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Date: 20 Nov 2006 09:38:38
From: Rick Haskin
Subject: question about yeast starters
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I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea
of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest
but I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of
the beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a
cone with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
do you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
-Rick
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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Date: 20 Nov 2006 09:57:14
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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Rick Haskin wrote:
> I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
> recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
> question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
> it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
> the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
> only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
> liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
> part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea
> of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest
> but I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of
> the beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a
> cone with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
> The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
> skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
> do you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
> -Rick
>
Basically, it's usually better to pour off as much starter beer as you
can prior to pitching, although this isn't quite as important with
smaller starters such as yours. This tends to be more necessary with
larger starters, starters built on a stir plate or starters grown with
some form of constant aeration.
At pitching (assuming the yeast have settled out), just pour most of the
liquid out of the flask. You can leave a little behind if you'd like --
there's no need to pour off every last drop -- and there's usually some
left anyway. Swirl the remaining contents and pour them into your cooled
wort. You can also pour some into a well-sanitized container if you'd
like to save some of the starter. You should have no trouble pouring, as
there will almost always be plenty of liquid left behind.
The container you're using is actually called an erlenmeyer flask, btw.
Hope that helps -- m
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 20 Nov 2006 10:16:02
From: Rick Haskin
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty wrote:
> Basically, it's usually better to pour off as much starter beer as you
> can prior to pitching, although this isn't quite as important with
> smaller starters such as yours. This tends to be more necessary with
> larger starters, starters built on a stir plate or starters grown with
> some form of constant aeration.
>
> At pitching (assuming the yeast have settled out), just pour most of the
> liquid out of the flask. You can leave a little behind if you'd like --
> there's no need to pour off every last drop -- and there's usually some
> left anyway. Swirl the remaining contents and pour them into your cooled
> wort. You can also pour some into a well-sanitized container if you'd
> like to save some of the starter. You should have no trouble pouring, as
> there will almost always be plenty of liquid left behind.
>
> The container you're using is actually called an erlenmeyer flask, btw.
>
> Hope that helps -- m
Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better :) I just hadn't tried it and
didn't want to risk ruining a batch of yeast if I couldn't get it out of
the flask. I'm making another starter today (to pitch on Wednesday) and
wanted to do as good a job as possible.
Are other people here storing part of the yeast? Am I correct to assume
it's ok to freeze it? How about the container? I use White Labs yeast,
can I re-use the vial it comes in? Do I need to include some wort in the
container for the yeast to feed on? Or since they will be dormant maybe
they don't need any food.
Thanks again!
-Rick
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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Date: 20 Nov 2006 17:56:36
From: Derric
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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> Are other people here storing part of the yeast?
Yep. Some store all and some store part of it. Some "wash" with clean,
boiled (sterile) water it to clean the trub out of it (google yeast
washing). Some just leave their fermenter (with yeast/trub in bottom)
in their fermentation fridge until they want to use it again.
> Am I correct to assume it's ok to freeze it?
Nope... freezing will kill most of the yeast unless you add glycerin to
it (google for it). Just store it in the fridge.
> How about the container? I use White Labs yeast, can I re-use the vial
> it comes in?
Yep. You can use anything that is sanitized (I often use canning jars).
> Do I need to include some wort in the container for the yeast to feed on?
No. The yeast is best under a little of the fermented beer or sterile
water with no "food."
When storing yeast, be aware that after you reuse for a period of time,
two things may happen:
1. infection organisms build up in number, and/or
2. yeast mutations occur.
In my experience, infection is the biggest problem. I got the only
infections I've ever had after reusing yeast about 8 times (but the
yeast were still healthy and worked well - the infections showed up later
(lacto)). I stick to 3 or 4 reuses now and then toss it (or I toos it
after ANY sign of sourness).
Derric
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 19:12:02
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 10:16:02 -0600, <rrhaskin@gmail.com > wrote:
> Are other people here storing part of the yeast? Am I correct to assume
> it's ok to freeze it?
I wouldn't freeze it without taking some special steps that you probably
don't want to get into now. Freezing the yeast can kill them. Storing
them in the fridge is probably the best thing for now.
> How about the container? I use White Labs yeast,
> can I re-use the vial it comes in?
That's what I do. Just make sure it's been cleaned/sanitized.
> Do I need to include some wort in the
> container for the yeast to feed on? Or since they will be dormant maybe
> they don't need any food.
