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Main
Date: 28 Aug 2006 21:10:04
From: jeff
Subject: Bottling a yeast cake
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Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
I managed to harvest the yeast from a bottle of Hoegaarden witbier, and
I'm thinking of doing this:
- leave a pint or two of beer in the secondary when I rack for
bottling
- swirl it around
- make a few pint-bottles of this yeast-and-beer stuff and store it
in
the fridge until I need it.
I'm thinking a single pint of this stuff ought to be enough to get a
batch
going next time, but maybe I'd start it off in a single gallon.
Has anyone tried something like this?
How long should I expect to be able to keep it for in the fridge?
Jeff Hay-Roe
Gibsons, British Columbia
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 14:03:14
From: Jay
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 04:10:04 UTC, "jeff" <jeffhayroe@yahoo.com > wrote:
> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>
> I managed to harvest the yeast from a bottle of Hoegaarden witbier, and
> I'm thinking of doing this:
> - leave a pint or two of beer in the secondary when I rack for
> bottling
> - swirl it around
> - make a few pint-bottles of this yeast-and-beer stuff and store it
> in
> the fridge until I need it.
>
> I'm thinking a single pint of this stuff ought to be enough to get a
> batch
> going next time, but maybe I'd start it off in a single gallon.
>
> Has anyone tried something like this?
> How long should I expect to be able to keep it for in the fridge?
>
>
> Jeff Hay-Roe
> Gibsons, British Columbia
>
It can keep fermenting for a while though, so watch out for bottle
bombs. I know because I took a yeast shower once when I opened a
bottle I did this way. These days, I crack the seal every once in a
while to release the pressure.
Jay
--
Have fun brewing beer.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 13:50:02
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On 28 Aug 2006 21:10:04 -0700, <jeffhayroe@yahoo.com > wrote:
> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>
> I managed to harvest the yeast from a bottle of Hoegaarden witbier, and
> I'm thinking of doing this:
> - leave a pint or two of beer in the secondary when I rack for
> bottling
> - swirl it around
> - make a few pint-bottles of this yeast-and-beer stuff and store it
> in
> the fridge until I need it.
>
> I'm thinking a single pint of this stuff ought to be enough to get a
> batch
> going next time, but maybe I'd start it off in a single gallon.
>
> Has anyone tried something like this?
> How long should I expect to be able to keep it for in the fridge?
It should work fine. Some people will sanitize mason jars or other glass
containers, but a bottle should work just as well. The only difference is
that the narrow neck of a bottle will make filling it a little more tricky.
A wide mouth jar is nice because you can easily pour the slurry out from
the fermenter into the jar. A sanitized funnel or something would probably
help.
It should store for several weeks and be ready to just dump in your next
batch. If you're going to be keeping it in the fridge for several months,
then you might want to think about making a starter before you use it again.
Even with saving a high volume like that, you'd still want to double check
the viability if it's been sitting in the fridge for something like 6 months.
Longer than that and you'd definitely want to make sure it's still alive
before you try and use it. Personally I'd start to get a little nervous
at 6+ months. However, there is no hard and fast rule stating how long it
will last. There are lots of variables, probably including a little luck.
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 20:51:19
From: Scott Alfter
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
In article <slrnef8hlc.50d.spam@weizen.shagg.net >,
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar <spam@shagg.net > wrote:
>On 28 Aug 2006 21:10:04 -0700, <jeffhayroe@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>
>It should work fine. Some people will sanitize mason jars or other glass
>containers, but a bottle should work just as well. The only difference is
>that the narrow neck of a bottle will make filling it a little more tricky.
You can use an auto-siphon (with the tip removed) to pump some yeast slurry
out before you rack the rest of the batch out of the fermenter.
_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 14:18:10
From: Colin
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Scott Alfter wrote:
>
> You can use an auto-siphon (with the tip removed) to pump some yeast slurry
> out before you rack the rest of the batch out of the fermenter.
I've scooped it into a jar, poured it out of the fermenter into a jar.
Both are a pain. This is the smartest suggestion I've heard in a long
time.
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 15:04:03
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Colin wrote:
> Scott Alfter wrote:
>
>>
>> You can use an auto-siphon (with the tip removed) to pump some yeast
>> slurry
>> out before you rack the rest of the batch out of the fermenter.
>
>
> I've scooped it into a jar, poured it out of the fermenter into a jar.
