So, I started washing my lager yeast, got as far as getting it into the 1 gallon jug, had to go do a family thing, so I put it in the beer fridge. Then I spaced it. This is what it looks like after 3 days. It looks like it’s in 3 parts. Any suggestions? Is there any part I can/should save?
I’d be careful and dump the top layer, and replace it with distilled water. The pH of beer can be off-putting towards the yeast. I basically do the same thing but wash with distilled water and separate contents between a few large mason jars. Looks good though.
My practice has been to pour it in a qt mason jar. When I want to use the yeast again, I make a starter and scoop 2-4 spoonfuls out.
This persons experience has me thinking I should dig a little deeper.
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/1 ... posed.htmlI’ve harvested my last 2 batches this way with good results. Might be the pic what you have doesn’t look right
Add gallon boiled cooled water to primary swirl let the darkest parts settle in a cake takes 10- 20 mins.
Leaving the dark layer behind i pour the rest into a gallon jar shake again let settle for 20 mins
Pour off the suspended yeast into mason jars again leaving dark layer behind
Put in frig Loosely capped
I end up with nice white yeast cakes with very little if any trub
From where your at I’d shake it up and start from the beginning
The top layer is water that I had boiled for 15 minutes and had cooled. I was just wondering if the 2 lower layers were still usable.
According to the link I posted, the yeast count is very similar throughout a yeast cake. With a higher concentration of wild bugs on the top.
Oh, I missed that link. Just read it. Hmmmm. Looks like I’m OK after all. So, what I think I’ll do is decant the water off, let it warm to room temp and get it into some mason jars. Thanks
Oh, I missed that link. Just read it. Hmmmm. Looks like I’m OK after all. So, what I think I’ll do is decant the water off, let it warm to room temp and get it into some mason jars. Thanks[/quote]
Can I ask why you’re letting it warm up? If you’re going to store it, it should stay cold in the fridge.
Also, if you leave your jug in the fridge too long and all the yeast drops out, just give it a shake and let the trub settle out again. Give it 30-60min, pour of the yeast/water mixture into mason jars, leaving the trub behind and you’re golden.
[quote=“Nighthawk”]This persons experience has me thinking I should dig a little deeper.
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/1 ... posed.html[/quote]Well that's interesting. I had pretty much given up on harvesting yeast, other than using part of a yeast cake a couple times. I always had mixed results trying to separate the bottom 2 layers, in fact I rarely had 2 distinguished layers like I see in a lot of videos and articles, mine always seemed to be more of a gradient.Oh, I missed that link. Just read it. Hmmmm. Looks like I’m OK after all. So, what I think I’ll do is decant the water off, let it warm to room temp and get it into some mason jars. Thanks[/quote]
Can I ask why you’re letting it warm up? If you’re going to store it, it should stay cold in the fridge.
Also, if you leave your jug in the fridge too long and all the yeast drops out, just give it a shake and let the trub settle out again. Give it 30-60min, pour of the yeast/water mixture into mason jars, leaving the trub behind and you’re golden.[/quote]
I was going to warm it up so that it would be easier to work with, getting it into some Mason jars. In my mind, that was the way it was going to go, anyway.
No need to warm it up. Just shake the jug again and let it sit in the fridge for 30-60min. The trub will still drop out faster than the yeast (EDIT: Unless you’re talking about that pesky London ESB yeast). You do NOT want to wait for the yeast to start dropping out before you pour off into mason jars. You want the yeast to still be in suspension, pour it into your mason jars, then get them in the fridge. Over the next few days, you’ll have some nice layers of pure (or mostly pure) yeast on the bottom of each jar.
This is the most effective way to leave as much trub behind. Although, if you are really good at your first rinse, you won’t see the typical laying because all you have is yeast. If that’s the case, then there is no point in letting it settle.
Paul: I think you get everything mixed up and pour it off into 3 jars. If using quart jars, pour off about a quart of liquid otherwise you’ll dump 1/4 of your cake down the drain.
OK, thanks. This clears it up a lot. I’m going to pour it into pint jars. Harvesting yeast is still pretty new to me. I really appreciate all the feedback and advice. That’s why I love this forum so much.
FYI
2 Pints to a Quart, 4 Quarts to a gallon. You have capacity for 1.5 Quarts so you need to pour off 2.5 quarts of liquid before mixing and distributing.
FYI
2 Pints to a Quart, 4 Quarts to a gallon. You have capacity for 1.5 Quarts so you need to pour off 2.5 quarts of liquid before mixing and distributing.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too
