reusing yeast, a play-by-play. Options

[Thorhale]

So I left a some beer behind, swirled up all the stuff on the bottom, and saved it in a sanitary bottle in the fridge. Is there a way to separate the yeast and trub? or do I just dump it into my next batch?
What if I wanted to wash my yeast? I need a step by step because this is my first time re-using yeast. Thanks!

[Shaken]

So I left a some beer behind, swirled up all the stuff on the bottom, and saved it in a sanitary bottle in the fridge. Is there a way to separate the yeast and trub? or do I just dump it into my next batch?
What if I wanted to wash my yeast? I need a step by step because this is my first time re-using yeast. Thanks!

In all things Message-Boardy, Search is your friend.

If you search for the terms "Washing Yeast" on this forum, you'll turn up a LOT of really good information. This Thread is the first result returned and has several excellent links.

Happy hunting!

[TheProfessor]

So I left a some beer behind, swirled up all the stuff on the bottom, and saved it in a sanitary bottle in the fridge. Is there a way to separate the yeast and trub? or do I just dump it into my next batch?
What if I wanted to wash my yeast? I need a step by step because this is my first time re-using yeast. Thanks!

I do this all the time (for the last 20 years).
You can wash the yeast, but I have never found it necessary to do so, especially if you're going to use it within a couple weeks. I've found that it's better to just store the yeast on its own beer.

When you do reuse the yeast though, don't use all of it. You only need about a third of it (maybe a little more for a stronger brew). On brew day I'll reserve 1/3 of the yeast and then then usually dump the remaining 2/3 into the boiling wort to serve as yeast nutrient for the ferment, just as a number of British breweries do.

Give it a spin and see how it works for you.

[Thorhale]

it seems I found a few things to ask santa for

[malkore]

You don't need anything special to wash yeast. Just a couple of jugs and sanitized water.

I stored my washed yeast in small Mason jars, loosely closed, for several months.

Yeast banking and making slants and such...that requires some special hardware and techniques.

You can also pour fresh wort (cooled) right onto the previous yeast cake if you're racking and brewing on the same day. Expect EXPLOSIVE fermentation though, and you might wanna scoop out a couple cups of yeast slurry (which is debatable..some do, some don't)

[papasmurf]

.

You can also pour fresh wort (cooled) right onto the previous yeast cake if you're racking and brewing on the same day. Expect EXPLOSIVE fermentation though, and you might wanna scoop out a couple cups of yeast slurry (which is debatable..some do, some don't)

This is what I refere to as " Ninja Monkey Yeast". It gives a good result usually.

[MegaSchwiller]

for additional reference on yeast washing you might want to give a listen to the Brew Strong podcast on the subject: http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong

Jamil Z. and John Palmer cover the subject quite thoroughly.

[rundausaurus]

This is courtesy of O'Flannigan over at http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/f18/a...with-pics-t340/ and is how I do it.
The last time I did it I boiled and cooled water in a pot, sanitized a ladle and scooped out 1/2 of my cake and washed it-saved it, and then dumped my new wort on top of the rest of the cake in the fermenter.Worked like a charm.


QUOTE:O'Flan
OK, I was washing yeast yesterday and decided to take some photos. I figure there can never be too many examples to help see what's going on. So here are mine:

Pic 1: After siphoning my beer into secondary, I poured around a liter of water into the original bucket/carboy and swirled it around. Then I poured that into my container (the thing with the dog bones on it). That container had been properly cleaned and sanitized. You will see clearly in this picture what happens after about 30 or 45 minutes in the fridge. The yeast is slowly dropping out of suspension whereas the trub has already collected at the bottom.

Pic 2: After taking the first picture, I poured about half of the cloudy top part into two mason jars (sanitized) and sealed them and put them in the fridge, then I put the rest that was left in the container in first pic back into the fridge. The following day (after 20ish hours in the fridge) you can see almost pure yeast in the mason jars that has dropped completely out of suspension.

Pic 3: I could've dumped all of it into 3 or 4 mason jars, but I decided to just leave some in the fridge since I would be using it today. You can see a clear seperation in this pic of the yeast and the trub after 20+ hours in the fridge.




This post has been edited by rundausaurus: Nov 23 2009, 10:30 PM

[Thorhale]

I will try to get pictres up but mine doesn't look like that at all... the settled mass is pretty homogenous.

This post has been edited by Thorhale: Nov 24 2009, 10:12 AM