> Both are a pain. This is the smartest suggestion I've heard in a long
> time.
Should some of the beer be left to cover the the yeast cake in the jar?
--
Dan
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 22:36:16
From: Scott Alfter
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
In article <44f5e19f$0$557$b45e6eb0@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu >,
Dan Logcher <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net > wrote:
>Colin wrote:
>> Scott Alfter wrote:
>>> You can use an auto-siphon (with the tip removed) to pump some yeast
>>> slurry out before you rack the rest of the batch out of the fermenter.
>>
>> I've scooped it into a jar, poured it out of the fermenter into a jar.
>> Both are a pain. This is the smartest suggestion I've heard in a long
>> time.
>
>Should some of the beer be left to cover the the yeast cake in the jar?
When I do this, the entire batch of beer is still sitting on top of the
yeast. The stuff that gets pumped into the bottle is a turbid mess, but it
settles out after a couple of days or so with yeast in the bottom third (or
so) of the bottle and beer on top. So far, I've left the beer in the
bottles, but I've degassed them every once in a while...just pry up a little
bit on the cap with a church key until you hear a hiss, then let the bottle
seal up again.
_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 21:30:09
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Scott Alfter wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> In article <44f5e19f$0$557$b45e6eb0@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu>,
> Dan Logcher <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>Colin wrote:
>>
>>>Scott Alfter wrote:
>>>
>>>>You can use an auto-siphon (with the tip removed) to pump some yeast
>>>>slurry out before you rack the rest of the batch out of the fermenter.
>>>
>>>I've scooped it into a jar, poured it out of the fermenter into a jar.
>>>Both are a pain. This is the smartest suggestion I've heard in a long
>>>time.
>>
>>Should some of the beer be left to cover the the yeast cake in the jar?
>
>
> When I do this, the entire batch of beer is still sitting on top of the
> yeast. The stuff that gets pumped into the bottle is a turbid mess, but it
> settles out after a couple of days or so with yeast in the bottom third (or
> so) of the bottle and beer on top. So far, I've left the beer in the
> bottles, but I've degassed them every once in a while...just pry up a little
> bit on the cap with a church key until you hear a hiss, then let the bottle
> seal up again.
Ok, sounds good. I'll give it a shot.
--
Dan
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 12:23:35
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Dan Logcher wrote:
> Should some of the beer be left to cover the the yeast cake in the jar?
Yep...or you can add other beer, or boiled and cooled distilled water.
-------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 21:09:43
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Denny Conn wrote:
> Dan Logcher wrote:
>
>
>>Should some of the beer be left to cover the the yeast cake in the jar?
>
>
> Yep...or you can add other beer, or boiled and cooled distilled water.
But it shouldn't just be the yeast cake without a liquid on top.. exposed
to the air. Correct?
--
Dan
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Date: 31 Aug 2006 08:52:29
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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Dan Logcher wrote:
> But it shouldn't just be the yeast cake without a liquid on top.. exposed
> to the air. Correct?
Absolutely correct...
----------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 13:27:41
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> On 28 Aug 2006 21:10:04 -0700, <jeffhayroe@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>>
>>I managed to harvest the yeast from a bottle of Hoegaarden witbier, and
>>I'm thinking of doing this:
>> - leave a pint or two of beer in the secondary when I rack for
>>bottling
>> - swirl it around
>> - make a few pint-bottles of this yeast-and-beer stuff and store it
>>in
>> the fridge until I need it.
>>
>>I'm thinking a single pint of this stuff ought to be enough to get a
>>batch
>>going next time, but maybe I'd start it off in a single gallon.
>>
>>Has anyone tried something like this?
>>How long should I expect to be able to keep it for in the fridge?
>
>
> It should work fine. Some people will sanitize mason jars or other glass
> containers, but a bottle should work just as well. The only difference is
> that the narrow neck of a bottle will make filling it a little more tricky.
> A wide mouth jar is nice because you can easily pour the slurry out from
> the fermenter into the jar. A sanitized funnel or something would probably
> help.
The yeast cake consists of yeast and trub (hot & cold break material and dead
yeast)? Is it better to seperate the break and dead yeast? Easily?
--
Dan
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 19:03:40
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:27:41 -0400, <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net > wrote:
>> It should work fine. Some people will sanitize mason jars or other glass
>> containers, but a bottle should work just as well. The only difference is
>> that the narrow neck of a bottle will make filling it a little more tricky.
