewed in the late 80's . . . So as long term storage goes it does work, just takes up much more space than slants or distilled water storage

Right, that's the plan then! Would you recommend just squirreling away a standard bottle of a brew or would you attempt to bottle specifically for yeast capture - maybe taking the last bit when racking which would be quite "yeast heavy" and store that?

 

[Aleman]

I bottle specifically for yeast capture . . . hence the 250ml bottles. I would avoid picking up too much sediment, as storage is much better with a minimal amount of yeast. Once cell autolysis starts it spreads rapidly . . . the less yeast you have the slower autolysis happens. . . I use distilled water storage for my long term yeast samples, and if the water is cloudy when I shake the bottle I've got too much yeast in there :Shock: . . . as an example I take one colony from a plate/slant and put it in 2ml of distilled water . . . When I streak out a plate to recover it I normally only get around 10 colonies on the plate

 

[calumscott]

So I would have a process (where I wanted to keep a yeast, of course) of:

- pitch the whole vial
- fill a little bottle alongside the drinking bottles
- when I want to brew another with the yeast, build a starter from the little bottle and pitch that.

Seeing as you know what you're talking about - how many times would you get away with that cycle?

 

[VSat]

A lot depends on how often you are going to use a particular yeast. If you brew say 5 brews a year using WLP028, for example, then splashing out £30 (£6 each time) per year on liquid yeasts is a lot. You can also make a 2l starter from a vial and split that for storage. Also you can rinse/wash your yeast after fermentation and store some although viability will decrease and a new starter is needed. There are plenty of threads on that and on another website forum a few people from here frequent.

But if you do not think you will need the yeast until say next year, then building a starter from one of your bottles of beer (you may have one kept aside for that purpose) is easy enough ("strongandco" on YouTube who has a good video on how to do this).

Using slants is another way to go, but that is another topic...

 

[Aleman]

So I would have a process (where I wanted to keep a yeast, of course) of:

- pitch the whole vial
- fill a little bottle alongside the drinking bottles
- when I want to brew another with the yeast, build a starter from the little bottle and pitch that.

Seeing as you know what you're talking about - how many times would you get away with that cycle?

If it was me I would fill X little bottles, where X is a random number (probably between 4 and 8), and recover the yeast from a new bottle every time I wanted to use that particular yeast.

Your method I would probably go for no more than 3 cycles . . . Oh and don't use this method for wheat beer yeasts . . . . they really don't like long term storage like this

 

[calumscott]

So I would have a process (where I wanted to keep a yeast, of course) of:

- pitch the whole vial
- fill a little bottle alongside the drinking bottles
- when I want to brew another with the yeast, build a starter from the little bottle and pitch that.

Seeing as you know what you're talking about - how many times would you get away with that cycle?

If it was me I would fill X little bottles, where X is a random number (probably between 4 and 8), and recover the yeast from a new bottle every time I wanted to use that particular yeast.

Your method I would probably go for no more than 3 cycles . . . Oh and don't use this method for wheat beer yeasts . . . . they really don't like long term storage like this

Makes sense. Fill 4 then brew all four, take another 4 from the last bottle for storage, repeat another twice, buy a new vial...

:thumb:

Thank you kindly for that. :hat:

 

[pittsy]

What i do is get 4l of boiled cooled water with 400g of dme (or brew a small batch of beer at 1040) then ferment out (4 to 5 days) then mix well and pop into 10ish little water bottles (330ml) now you have 10 vials , take 1 with 1l of boiled cooled water with 100g dme 2 to 3 days before brew day , then when your down to your last 2 bottles make up another 4l with 400g dme and your off again . You can do this around 5 times so approx 50 vials from 1 plus dme. works a treat .

 

[calumscott]

Thanks pittsy.

I guess you could culture it up from a bottle from the first brew with it because then you'd know if you like it and it's worth keeping...

I'll work something out - I don't mind paying a couple of quid for yeast for a brew but when it becomes the biggest single part of the price that kind of grates! :lol:

(and if that graysalchemy comes on here calling me a tight scotsman, well...!)

 

[Aleman]

I don't mind paying a couple of quid for yeast for a brew but when it becomes the biggest single part of the price that kind of grates! :lol:

Try buying dried yeast in 500g packs . . . at 68quid a pack!! That's the sort of thing to make you go OUCH . . . Especially for only 3 batches - W34/70

 

[calumscott]

I don't mind paying a couple of quid for yeast for a brew but when it becomes the biggest single part of the price that kind of grates! :lol:

Try buying dried yeast in 500g packs . . . at 68quid a pack!! That's the sort of thing to make you go OUCH . . . Especially for only 3 batches - W34/70

OK, OK, so it's not the actual price that's the problem, it's the yeast price to beer volume... 30p a litre for liquid if you use it once. Go on... what volume are you pitching each 167g portion of that into? :hmm:

:lol:

 

[Aleman]

I don't mind paying a couple of quid for yeast for a brew but when it becomes the biggest single part of the price that kind of grates! :lol:

Try buying dried yeast in 500g packs . . . at 68quid a pack!! That's the sort of thing to make you go OUCH . . . Especially for only 3 batches - W34/70

OK, OK, so it's not the actual price that's the problem, it's the yeast price to beer volume... 30p a litre for liquid if you use it once. Go on... what volume are you pitching each 167g portion of that into? :hmm:

:lol:

Only 50L :cry:

 

[calumscott]

Try buying dried yeast in 500g packs . . . at 68quid a pack!! That's the sort of thing to make you go OUCH . . . Especially for only 3 batches - W34/70

OK, OK, so it's not the actual price that's the problem, it's the yeast price to beer volume... 30p a litre for liquid if you use it once. Go on... what volume are you pitching each 167g portion of that into? :hmm:

:lol:

Only 50L :cry:

OUCH! That's 45p of yeast per litre...? That's dearer than liquid... Why so expensive?

 

[VinceG]

Make a strong beer (about 7.5%) from the yeast. Bottle it into small bottles.

Then when you want to use the yeast again simply make a starter culture using the yeast from the bottom of one of your bottles of beer.

It will last for years in strong beer.

 

[Devonhomebrew]

Asks Graysalchemy how to store yeast hes got a really good plan which i use aswell