Pub cask yeast

[marcuspetch]

I have a friend who owns our local village pub and always has Bass and a couple of guest ales on tap including timothy Taylor.
He said he is more than happy to give me some of the dregs out the casks when they finish as he only tips them away.

my question is would this be a good way of me obtaining the original yeast to harvest and store on slants for my brews as I would love some of the original yeast strains from Timmy Taylor, Fullers etc and if so what is the best way to get it from the cask to ensure I dont get any nasties etc

 

[Agentgonzo]

The dregs of the cask would be oxidised, but I can't really see that being a problem. As long as it is done in a sanitary fashion then I can't see why it wouldn't work.

But wouldn't it be easier to obtain from bottles? And I know the Fuller's strain is configurator available from wyeast etc

 

[jceg316]

I think some breweries use a different cask condition yeast to their primary strain, so you may wanna check it's the original yeast it's been conditioned with first. It might be easier to culture up yeast from bottles other than cask.

Assuming you have a cask with good yeast, the biggest thing to consider is sanitisation as you don't wanna capture other bugs. I'm not sure on the ins and outs of how cask works but things like the cleanliness of the lines, how sealed the whole system is would make me question whether using that yeast. When dispensing, does the cask displace the beer with CO2? I've heard some people say it has a valve which is open to the air, if this is true probably best to avoid.

Assuming it's all nicely closed like a keg system and very clean, he'll need to clean the opening of the casks and spray with starsan/iodine solution etc and pour it into a sterilised jar. I boil Kilner jars and store my yeast in those.

 

[marcuspetch]

It was the tt yeast strain more than anything i was keen on capturing as its my favourite beer. It does sound like it not quite as straight forward as I thought though. Ill let you know how I get on

 

[peebee]

It was the tt yeast strain more than anything i was keen on capturing as its my favourite beer. ...

It might be your best option to get the TT yeast. You may hear claims that Wyeast dah-dah, etc., is the TT strain (but not from Wyeast, etc.!) but most commercial yeast suppliers will have developed their cultures from very selective cell reproduction which is a bit sad if you're after a particular yeast (multi-strain yeasts, that are common in UK "Real-Ale" breweries, will just end up as a single component strain). I'll admit I was a tad dismayed learning that quite recently!

But getting yeast from a cask is a little risky as @jceg316 mentions (but some of what he said could have gotten him tarred and feathered by olden-days CAMRA activists!), but unless you can scrounge direct from the brewery, what choice? People do scavenge directly from casks, so it can work. Any "true" "Real Ale" will go in the cask with the yeast it fermented with (the alternative would be filter out the primary yeast and re-pitch with a secondary strain and ... no, no, no, stop right there!).

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Any "true" "Real Ale" will go in the cask with the yeast it fermented with

Not actually true - Marston for one use a different conditioning yeast, which is logical as Burton yeasts tend not to flocculate very well. Given that they are responsible for Draught (cask) Bass that probably means that it won't work for Bass. I *think* (but don't quote me) that you should be OK for TT, and Fuller's certainly use their production yeast for bottle conditioning so I think you can assume they use it in cask.[/QUOTE]

I think some breweries use a different cask condition yeast to their primary strain, so you may wanna check it's the original yeast it's been conditioned with first. It might be easier to culture up yeast from bottles other than cask.

Except bottle conditioning is fairly rare these days, certainly among the big boys - it tends to be just one or two in the range, just to keep CAMRA happy but retailers hate bottle conditioning as they get complaints about sediment (and there can be problems with shelf stability).

Assuming you have a cask with good yeast, the biggest thing to consider is sanitisation as you don't wanna capture other bugs. I'm not sure on the ins and outs of how cask works but things like the cleanliness of the lines, how sealed the whole system is would make me question whether using that yeast. When dispensing, does the cask displace the beer with CO2? I've heard some people say it has a valve which is open to the air, if this is true probably best to avoid.

Cask beer can be served with a "breather" which replaces beer with CO2, but in general tapping a cask means beer is replaced with air, drawn in and filtered through a soft spile made of porous wood. At a good pub, hygiene will be pretty good and beer is a pretty hostile environment for other bugs. IME cask dregs are pretty clean if you draw them soon after the cask empties, but they soon get contaminated if the cask is left hanging around outside with no bung. Getting it quickly into a hoppy starter will also help clean it up - the main enemies are mould and acetobacteria.

Assuming it's all nicely closed like a keg system and very clean, he'll need to clean the opening of the casks and spray with starsan/iodine solution etc and pour it into a sterilised jar. I boil Kilner jars and store my yeast in those.

Pub cellars don't have Starsan, the universal sanitiser is diluted line cleaner (alkaline bleach solution with potassium permanganate) and there's usually some Milton or similar kicking around. They work just fine.

 

[peebee]

Not actually true - Marston for one use a different conditioning yeast, ...

Hum ... Marsden's ... you know, I'd rather not hear more revelations from that direction.

If they use a different conditioning yeast because the primary yeast is such a bad flocculator, how do they get the primary yeast out ... no, no, that is encouraging more revelations that I'd rather not hear. Pretend you said nothing, and I'll dig out some more pink tint to slap on these glasses of mine (the tint seems to be fading off them). I shouldn't be worried about Marsden's living right out here in Wales, but the area has been a stronghold for Marsden's for as long as I remember.

 

[CD]

Take those glasses off before you type - it's Marstons.

 

[peebee]

I'll try that ... MMaarrssttoonnss ... hmm, guess they do a bit more than attach a fine tint? I'll keep them on ... Marsdens ... ahh, that's better