>> A wide mouth jar is nice because you can easily pour the slurry out from
>> the fermenter into the jar. A sanitized funnel or something would probably
>> help.
>
> The yeast cake consists of yeast and trub (hot & cold break material and dead
> yeast)? Is it better to seperate the break and dead yeast? Easily?
What you're thinking of is yeast washing. It's a fairly straight forward
process, but make sure you know what to dump and what to keep. That tends
to cause some confusion. Basically you just add water to suspend the slurry
in liquid. After a certain point you get two layers, one is trub and the
other is yeast. You dump one off and keep the yeast (not sure off the top
of my head if it's the yeast that gets dumped to another container or if
you dump the trub and keep the remainder). There are links on the web
that describe the process. I don't have any saved, but I'm sure someone
else can chime in.
IMO, it's probably not necessary for short term storage (couple weeks). It'd
probably be a good idea for longer term (couple months).
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 21:25:38
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
[yeast washing snipped]
> IMO, it's probably not necessary for short term storage (couple weeks). It'd
> probably be a good idea for longer term (couple months).
Thanks, that's what I was thinking.. my only thought was that if I just use
the yeast cake over and over, am I not building up more trub than yeast?
Whereas washing would be more yeast than trub..
I guess if I only do it a couple of times it no big deal. I've got a batch
sitting in primary now, and I'm thinking of brewing up another tomorrow if
I have the time.
--
Dan
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 16:03:14
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:25:38 -0400, <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net > wrote:
> John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> [yeast washing snipped]
>> IMO, it's probably not necessary for short term storage (couple weeks). It'd
>> probably be a good idea for longer term (couple months).
>
> Thanks, that's what I was thinking.. my only thought was that if I just use
> the yeast cake over and over, am I not building up more trub than yeast?
> Whereas washing would be more yeast than trub..
Without washing you're building up both.
> I guess if I only do it a couple of times it no big deal. I've got a batch
> sitting in primary now, and I'm thinking of brewing up another tomorrow if
> I have the time.
Yeah, for a couple reuses it's probably nothing to worry about. That's
one reason that the general recommendation is to go from light to dark
color and light to heavy flavor, there is some carry over between the
beers. If you do a mild first and then reuse that yeast in an imperial
stout, you probably won't notice anything. If you did it the other way
around though, you might start tasting a bit of stout in your mild.
Washing between uses would help wih that.
What I do is to save yeast from my starter, rather than harvest from
the fermenter. That way I don't have to worry about trub or beer
character carrying over between batches.
John.
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 15:05:38
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> What I do is to save yeast from my starter, rather than harvest from
> the fermenter. That way I don't have to worry about trub or beer
> character carrying over between batches.
So make a starter but only use some of it, and keep the rest going in
the flask or whatever you use?
--
Dan
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 19:10:04
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:05:38 -0400, <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net > wrote:
> John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
>
>> What I do is to save yeast from my starter, rather than harvest from
>> the fermenter. That way I don't have to worry about trub or beer
>> character carrying over between batches.
>
> So make a starter but only use some of it, and keep the rest going in
> the flask or whatever you use?
I use White Labs vials. I make a starter and once it's done I pour some of
the slurry back into the vial and put it in the fridge. The rest of the
starter gets pitched into my beer. Next time I want to use that yeast I
pull the vial out and make another starter from it. Repeat as long as you
feel comfortable using the same yeast.
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 12:13:37
From: Jason
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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jeff wrote:
> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>
> I managed to harvest the yeast from a bottle of Hoegaarden witbier, and
> I'm thinking of doing this:
> - leave a pint or two of beer in the secondary when I rack for
> bottling
> - swirl it around
> - make a few pint-bottles of this yeast-and-beer stuff and store it
> in
> the fridge until I need it.
>
> I'm thinking a single pint of this stuff ought to be enough to get a
> batch
> going next time, but maybe I'd start it off in a single gallon.
>
> Has anyone tried something like this?
> How long should I expect to be able to keep it for in the fridge?
>
>
> Jeff Hay-Roe
> Gibsons, British Columbia
>
It works like a charm. That's how I always do it. When I use a new yeast
packet I take a sample out to the primary when it's done and store it in
the fridge. Then when I'm getting ready to do a brew with the yeast I
take out a sample, let it warm up then pitch it in a starter. Got to
make the yeast last a while, stuffs to expensive to use once then dump.
