Yeast and splitting starters help

[xozzx]

I decided the next step in upping my beer game is to use liquid yeast and starters. I watched a few videos about making starters and all looks fairly simple, I even managed to pick up a free magnetic stirrer and stir bars.

I have read a bit about splitting the starter and saving some yeast for later brews. Anyone any advice on this? few things Im unsure about:
- How much yeast do I need to keep back for next brew?
- How do I store it? I was thinking of buying a mini tabletop fridge (Aldi have a decent looking one for £50).
- How long will it store for?
- Do others recommend doing this? The cost of liquid yeast is the reason I have not yet tried it.

Thanks for any help with this, Im hoping this will make a decent improvement to my beers.

 

[trueblue]

There is more than one way of doing it. I use 2lt but you can use 1lt of boiled then cooled malt extract for one pack of yeast, I prefer 2lt as I like a big started but 1lt is adequate. Ferment out then divide into 6 sterile containers under some of the spent malt extract. I use small beakers with lids about 4" high by about 3"diameter Keep in the fridge then make a fresh starter with one of the stored yeasts 3 days before you brew. I have kept the split yeast in the fridge for at least 6 months before with no deterioration. Never bothered with stir plate just regular shaking.

 

[xozzx]

Thanks, so do you pour off most of the brewed malt extract, swirl to get the yeast back into a slurry then pour into small beakers? How do you know the cell count of each beaker for your pitch rate calculator?

I can get 100s of 50mL plastic vials with caps (someone ordered them at work and they have been getting in the way for years and have never found a use for them) so was hoping I could split the yeast into small vials for easy storage in the fridge.

 

[trueblue]

Thanks, so do you pour off most of the brewed malt extract, swirl to get the yeast back into a slurry then pour into small beakers? How do you know the cell count of each beaker for your pitch rate calculator?

I can get 100s of 50mL plastic vials with caps (someone ordered them at work and they have been getting in the way for years and have never found a use for them) so was hoping I could split the yeast into small vials for easy storage in the fridge.

Yes I poured off most of the extract to leave a covering around an inch and swirled back into the yeast to make it more manageable. Once in the fridge the yeast will settle and the extract forms a protective covering. Never done a yeast count or used a pitch calculator, I've been doing this from before the internet was around so such things were unheard of. but I have never had one fail. I split 6 ways but you may want to do 4 or 5 ways first time if you are worried about under pitching.

 

[Zephyr259]

I've been doing this for over a year. I use this calculator as a downloaded excel spreadsheet to do my sums, I overbuild by 100 billion cells which is generally around the 500 ml mark which is easy to store in kilner jars or PET bottles in a mini-fridge like you mention. Yeast loses about 20% viability per month hitting 25% at 6 months so it lasts pretty well especially if you only keep a strain or two in use. I have 5 - 6 generally and that's pushing it to keep them in use, trying to pare it down to 4 if I can.

 

[xozzx]

Thanks for the help. I plan to keep about 4 going. If I was to not use a yeast for 6 month could I just create another starter again from what I have and put it back in the fridge?

@Zephyr259 - I started reading the Kveik thread, this is one of the yeasts I plan to store. I see you have a few beers there using it, I guess you are liking it?

 

[MyQul]

Thanks for the help. I plan to keep about 4 going. If I was to not use a yeast for 6 month could I just create another starter again from what I have and put it back in the fridge?

@Zephyr259 - I started reading the Kveik thread, this is one of the yeasts I plan to store. I see you have a few beers there using it, I guess you are liking it?

Yup you can keep the strain for six months and build it back up again

You can store yeast for months/years even just at room temp. That's how I store strains that I'm not sure wether I'm going to use again but dont want to get rid off (because I dont have enough room in the fridge - I keep 4 strains in centrifuge tubes and a jar of trub to make into starters in my domestic fridge). You just need to build them back up again. I basically just keep a 330ml bottle of beer as a 'strain build up' bottle. People (including myself) have built up yeast from 40 year old bottles of beer

 

[Zephyr259]

@xozzx Yeah, as MyQul says just build it up in another starter, at 6 months 100 BC becomes about 25 BC which is just right for a 500 ml starter to bump it back to 100 BC.

The Voss kveik is a good strain, I've retired it for now and have 2 vials frozen (with glycerol to prevent the yeast dying) and 1 in the fridge. The Opshaug strain has only been used in a 1.100 OG braggot and it's chewed down to 1.023 in 11 days and is still going slowly. Not as fast as Voss but it's had a harder job with the high OG, 35% of which was simple sugars from honey and I only pitched 0.1 million cells/ml/P which would be a horrendous underpitch, but kveik likes that.

I've built up the remaining Opshaug in a 500 ml starter and it filled a 2L flask with foam and has made a tonne of new yeast. very easy to handle these strains it seems.

 

[Hoddy]

@xozzx Yeah, as MyQul says just build it up in another starter, at 6 months 100 BC becomes about 25 BC which is just right for a 500 ml starter to bump it back to 100 BC.

The Voss kveik is a good strain, I've retired it for now and have 2 vials frozen (with glycerol to prevent the yeast dying) and 1 in the fridge. The Opshaug strain has only been used in a 1.100 OG braggot and it's chewed down to 1.023 in 11 days and is still going slowly. Not as fast as Voss but it's had a harder job with the high OG, 35% of which was simple sugars from honey and I only pitched 0.1 million cells/ml/P which would be a horrendous underpitch, but kveik likes that.

I've built up the remaining Opshaug in a 500 ml starter and it filled a 2L flask with foam and has made a tonne of new yeast. very easy to handle these strains it seems.

That Kveik yeast is amazing. Its like a cockroach, no matter what you do it doesn't die. And no matter how small amount you pitch it always comes back with a vengeance.