Harvesting yeast for longer periods

[MitchellScott]

Hi all.

I have become accustomed to harvesting yeast from my FV into a sanitised bottle and storing it in the fridge for a few weeks, allowing the yeast to settle to the bottom and then discarding the beer and using the yeast in other brews.

A question I have though, I know it is generally said that you shouldn't leave yeast in this condition for longer then 2-3 weeks before using it again. This is fine for my ales etc as I generally have another batch going within that period. However, I do a lot less lagers and lager yeast is more expensive plus I usually need two packs.

Is there anyway I could harvest the lager yeast from the FV and store it for a longer period, say 1-2 months before using it again? This would save me approx $12 per lager brew so a decent chunk when the whole brew is only costing approx $35....

Cheers, Mitch.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Learn to make a starter mate. I have stored yeast for up to a year as you have and fired them up in a starter no problems. 

@Otto Von Blotto Kelsey has a nice procedure that he does which is probably the best way to keep a yeast clean.

[BlackSands]

I've used yeast slurry that's a couple of months old without issue.  The viability fades over time so I guess it ultimately comes down to the quantity pitched.  I don't recall the size of jar I filled with slurry, perhaps 300-400g but whatever amount it was it was certainly enough even after a couple of months to get a healthy fermentation going.  

If you're storing for much longer however, then yeah, making a starter might be the safest option. That does involve investing in some extra equipment however. 

[MitchellScott]

Thanks guys.

I might see how long it will be between brews and see if I may be able to get away with it.

Would prefer to not delve into yeast starters at the moment if possible but it will probably be something I'll look into in the future.

Mitch.

[The Captain!!]

You can make a starter by using a pot and a soft drink bottle. 

The shaken not stirred method. Or exactly like it’s shown on the harvesting coopers yeast vid 

[MitchellScott]

1 minute ago, The Captain!! said:

You can make a starter by using a pot and a soft drink bottle. 

The shaken not stirred method. Or exactly like it’s shown on the harvesting coopers yeast vid 

Is there a thread on how to do starters? I might look into it. I have not much of an idea as to how its all done.

Mitch.

[The Captain!!]

4 minutes ago, MitchellScott said:

Is there a thread on how to do starters? I might look into it. I have not much of an idea as to how its all done.

Mitch.

Doesn’t have to be coopers yeast 

[Shamus O'Sean]

I will be having another bash at this for using in my Coopers 2019 Vintage ROTM in a week or two.

[MitchellScott]

I've seen that video previously but I am more just unsure of growing the yeast up then pitching using the correct pitching amounts etc.

It's something I'll definitely have to look into, sounds like the way to go and saves heaps on yeast costs

[The Captain!!]

There’s also this method which I use too.

ive taken mine to something like 9 gens. Otto gets more I think. 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

With liquid yeast I get up to 15 or more. The only dry yeast I've done it with is US-05, and got to about 9 before it threw weird flavours. I only did it that one time though, I've since replaced it with 1056. 

[Beerlust]

Hi guys.

I kegged a batch of beer yesterday that was fermented with some reactivated Coopers Commercial Ale yeast. The brew fermented out extremely well, so on a rare occasion, I thought I'd harvest some for re-use.

I apologise for the picture quality, but I had to allow them to settle out for 24hrs in the fridge & took this pic a short while ago under artificial night light. The yeast was originally mixed with a litre of cooled boiled water in the FV & then poured off into a large sealed & sanitised container & allowed to settle out most of the trub before being poured off into two smaller mason-type jars you see in the pic. They both hold approx. 400-450mls of liquid.

There appears to be quite a sizeable portion of yeast in each jar collected. My question for the 'yeast daddies' is how would you best use & prepare these volumes for future use?

I mean how long can I leave this volume in storage before I really need to pitch it into a starter? Once I reach that point where a starter is required, how big a starter given the volume I've collected?

I'm honest enough to admit yeast re-use is not one of my strengths despite reading a lot of tips & literature that at times is a little ambiguous (I find). It's a strain I'd like to be able to re-use & maintain more often if possible.

I would appreciate all thoughts & advice.

Cheers,

Lusty.