I don't go to any special steps to add wort, but usually you get enough
when pouring your starter back into the vial that the yeast is under a layer
of the fermented wort. At this point, I think they're mostly dormant.
John.
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Date: 20 Nov 2006 22:08:15
From: David M. Taylor
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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"Rick Haskin" <rrhaskin@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:4561bf9a$0$21169$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...
> I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
> recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
> question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with it
> when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch the
> entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and only
> starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the liquid
> and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only part of the
> yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea of decanting
> the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest but I haven't
> seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of the beaker. For
> instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a cone with a small
> opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock. The only way to get
> the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is skimmed off I'm
> afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How do you guys get the
> yeast out? Thanks!
Dude, you've got yourself an Erlenmeyer flask. You're set! Erlenmeyers are
designed with swirling in mind. When you decant, simply leave a half inch
or so of liquid on top of the yeast cake, swirl until it becomes a slurry,
pitch, and you're all set. No need to get in there with a popsicle stick or
rinse with water or anything like that. Just leave a bit of the "clear"
liquid from the starter in there and use it to help swirl around.
Now, tell me you didn't think of that already! ;)
By the way, it usually makes little difference if you pitch only the yeast
cake, or the entire starter, or whatever, if it's only a quart versus
several gallons of wort. It's all got yeast in it. The only reason to
decant the liquid is to minimize any potential difference in batch volume
and gravity due to the starter. As an exaggerated example, if you make 5
gallons of wort at 1.100 and pitch 5 gallons of starter at 1.020, you'll end
up with 10 gallons at 1.060, which probably isn't what you intended. But if
you rack and only pitch the yeast cake from a 5 gallon batch (this is all
hypothetical of course), now that shouldn't affect the gravity much at all
and you should still be close to your desired 1.100, or just slightly lower.
So really, I think that's why many people decant the liquid, to minimize any
effect that the starter would have on gravity.
--
Dave
"Fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking." -- Brad Paisley
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Date: 20 Nov 2006 18:09:12
From: Scott Alfter
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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In article <4561bf9a$0$21169$88260bb3@free.teranews.com >,
Rick Haskin <rrhaskin@gmail.com > wrote:
>Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
>it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
>the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
>only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
>liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
>part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch.
Given that the starter wort is usually nothing like the beer that will
eventually be made, my preference would be to decant most of the spent wort.
>For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a cone with a small
>opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
That's called an Erlenmeyer flask. I use a 1L flask for starters. Smaller
and larger flasks would also be useful for stepping up from smaller yeast
samples and making larger starters, respectively. So far, my starters have
been made from a mix of White Labs tubes and 12-oz. bottles with maybe 3 oz.
of harvested yeast sitting under beer.
>The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
>skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
>do you guys get the yeast out?
You don't pour off all of the liquid. Leave a small amount in the flask,
swirl to break up the yeast cake and get it thoroughly suspended, and dump
the whole mess into your wort.
_/_
/ 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: 21 Nov 2006 07:12:05
From: PineyWoodsBrewer
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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I haven't tried harvesting any yeast yet but I can see where it would
save a bit of money in the long run. I am guessing that the harvesting
is from the "primary" fermenter. I use a plastic bucket for my primary
as I guess many also do. If you harvest from a plastic bucket how do
you actually "remove" the yeast? Do you just "pour" it from the bucket
into a sterile jar or do you scoop it out with a sterile spoon or something?
Yeah, I know it's a dumb question but I have a simple mind and I need
simple instructions....
Rick Haskin wrote:
> I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all
> the recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser
> this one question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I
> deal with it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some
> people just pitch the entire contents of the starter (this is what I
> did on the one and only starter I have made so far) and others say you
> should decant the liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some
> people pitch only part of the yeast and store the rest for another
> batch. I like the idea of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the
> yeast and saving the rest but I haven't seen anyone address how I
> would get the yeast cake out of the beaker. For instance I have a
> pyrex beaker that is shaped like a cone with a small opening at the
> top where I fit a stopper and airlock. The only way to get the yeast
> out is to pour it, but after the liquid is skimmed off I'm afraid I
> wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How do you guys get the
> yeast out? Thanks!
