Reuseing a yeast cake

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Date: 12 Dec 2006 03:02:56
From: Brian Foster
Subject: Reuseing a yeast cake

I just want to make sure I have this sequence right.

Lets say I make my favorite brew this week and pitch a high quality white
labs yeast in my plastic bucket (utilizing a starter of course).
So I wait about a week for the primary fermentation to subside, and then
next week I just brew up the same wort, siphon my first batch into a glass
carboy, and then dump my new batch of wort right on the old yeast cake,
still in the bottom of the plastic bucket?

Now I'm off to the races with my new batch and I didn't have to buy any
yeast for it?

And I can do this multiple times?

I can store these batches of great brew in corny kegs for months at a time?
because my sanitization is so good and I have a seperate brew fridge (20ft2)
in the garage.

Take advantage of the cooler winter months here in TX and not have to try
and brew so much during the super heated summer months?

Chilling wort now is a breeze with my 25,000 gallon cement wort chiller in
the back yard. Not the case in July and August here when I'm buying ice by
the truckload :(

If this is the case, I think I just found the new perfect winter sport :)

"I feel bad for people who don't drink because when they get up in the
morning, it's the best they're going to feel all day...." Dean Martin

Date: 11 Dec 2006 21:29:24
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

Date: 12 Dec 2006 08:27:10
From: John Krehbiel
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

>
> Finally, make sure you get your wort chilled to fermentation
> temperature or just below before adding it to the top of the yeast
> cake. If you start on the warm side, it will ferment even faster and
> heat up even more.
>
> Bob

Also, if the fermentation starts warm, that can cause more esters to
form. I finally tried cooling my Scottish ale to 55 F before pitching,
and it makes a big difference.

John

Date: 12 Dec 2006 08:14:21
From: Just Another Bob
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

Brian Foster wrote:
> I just want to make sure I have this sequence right.
>
> Lets say I make my favorite brew this week and pitch a high quality white
> labs yeast in my plastic bucket (utilizing a starter of course).
> So I wait about a week for the primary fermentation to subside, and then
> next week I just brew up the same wort, siphon my first batch into a glass
> carboy, and then dump my new batch of wort right on the old yeast cake,
> still in the bottom of the plastic bucket?
>
> Now I'm off to the races with my new batch and I didn't have to buy any
> yeast for it?

This works great, and gives you really fast fermentation times. I've
done it as many as 3 or 4 times on the same yeast (in a 6.5 gallon
glass carboy, not a plastic bucket, but same idea.) After 3 or 4
times, I usually start over because of the abount of trub starting to
build up on the bottom of the fermeter, and also because I'm ready to
take a break for a while, and also because I'm usually ready to do a
different style at that point. Though, when it comes to style, you can
usually get away with using the same yeast for a fairly wide range of
styles (think of how many varieties Rouge makes with thier PacMan.)
I've done a Bitter, then an IPA, then a stout all off the same yeast
with excellent results. It's actually pretty cool to watch the yeast
cake come up out of suspension after an hour or two... the carboy
becomes a lava lamp of activity.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you will get a very fast
fermentation using this method. I'm not sure about in a bucket, but in
a 6.5 gallon carboy, I *have* to use a large diameter blow-off tube on
the second and subsequent batches.

Finally, make sure you get your wort chilled to fermentation
temperature or just below before adding it to the top of the yeast
cake. If you start on the warm side, it will ferment even faster and
heat up even more.

The other advantage is that you don't have to resanitize your primary
using this method--which is nice!

Bob

Date: 12 Dec 2006 23:15:07
From: Carter Cathey
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

If you plan it out in advance, you can get quite an assembly line going.
Start smaller and less hoppy and get progressively bigger. Or, as you
suggest, you can do the same beer.

"Brian Foster" <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote in message
news:AZofh.4322$GB1.2816@tornado.texas.rr.com...
>I just want to make sure I have this sequence right.
>
> Lets say I make my favorite brew this week and pitch a high quality white
> labs yeast in my plastic bucket (utilizing a starter of course).
> So I wait about a week for the primary fermentation to subside, and then
> next week I just brew up the same wort, siphon my first batch into a glass
> carboy, and then dump my new batch of wort right on the old yeast cake,
> still in the bottom of the plastic bucket?
>
> Now I'm off to the races with my new batch and I didn't have to buy any
> yeast for it?
>
> And I can do this multiple times?
>

Date: 13 Dec 2006 12:56:03
From: Sheheryar
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

So a related question -- how long is it advisable to store beer in kegs
for before flavor deteriorates. I dont brew in the summer months and
generally go through (friends and all :)) around 4-5 kegs (or their
bottle equivalent since I just started kegging) in the warmer months.
So if I plan to have 6 kegs saved by say April/May, I should be fine
until September. Is this a doable plan without too much deterioration?
These beers are in the 5% alcohol range.