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Date: 28 Aug 2006 23:25:19
From: Shane Boyd
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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jeff wrote:
> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
I actually just tried this on my last batch... I took the yeast cake
from the primary and put some of it in clean, sanitized bottles. As
yet, I have not tried to revive the yeast or even to check on it. I
tried to make it somewhat methodical...
1 sample with just yeast cake alone
1 sample with yeast cake and water
1 sample with yeast cake and hot water
1 sample with yeast cake and sugar water
In retrospect, I'm not sure why I bottled one with hot water and
another with cold water... as both went into the fridge immediately
anyways. But I'm very curious to find out how it will turn out...
Does anyone have any actual knowledge about this?
shane.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 13:52:41
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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On 28 Aug 2006 23:25:19 -0700, <shane.boyd@gmail.com > wrote:
> jeff wrote:
>> Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
>
> I actually just tried this on my last batch... I took the yeast cake
> from the primary and put some of it in clean, sanitized bottles. As
> yet, I have not tried to revive the yeast or even to check on it. I
> tried to make it somewhat methodical...
>
> 1 sample with just yeast cake alone
> 1 sample with yeast cake and water
> 1 sample with yeast cake and hot water
I don't think there'd be much difference between these, assuming that the
hot water was not hot enough to kill the yeast.
> 1 sample with yeast cake and sugar water
Watch out for bottle bombs with this one. How much sugar did you add? If
it's more than what you would use for normal priming then you may be in
trouble.
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 19:40:03
From: David Edge
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
|
On 28 Aug 2006 21:10:04 -0700, "jeff" <jeffhayroe@yahoo.com > wrote:
>Has anyone here tried bottling a yeast cake?
We got caught with an almost bottle bomb. The kitchen was redecorated
in a pale brown shade.
I admit I was particularly stupid in allowing the bottle to warm up
before cracking it open. Do that while cold.
David Edge, Derby
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 04:56:40
From: Scotty B
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> A wide mouth jar is nice because you can easily pour the slurry out from
> the fermenter into the jar.
Note: be sure to sanitize the lip of the fermenter before pouring out
of it!
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Date: 31 Aug 2006 12:21:12
From: John Krehbiel
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
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I use the small amount of beer the siphon doesn't get along with the
yeast cake.
I swirl the beer and yeast to loosten it up, and pour it into a
sanitized Grolsch bottle.
I almost always use a starter to be sure the yeast is viable since some
of my yeast samples sit for a couple of months before I want to use the
same yeast again.
Be very careful opening these though. I usually have to let off
pressure a few times to avoid all of the yeast leaving the bottle as
foam. Doing it outside may be a good idea.
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 08:28:28
From: Steve Ruch
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
|
Here's what I was planning to do over the next week and a half.
Thursday I'm going to brew a best bitter with a starter of Wyeast 1335.
Then I am going to only let it set in the primary just long enough for
any trub to settle out and then rack it to the secondary ( maybe two
days: saturday). Then bottle in a week which should be enough as this
best bitter will start out around 1.045. At this point the only thing
left in the carboy should be yeast. I was planning on leaving the carboy
in the cooler at 40 for a month then make a new starter and brew a
porter.
Steve.
"I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to. I guess," The mans prayer.
Red Green
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 12:12:34
From: John Krehbiel
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
|
Steve Ruch wrote:
> Here's what I was planning to do over the next week and a half.
> Thursday I'm going to brew a best bitter with a starter of Wyeast 1335.
> Then I am going to only let it set in the primary just long enough for
> any trub to settle out and then rack it to the secondary ( maybe two
> days: saturday). Then bottle in a week which should be enough as this
> best bitter will start out around 1.045. At this point the only thing
> left in the carboy should be yeast. I was planning on leaving the carboy
> in the cooler at 40 for a month then make a new starter and brew a
> porter.
>
>
> Steve.
> "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to. I guess," The mans prayer.
> Red Green
That should work as long as the carboy is capped and you have the room
in the cooler. For me space is at a premium, so I collect just the
yeast.
As someone else said, be sure you have cleaned and sanitized the
exposed neck of the carboy before pouring.
John
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 07:02:20
From: Steve Ruch
Subject: Re: Bottling a yeast cake
|
"As someone else said, be sure you have cleaned and sanitized the
exposed neck of the carboy before pouring."
John
I will remember that.
Steve.
"I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to. I guess," The mans prayer.
Red Green
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