Yeast Rings

[MyQul]

I was mooching around on brewing blog's yesterday and came across this

http://poppylandbrewer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/making-yeast-ring.html

It's something I've never even heard of until yesterday

"If you brew only occasionally - say every few months or even just once a year - how do you keep your yeast until it is needed? It won't keep indefinitely in the fridge. Most of us will just order some fresh or dried yeast from the supplier every time but there are some yeasts that are unobtainable that way, while in the past that simply wasn't an option.

In Norway, they have utilised the natural property of yeast cells that when they dry out they go into suspended animation until woken up again by re-hydration. It happens all the time in nature and it is a godsend for the occasional brewer. Traditional Norwegian brewers have found several ways of achieving the goal of drying a reasonable quantity of yeast, keeping it safe and then re-hydrating it for later use."

 

[BeerCat]

They also spread it on baking paper and dry in the oven. Then it can be frozen for up to 10 years( apparently). Those rings are awesome!

 

[MyQul]

Freezing is a very common technique for us HBers and I had of course heard of it but this is something new to me.
I wonder if this is what brewers were accidently doing before they knew about yeast, when after production of the wort it would get a good thrashing with the 'stirring stick' which had been handed down through a family?

 

[Fil]

rinsing the yeast well and keeping under distilled/pure water will stimulate the same dormancy without dehydration which can decimate a population. it was the method used in labs to keep cultures pre refrigeration. there is a skill involved in successfully rinsing away any contaminates however.

 

[geigercntr]

Been looking into this as part of my first steps into sour brewing. I've got some mixed culture fermentations on the go with oak cubes popped in. In principal I could use those chips to kick start my next batch, given that Brettanomyces in particular is meant to be quite happy to munch wood. I could also store them, but I'm debating whether I store them dried (as in @MyQul 's original link), or keep them stored under wort/beer/wine...

food for thought I guess...

 

[Sadfield]

Been looking into this as part of my first steps into sour brewing. I've got some mixed culture fermentations on the go with oak cubes popped in. In principal I could use those chips to kick start my next batch, given that Brettanomyces in particular is meant to be quite happy to munch wood. I could also store them, but I'm debating whether I store them dried (as in @MyQul 's original link), or keep them stored under wort/beer/wine...

food for thought I guess...

I've just started doing exactly the same thing. I've just racked the first beer off mine and let them dry out. I think they will be fine, I think the advice for barrels is to keep something in them purely to keep the wood swollen so they don't leak on refill.

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[Dutto]

Those rings are incredibly elegant. :thumb:

Many thanks.

I can see another project looming over the horizon! :lol:

 

[geigercntr]

I've just started doing exactly the same thing. I've just racked the first beer off mine and let them dry out. I think they will be fine[...]

Yeah, from discussions I had in a FB group, it can be quite variable, possibly depending on the strain of Brett. Some folk have had success using dried wood cubes, some with cubes kept under beer, others using wine. Does make you wonder why there's no commercial dried Brett available yet..?

 

[Sadfield]

Does make you wonder why there's no commercial dried Brett available yet..?

I'd never really thought about that. I assume there isn't a big enough commercial market for Brett strains, and it is still quite niche in homebrewing. Then I suppose the general usage is in a blend, either with a sacch strain or bacteria, so probably wouldn't work as well dried.

I think my own plan is to still pitch commercial strains and use the wood to add a house character as it builds up a colony of different yeasts, and it'll add Oak notes as well. So I'll do a short primary fermentation with a mixed strain in an FV and then transfer to a Corny with the oak in for a couple of months for the brett to develop.

 

[MyQul]

Yeah, from discussions I had in a FB group, it can be quite variable, possibly depending on the strain of Brett. Some folk have had success using dried wood cubes, some with cubes kept under beer, others using wine. Does make you wonder why there's no commercial dried Brett available yet..?

The closest Ive heard of is 'wildbrew sour pitch' which is a dried lacto

http://www.lallemandbrewing.com/product-details/wildbrew-sour-pitch/