Date: 13 Dec 2006 21:22:47
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

On 13 Dec 2006 12:56:03 -0800, <sheheryarhasnain@hotmail.com > wrote:
> So a related question -- how long is it advisable to store beer in kegs
> for before flavor deteriorates. I dont brew in the summer months and
> generally go through (friends and all :)) around 4-5 kegs (or their
> bottle equivalent since I just started kegging) in the warmer months.
> So if I plan to have 6 kegs saved by say April/May, I should be fine
> until September. Is this a doable plan without too much deterioration?
> These beers are in the 5% alcohol range.

A lot of it is based on personal preference. Two people may like the same
beer best at two completely different levels of aging. I've heard of
people "finding" forgotten kegs of 10 year old homebrew and said that the
beer still tasted good.

Generally stronger beers (either alcohol or flavor) will benefit from
more aging than lighter beers. However, that's not set in stone. It's
really up to you. You'll have to experiment with different styles to
see what you like best.

John.

Date: 18 Dec 2006 01:29:22
From: Carter Cathey
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

Aging is affected to a great degree by storage temperature. If you have
refrigeration or a modified freezer, you can greatly extend the life-cycle
of a beer.

But, for a few months, you should pretty much be fine with any dark nook or
cranny in your house. Personally, I would avoid leaving them out in the
garage to avoid wider shifts in temp, but I suppose this depends greatly on
where you live.

Carter

"Sheheryar" <sheheryarhasnain@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:1166043362.901618.316750@j72g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> So a related question -- how long is it advisable to store beer in kegs
> for before flavor deteriorates. I dont brew in the summer months and
> generally go through (friends and all :)) around 4-5 kegs (or their
> bottle equivalent since I just started kegging) in the warmer months.
> So if I plan to have 6 kegs saved by say April/May, I should be fine
> until September. Is this a doable plan without too much deterioration?
> These beers are in the 5% alcohol range.
>

Date: 18 Dec 2006 10:55:46
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

Carter Cathey wrote:

> Aging is affected to a great degree by storage temperature. If you have
> refrigeration or a modified freezer, you can greatly extend the life-cycle
> of a beer.
>
> But, for a few months, you should pretty much be fine with any dark nook or
> cranny in your house. Personally, I would avoid leaving them out in the
> garage to avoid wider shifts in temp, but I suppose this depends greatly on
> where you live.

Temperatures in the Northeast (US) are pretty warm right now.. how would
this affect a keg I have in my garage. My basement is about 64F, my garage
is about 60F, but will get down to 54F when its really cold out.

--
Dan

Date: 19 Dec 2006 21:43:04
From: Carter Cathey
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

That is a good temp range. I was thinking more in the lines of it being too
hot. My garage was 84 degrees one day this week and in the summer, it reads
off the therm. Texas has different brewing challenges.

Storage in cool to cold temps will be ideal. For me to get DOWN to 55-60 in
my garage, I have to use refrigeration.

Carter

"Dan Logcher" <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net > wrote in message
news:4586ba02$0$562$b45e6eb0@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...
> Carter Cathey wrote:
>
>> Aging is affected to a great degree by storage temperature. If you have
>> refrigeration or a modified freezer, you can greatly extend the
>> life-cycle of a beer.
>>
>> But, for a few months, you should pretty much be fine with any dark nook
>> or cranny in your house. Personally, I would avoid leaving them out in
>> the garage to avoid wider shifts in temp, but I suppose this depends
>> greatly on where you live.
>
> Temperatures in the Northeast (US) are pretty warm right now.. how would
> this affect a keg I have in my garage. My basement is about 64F, my
> garage
> is about 60F, but will get down to 54F when its really cold out.
>
> --
> Dan

Date: 13 Dec 2006 20:49:15
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Reuseing a yeast cake

On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 03:02:56 GMT, <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote:
> I just want to make sure I have this sequence right.
>
> Lets say I make my favorite brew this week and pitch a high quality white
> labs yeast in my plastic bucket (utilizing a starter of course).
> So I wait about a week for the primary fermentation to subside, and then
> next week I just brew up the same wort, siphon my first batch into a glass
> carboy, and then dump my new batch of wort right on the old yeast cake,
> still in the bottom of the plastic bucket?
>
> Now I'm off to the races with my new batch and I didn't have to buy any
> yeast for it?

Yep, that's basically it. You don't need to make the exact same wort
each time if you don't want to though. Generally it's best to go from
lower OG beer to higher OG beer and from lighter color/flavor to darker
color or heavier flavor.

> And I can do this multiple times?

Yep. You won't be able to do it forever, but definitely multiple times.
At least 3 times, probably more. It really depends on your sanitation,
and any mutations of the yeast, etc.

> I can store these batches of great brew in corny kegs for months at a time?

Sure.

> Take advantage of the cooler winter months here in TX and not have to try
> and brew so much during the super heated summer months?

Yep.

John.