Washed Yeast

adam20 · February 15, 2012, 4:34pm

Ok so last night was the first time Ive attempted washing yeast. I boiled water, let it cool while I racked a beer, when it was cool I poured the water onto my yeast cake, then poured that into mason jars that I had boiled to sterilize. Well theyve been in the fridge over night, and I seem to have more layers than people usually have. I have the clear trub layer at the bottom, then a really creamy white layer, then a less white creamy layer then a beer ish layer on top. Is this right? What do I do next?

Thanks in advance for advice.

birdstop · February 15, 2012, 4:49pm

You are on the right path for sure. You should only let your trub settle out for 2-3 hours before pouring off the suspended yeast above the trub layer into your final sterilized jars. Please follow the below link as it is very comprehensive and it will get you on the right track. Oh, Just shake your current jars real well and have a couple more sterilized on hand and a few free hours and follw the information on the link. Happy yeast rinsing!

http://home.comcast.net/~wnevits/wizards/yeast_washing_rev_5.pdf

adam20 · February 15, 2012, 5:21pm

Awesome. Thanks so much!

dobe12 · February 15, 2012, 6:28pm

I’ve been using purified bottled water to rinse yeast with no problems. To me it’s just easier and quicker. I can get a case for something like $3-$4 at Acme. To me, that price is worth the time saved in boiling and cooling tap water.

beersk · February 15, 2012, 6:33pm

That’s not a bad idea. I’ve used water left over from the RO I get from the store. I’ve decanted the spent beer off and add some RO water on brew day before pitching. Seems to work just fine, haven’t had any problems.

cam0083 · February 15, 2012, 7:07pm

That link is the one I used when I first started out washing yeast maybe five or six batches ago and it helped a ton.

Don’t stress out if your jars don’t look like those pictures. And if you end up loosing a little bit of yeast when your decanting or accidentally pour a bit of trub in don’t fret about it too much. After a few batches you’ll get the hang of it. I think you need to be a bit anal about yeast but not as anal as some people make it seem. It’s not rocket science.

cam0083 · February 15, 2012, 7:10pm

Also, now that I wash and save yeast I have created a nifty little spread sheet to keep track of everything I have as well as when I am roughly planning on using it and for what type of beer. That allows me to plan out collecting yeast from a smaller beer and then using it on progressively stronger beers until I pitch it into a super high OG beer and then just dump it.

But that’s just me, I’m a bit nerdy in that I enjoy designing spreadsheets.

dobe12 · February 15, 2012, 7:10pm

[quote=“cam0083”]That link is the one I used when I first started out washing yeast maybe five or six batches ago and it helped a ton.

Don’t stress out if your jars don’t look like those pictures. And if you end up loosing a little bit of yeast when your decanting or accidentally pour a bit of trub in don’t fret about it too much. After a few batches you’ll get the hang of it. I think you need to be a bit anal about yeast but not as anal as some people make it seem. It’s not rocket science.[/quote]

I agree completely. A lot of people (not me) pitch right on top of a yeast cake, trub and all. So getting a little in with the yeast is not a big deal.

adam20 · February 15, 2012, 8:45pm

Thanks. I shook up the jars and let them settle again while I was at school. They looked better when I got home. Now they are in smaller jars that had been sanitized and I dont see trub. Its all creamy light tan and white layers. Does it sound like Ive got the right stuff?

birdstop · February 15, 2012, 10:50pm

Adam,
Yes you have it. Should be close to 4 billion cells per ml right now and that count wil reduce the longer you keep it. tyr to keep it as close to 33-34 degrees as you can and the yeast will last up to 6-8 weeks, but your amount of good viable yeast will be reduced by quite a bit and you may have to do two starters to get your count up enough to pitch. Search google with yeast ranching and yeast rinsing / washing and you will get to where it is second nature. You will want a spread sheed and labeled jars so you keep it all straight. Next year you will be freezing yeast in your yeast bank in the freezer, LOL. More reading for you.