Yeast confusion

[Brew Dad]

Total investment here is probably about 5 pounds, although I don't really know what DME costs on your side of the pond. This is probably the fourth brew with this yeast, continuously re-harvested from a single smack pack. About 10-15 mins total effort, although you do need to plan your brew day a bit, as it takes around 24 hours for the starter to get working. As your original post was about economical yeast alternatives, thought I would share.

 

[samale]

Total investment here is probably about 5 pounds, although I don't really know what DME costs on your side of the pond. This is probably the fourth brew with this yeast, continuously re-harvested from a single smack pack. About 10-15 mins total effort, although you do need to plan your brew day a bit, as it takes around 24 hours for the starter to get working. As your original post was about economical yeast alternatives, thought I would share.

How do you collect the yeast. Top crop or slurry

 

[Brew Dad]

How do you collect the yeast. Top crop or slurry

Neither. I just pour some of the starter into a mason jar before I pitch the rest into my wort. Then cap and refrigerate.

 

[Brew Dad]

Starter now underway.

 

[trevorS]

Close up of harvested yeast from previous starter:
View attachment 19146

High tech enough for me thanks

 

[Brew Dad]

Starter at about 18 hours:

 

[GerritT]

Starter now underway.
View attachment 19149

Well guarded, I see.

Harvesting from a starter with liquid yeasts would be my way to go to. The missus would probably disagree, me taking more room in the fridge, so.

 

[Brew Dad]

Well guarded, I see.

Harvesting from a starter with liquid yeasts would be my way to go to. The missus would probably disagree, me taking more room in the fridge, so.

Haha, I get a bit of grief from the missus as well. Still waiting for her to discover the 2 pounds of hops in the freezer.

 

[GerritT]

Haha, I get a bit of grief from the missus, as well. Still waiting for her to discover the 2 pounds hops in the freezer.

Or the 10 kgs of malt in the car trunk...

 

[Brew Dad]

Brew day done (save for cleaning) and ready to harvest yeast from starter. Pour into sanitized mason jar and pop it into the fridge for next time.

 

[trevorS]

As above and also from an overbuilt starter store some pure yeast in a 50/50 water/glycerine solution in the freezer and you can basically have that yeast forever and scoop a bit out and build a starter from it. I use tiny jam jars that I put the solution in then sterilise in a pressure cooker.

Can you explain your 50/50 method it sounds interesting.

 

[Drunkula]

Can you explain your 50/50 method it sounds interesting.

I looked it up the other day and loads give recommendations for a 15% glycerine solution now and that a 50% solution causes more lag when growing it up.

Ok - I half way fill my little jars with 50% glycerine, 50% water and put the lid on but just slightly loose, then put them in the pressure cooker on a trivet and cook the buggers for 15 minutes or whatever. Open the cooker, shut the lids, that's them ready to use when I need them and they go all vacuumy and make that shhlunk sound when you open them.

Then when I've made a yeast starter and cold crashed it I use the handle of a spoon to get some yeast, put it in a jar, shake the bajeesus out of it so it's all homogenised then just shove them in the freezer. Mine doesn't have a defrost cycle so I just leave them there, but people who do put an ice pack freezer block thing in little cool bag with them so they stay frozen when the thaw happens.

Then when I make a starter I scoop out a bit of the yeast and use that - I don't even use the whole jar and get enough in one scoop to make a starter for a 23 litre batch. I should step it up, really as I've just been going straight into doing a full litre on the stir plate.

I'll be making a starter tonight or tomorrow of yeast cultured from Fuller's 1845 that I've got banked.

 

[trevorS]

I looked it up the other day and loads give recommendations for a 15% glycerine solution now and that a 50% solution causes more lag when growing it up.

Ok - I half way fill my little jars with 50% glycerine, 50% water and put the lid on but just slightly loose, then put them in the pressure cooker on a trivet and cook the buggers for 15 minutes or whatever. Open the cooker, shut the lids, that's them ready to use when I need them and they go all vacuumy and make that shhlunk sound when you open them.

Then when I've made a yeast starter and cold crashed it I use the handle of a spoon to get some yeast, put it in a jar, shake the bajeesus out of it so it's all homogenised then just shove them in the freezer. Mine doesn't have a defrost cycle so I just leave them there, but people who do put an ice pack freezer block thing in little cool bag with them so they stay frozen when the thaw happens.

Then when I make a starter I scoop out a bit of the yeast and use that - I don't even use the whole jar and get in one step to do a 23 litre batch. I should step it up, really as I've just been going straight into doing a full litre on the stir plate.

I'll be making a starter tonight or tomorrow of yeast cultured from Fuller's 1845 that I've got banked.

I don't quite understand the spoon handle bit! what volume are you using in each small jar of glycerine?

 

[Drunkula]

I have to use a spoon handle because a spoon won't fit in the little jar and I can scrape off the yeast under the rim of the jar and it pretty much all comes off. The jars are 20ml.

 

[Brew Dad]

An update:

Seems to happen more often since I began using starters. First time this has happened to me with Wyeast 1272, though.

 

[matt76]

An update:

View attachment 19222

Seems to happen more often since I began using starters. First time this has happened to me with Wyeast 1272, though.

Similar thing happened to me recently with 1272
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/matt76s-brewdays.81971/#post-821141

 

[Brew Dad]

Similar thing happened to me recently with 1272
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/matt76s-brewdays.81971/#post-821141

Looks pretty similar, and like your brew, it kept at it for a good 24+ hours. Really messy. Might be that is was a higher gravity beer than I usually make - OG was 1.061. Do you recall what yours was?

 

[matt76]

Looks pretty similar, and like your brew, it kept at it for a good 24+ hours. Really messy. Might be that is was a higher gravity beer than I usually make - OG was 1.061. Do you recall what yours was?

1.054

 

[Brew Dad]

1.054

Huh. Guess I am going to need a bigger bucket!

 

[trevorS]

I just wanted to thank everybody that replied to this thread i have used the information To produce several brews ie harvesting and making and using a yeast starter very successfully and am now looking at the freezing with glycerin when i get all the gear together.Still can't work out the brulo web site though!