Salvaging Yeast - What works for you..?

[marlon]

Just about to salvage Shepherd Neame trub for the first time, from my latest batch of Wherry. What do you do with yours? How long will it store in the fridge?

 

[strange-steve]

Very simple, when you rack your beer leave a little behind and swirl it up with the trub. Collect about a liter in a sanitised mason jar or bottle and stick it in the fridge. That's it, don't bother trying to rinse or wash it. It'll keep for a few months but make a starter if it's more than a few weeks old. When you want to use it just pour the liquid off the top and use the compacted yeast.

 

[jceg316]

When it comes to bottling day, I have a bucket of steriliser which is useful for more than just sterilising bottles, I can throw in a couple of clean jars so they are nice and sterile, and once the beer has been racked to the bottling bucket, I leave a small bit behind and stir up all the yeast and trub etc. I take the sterile jars and pour the slurry into the jars and let it settle. During this time I keep opening and closing the lids as there is a C02 build up in there, then I stick them in the fridge. They should be used in a week or so, any longer I'd recommend making a starter.

You can wash your yeast as well so when you repitch you don't throw in as much trub, stale beer, etc.

 

[mike77]

+1 for collecting it in sanitized jars and storing it without rinsing it. The alcohol and ph of the fermented beer helps store it. It's also the easiest option. I do this all the time and have never had any problems. I don't know what is the longest you can store it for but I've stored it for several months before making a starter using 3 or 4 tablespoons of yeast slurry in a 1L starter.

 

[DoctorMick]

I've done it a few times now and use mostly the same technique as everyone else, although I let the heavy trub settle for 20 minutes and then transfer to a second jar to reduce the amount of trub without the effort of rinsing. I've not done long term storage but I will be with my next batch, going to collect twice as much from the first use and use one for the next brew and the other for the fridge. I'd love to try overbuilding but my flask isn't big enough.

One question I do have tho, if making a starter from older harvested yeast, how do you know what size starter to make?

 

[marlon]

Thanks Guys! Mason jar it is then. Mrs. M just got a new fridge, it's got loads more room it it that the last one. She won't object to a another jar sitting at the back somewhere.....will she..?

 

[mike77]

I always make a 1L starter for my brews. If the slurry is older then I may add an extra tablespoon to the starter. I would probably allow a bit of extra time for the starter to kick off due to lag. I pretty much just guesstimate everything. If the starter looks good and healthy then chances are it will be fine.

 

[yeastinfection]

Interesting. I didn't know you could 'reuse' yeast.
So for some one that doesn't know.ie me. How do you make a starter?is that what you need a stir plate for?

 

[Cqr]

Interesting. I didn't know you could 'reuse' yeast.
So for some one that doesn't know.ie me. How do you make a starter?is that what you need a stir plate for?

Will this thread help ??
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53567

 

[yeastinfection]

Will this thread help ??
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53567

sounds like a lot of work,
so the point of it is to grow your own yeast,?
is it worth it after you take in to account the cost of the initial beer,water and time taken?
just to save a few quid? or it there more to it than that?
is it stronger yeast? better flavour?

 

[strange-steve]

sounds like a lot of work,
so the point of it is to grow your own yeast,?
is it worth it after you take in to account the cost of the initial beer,water and time taken?
just to save a few quid? or it there more to it than that?
is it stronger yeast? better flavour?

That link is for culturing yeast from a bottle which does require a bit of work and can be a bit hit and miss at times. However this thread is about using the trub from the fv after racking which is very easy to do.

The point of the starter is to increase the cell count to the correct pitch rate, just a matter of boiling a litre or so of water with some dme in it for 10 mins then cool and add the yeast. Let it ferment for a day or two and you then have lots of healthy happy yeast ready to go.

In theory you can keep doing this indefinitely so a single vial of yeast can last a long time.

 

[Budgie]

I was planning on reusing the yeast from my Hefeweizen, but I decided I wasn't keen on it so I didn't bother.

I'll be following the advice on this thread after my next brew though :thumb:

 

[Covrich]

My SN yeast I actually made a small wort and took a huge scoop of the massive krausen , let that ferment out and put in a santised jar.. That has been in my fridge a few months now.

I am going to decant off and try and step it u with a small starter then a bigger one soon.

 

[yeastinfection]

That link is for culturing yeast from a bottle which does require a bit of work and can be a bit hit and miss at times. However this thread is about using the trub from the fv after racking which is very easy to to.

The point of the starter is to increase the cell count to the correct pitch rate, just a matter of boiling a litre or so of water with some dme in it for 10 mins then cool and add the yeast. Let if ferment for a day or two and you then have lots of healthy happy yeast ready to go.

In theory you can keep doing this indefinitely so a single vial of yeast can last a long time.

ive found a few videos that made things clearer for me,its easier for me to understand stuff watching it done, if i read it ,then it doesn't seem to sink in,
not sure if i can post the links on here but might be useful to someone,

ive just bought some wyeast that i like the idea of reusing, i guess its the same idea as keeping natural yogurt going.

 

[yeastinfection]

http://homebrewacademy.com/how-to-make-a-yeast-starter/


http://homebrewacademy.com/yeast-washing/

found these useful.hopefully you will too.

 

[Cqr]

Yes there is more to it, but I'am too far down the learning curve
But there are some top guys here, it won't be long :whistle:

Opps, after replying and looking at the thread I'am a bit late lol

 

[JFB]

Couple of questions.
Are there any issues of reusing sludge/yeast which have been from a dry hopped brew?
And when storing the sludge in jars do you fill to the brim? or can there be an air gap on top?
Thanks in advance
John

 

[marlon]

Very simple, when you rack your beer leave a little behind and swirl it up with the trub. Collect about a liter in a sanitised mason jar or bottle and stick it in the fridge. That's it, don't bother trying to rinse or wash it. It'll keep for a few months but make a starter if it's more than a few weeks old. When you want to use it just pour the liquid off the top and use the compacted yeast.

Did as you suggested today Steve, but I had to use 3 small jars as I didn't have a bigger one. No problems though, they're all sitting in Mrs. M's new fridge. Didn't try to rince or wash, just filled all three right to the top, leaving no air space, I'm guessing that's OK..?

 

[yeastinfection]

OK, got the gist of this now ,I think, how do you know how much yeast you have? How much is enough?

 

[strange-steve]

Did as you suggested today Steve, but I had to use 3 small jars as I didn't have a bigger one. No problems though, they're all sitting in Mrs. M's new fridge. Didn't try to rince or wash, just filled all three right to the top, leaving no air space, I'm guessing that's OK..?

Yep perfect, you'll notice after a while the solids will settle leaving a layer of liquid on top. When you're ready to use it just pour most of the liquid off and use the solid stuff.

OK, got the gist of this now ,I think, how do you know how much yeast you have? How much is enough?

Good question, unfortunately it requires a lot of guesswork. Thankfully though beer is pretty forgiving so if you're close it's good enough. I use a calculator like THIS. I set the density to the lowest 1B/ml and the non yeast percentage to the highest 25% because it's more difficult to overpitch than underpitch.