Edited October 21, 2019 by Beerlust

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'm not exactly sure there's a standard. I suspect different yeast strains probably die off at different rates, although the differences are probably small. Some say a couple of weeks is about the limit before a starter should be used. 

The size of the starter depends on the size and OG of the batch it's being pitched into, as well as the starting cell count. There's no one size fits all. It does make it a bit harder when you don't have an approximate starting count, but somewhere around 1.5-2 litres would probably work. Possibly less if you have a stir plate. 

[Beerlust]

Thanks Kelsey.

You're right about the starting cell count as it can produce differing levels of yeast depending on the brew it was used in.

If I had a stirplate I'd probably try pitching one of the jars into a 2 ltr starter now & then split it for re-use. But I'll probably just direct pitch the first jar & maybe make a starter with the second & use them up quickly. That'll be good enough & save me some money on buying yeast for a couple of brews. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

19 hours ago, Beerlust said:

Hi guys.

I kegged a batch of beer yesterday that was fermented with some reactivated Coopers Commercial Ale yeast. The brew fermented out extremely well, so on a rare occasion, I thought I'd harvest some for re-use.

I apologise for the picture quality, but I had to allow them to settle out for 24hrs in the fridge & took this pic a short while ago under artificial night light. The yeast was originally mixed with a litre of cooled boiled water in the FV & then poured off into a large sealed & sanitised container & allowed to settle out most of the trub before being poured off into two smaller mason-type jars you see in the pic. They both hold approx. 400-450mls of liquid.

There appears to be quite a sizeable portion of yeast in each jar collected. My question for the 'yeast daddies' is how would you best use & prepare these volumes for future use?

I mean how long can I leave this volume in storage before I really need to pitch it into a starter? Once I reach that point where a starter is required, how big a starter given the volume I've collected?

I'm honest enough to admit yeast re-use is not one of my strengths despite reading a lot of tips & literature that at times is a little ambiguous (I find). It's a strain I'd like to be able to re-use & maintain more often if possible.

I would appreciate all thoughts & advice.

Cheers,

Lusty.

I have given up on using slurry for ales. I found the yeast viability and concentration to be too variable to get a consistent result from using it. The strain also matters as well. You can get away with close enough with a clean strain like US05 but not with other strains. The last time I used CCA slurry I got my first and only stall not from a notorious stalling yeast. And at @ 1.5bn cells per ml it should have been enough to do two batches. It was only 2 weeks or so old too.

As far as reusing yeasts I’m careful with CCA as I don’t know how many times coopers used it. I usually get a new one after 5 or 6. 

[Beerlust]

Thanks for the input Greeny. Like Kelsey's, much appreciated & I was hoping you'd chime in here with the CCA I've harvested here.

1 hour ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

I have given up on using slurry for ales. I found the yeast viability and concentration to be too variable to get a consistent result from using it. The strain also matters as well. You can get away with close enough with a clean strain like US05 but not with other strains. The last time I used CCA slurry I got my first and only stall not from a notorious stalling yeast. And at @ 1.5bn cells per ml it should have been enough to do two batches. It was only 2 weeks or so old too.

As far as reusing yeasts I’m careful with CCA as I don’t know how many times coopers used it. I usually get a new one after 5 or 6. 

I too have only had one stall (not fail) with harvested CCA yeast. I tried to brew the higher ABV Sparkling Ale recipe with it. It conked about 6-8 points shy of where I was aiming for it to finish. I was a little surprised with that one because it was from a direct re-activation of 8-9 stubbies from memory so should have had plenty to ferment it out. Maybe just bad, dumb luck on that one. I'm not the least bit bitter about it as I managed to pitch some pkt dry yeast that finished it off nicely, & it still retained much of that Coopers yeast character in the beer. 

I feel my collection process is better this time. I've diluted the remaining alcohol in solution better I reckon & by collecting into a larger vessel initially, then separating into two separate jars after a lapse to allow the sediment to settle out, I've gotten a cleaner product with less alcohol above it that I'm led to believe can increase the drop-off in viability over time.

I'm going to pitch one of the jars on a fresh brew this Friday or Sunday (whenever I get time to put another brew down), & see how it goes.

I need a yeast daddy method, maybe this is it.  

Lovin' your Belgian beer exploit posts of late. Really interesting. 

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.