Cooper's commercial yeast

[UncleStavvy]

Harvested the dregs from 6 dark ale stubbies to make a starter for my next brew.  LHBS advised against it but we'll give it a try. Let you know how it comes out

[Lab Cat]

I'm guessing LHBS advised against it cos it means they can't sell you a yeast?

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Maybe because the LHBS wanted to sell you a yeast???

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

1 minute ago, Lab Rat said:

I'm guessing LHBS advised against it cos it means they can't sell you a yeast?

Beat me to it!!!

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

14 minutes ago, UncleStavvy said:

Harvested the dregs from 6 dark ale stubbies to make a starter for my next brew.  LHBS advised against it but we'll give it a try. Let you know how it comes out

Being serious. What were there reasons mate?. It's an awesome yeast. If I was allowed one yeast only in my brewery that would be the yeast. Extremely versatile.

[UncleStavvy]

Main concern was age. As pale ale is one of the biggest sellers its easier to find very new bottles at your local. The dark ale I've used was dated best after 20/2/2020, which makes it recent but not too old. Will probably take longer to breed up as well. If its not looking good by next Sunday I'll get an alt ale yeast or switch brews to something else. This one was a dark ale recipe from the spreadsheet, pale ale kit, DME, sugar and harvested yeasties. Ultra keen for this one

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Best after 20th Feb this year is old???

It Will breed up fine. Pale ale or mild ale is preferred as the yeast will last longer under low ABV beer but I'm guessing you will have no problems.

[UncleStavvy]

I think I'm gonna be a Daddy. Plenty of visible yeast this morning.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

1 hour ago, UncleStavvy said:

I think I'm gonna be a Daddy. Plenty of visible yeast this morning.

Yeah billions and billions of children. Better get that second job mate.

[UncleStavvy]

Should I relieve the pressure buildup in the plastic bottle?  Could hardly dent the bottle with my fingers this morning.

[Beerlust]

Yes, just enough to let the excess gas escape.

Best of luck with the brew.

Lusty.

[UncleStavvy]

Dang there was some pressure in that bottle, must have been a good 10 secs just cracked. Should I stick it in the cold now or just leave it in the brew fridge till tomorrow? Starting another DA tomorrow

[Shamus O'Sean]

Just leave it in the brew fridge because you are brewing tomorrow.  If you were going to brew in a week's time I would pop it in the cold fridge. 

[Titan]

5 hours ago, UncleStavvy said:

Dang there was some pressure in that bottle, must have been a good 10 secs just cracked. Should I stick it in the cold now or just leave it in the brew fridge till tomorrow? Starting another DA tomorrow

Next time dont put the lid on tight. Loose covering with tin foil is all thats required.

[UncleStavvy]

Question time in the warren; here's the scenario:

Harvest yeast from DA stubbies and make starter. Use the starter for 1st dark ale.

Harvest trub, split into two jars. Use one jar pitched into Sparkling ale.

Harvest yeast cake from SA, split in two. Use one jar pitched into latest Dark Ale.

Q: Potentially how long can I safely keep this going?

Q: Should I be making a proper starter rather than just tipping the whole lot in to new wort?( I do tip off the residual beer on top)

Q: Just for argument's sake, what generation of yeast am I up to?

[Titan]

45 minutes ago, UncleStavvy said:

Question time in the warren; here's the scenario:

Harvest yeast from DA stubbies and make starter. Use the starter for 1st dark ale.

Harvest trub, split into two jars. Use one jar pitched into Sparkling ale.

Harvest yeast cake from SA, split in two. Use one jar pitched into latest Dark Ale.

Q: Potentially how long can I safely keep this going?

Q: Should I be making a proper starter rather than just tipping the whole lot in to new wort?( I do tip off the residual beer on top)

Q: Just for argument's sake, what generation of yeast am I up to?

Here is what i would do.

1. Harvest yeast from DA Stubbies
2. Make a starter.
3. Save 500ml of that starter pitch the rest.
4. Make another starter and save 500ml

And so on.

[UncleStavvy]

@TitanToo late to edit now. Not a scenario, it's a sequence of events.

So your saying doing proper starters is the go. I was planning on doing this for W34/70 lager yeasts but haven't got the right gear yet. Plenty of LDM to use though

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

1 hour ago, Titan said:

Here is what i would do.

1. Harvest yeast from DA Stubbies
2. Make a starter.
3. Save 500ml of that starter pitch the rest.
4. Make another starter and save 500ml

And so on.

Totally agree with titan for ales. For a few reasons. 

With a starter you know close to what your getting. For slurry you really have NFI what cell count is in there. You could be pitching 600bn cells or 200bn depending on how much yeast and the cell density and the cell death. Its as variable as the lotto numbers. And for me it makes a discernable taste difference when it comes to ales. Others will argue not but thats my opinion.

With lagers. Different story!!!!

I regularly pitch whole slurrys and even pitch onto the cake of a previous batch. It gives a better result the more cells you pitch. A lager is supposed to be clean and crisp and the extra cells just tears through it. In my opinion its impossible to get anything bad from a massive overpitch when it comes to lagers.