> -Rick
>
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 08:47:38
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
|
PineyWoodsBrewer wrote:
> I haven't tried harvesting any yeast yet but I can see where it would
> save a bit of money in the long run. I am guessing that the harvesting
> is from the "primary" fermenter. I use a plastic bucket for my primary
> as I guess many also do. If you harvest from a plastic bucket how do
> you actually "remove" the yeast? Do you just "pour" it from the bucket
> into a sterile jar or do you scoop it out with a sterile spoon or
> something?
>
> Yeah, I know it's a dumb question but I have a simple mind and I need
> simple instructions....
You can leave the yeast in, seal the bucket and leave it under
refrigeration for the next use -- a couple of weeks should be safe as
long as it's kept cold. Alternatively, you can pour it into a
well-sanitized jar and, again, keep it refrigerated.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 14:36:50
From: Artarius
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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Hello "PineyWoodsBrewer" I too am a simple backwoodsbrewer -in Texas.
I found this page simple and straitfoward:
http://www.schwedhelm.net/brew/yeast_harv_freeze.html
"PineyWoodsBrewer" <rexh53r@alltel.net > wrote in message
news:c650d$4562ed05$471ffa79$21480@ALLTEL.NET...
>I haven't tried harvesting any yeast yet but I can see where it would save
>a bit of money in the long run. I am guessing that the harvesting is from
>the "primary" fermenter. I use a plastic bucket for my primary as I guess
>many also do. If you harvest from a plastic bucket how do you actually
>"remove" the yeast? Do you just "pour" it from the bucket into a sterile
>jar or do you scoop it out with a sterile spoon or something?
>
> Yeah, I know it's a dumb question but I have a simple mind and I need
> simple instructions....
>
>
>
> Rick Haskin wrote:
>
>> I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
>> recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
>> question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with it
>> when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch the
>> entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and only
>> starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the liquid
>> and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only part of
>> the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea of
>> decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest but
>> I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of the
>> beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a cone
>> with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock. The
>> only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
>> skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How do
>> you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
>> -Rick
>>
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 19:18:39
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
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On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 07:12:05 -0500, <rexh53r@alltel.net > wrote:
> I haven't tried harvesting any yeast yet but I can see where it would
> save a bit of money in the long run. I am guessing that the harvesting
> is from the "primary" fermenter.
You can harvest from either the primary or secondary, or as was discussed
earlier in this thread from the starter itself).
> I use a plastic bucket for my primary
> as I guess many also do. If you harvest from a plastic bucket how do
> you actually "remove" the yeast? Do you just "pour" it from the bucket
> into a sterile jar or do you scoop it out with a sterile spoon or something?
If you're reusing yeast from the fermenter, the easiest way is to time your
brewing so that you are racking your first beer to the secondary on the same
day that you brew your second beer. Then you just put the second beer right
on top of the leftover yeast in the fermenter. That way you don't have to
worry about scooping the yeast out, or storing it between batches.
Other than that, just be careful to clean/sanitize anything that is going
to touch the yeast or be used to store it. As long as you do that, scooping
it out and putting it into a jar or something should work fine.
John.
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 19:08:16
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
|
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:38:38 -0600, <rrhaskin@gmail.com > wrote:
> I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
> recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
> question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
> it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
> the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
> only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
> liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
> part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea
> of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest
> but I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of
> the beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a
> cone with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
> The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
> skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
> do you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
Just leave a little bit of the liquid behind. I decant most of it, but still
leave enough to cover the yeast. Then I swirl the flask in order to get all
of the yeast slurry stirred up, and after that it's pretty easy to pour it
out.
John.
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Date: 21 Nov 2006 16:35:10
From: PineyWoodsBrewer
Subject: Re: question about yeast starters
|
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I cleared out all my messages before I had a chance to respond to
everybody's threads that tried to help me, so I'm ''jacking" this thread
to tell yall all thanks for the help. Being new to something, you
really appreciate the help that people give you and I didnt want folks
to think I didn't care.
So thanks to all who responded to PineWoodsBrewer....
(and sorry to yall about hijacking this thread...)
Rex....
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
>On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:38:38 -0600, <rrhaskin@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
>>recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
>>question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
>>it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
>>the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
>>only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
>>liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
>>part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea
>>of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest
>>but I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of
>>the beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a
>>cone with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
>>The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
>>skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
>>do you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
>>
>>
>
>Just leave a little bit of the liquid behind. I decant most of it, but still
>leave enough to cover the yeast. Then I swirl the flask in order to get all
>of the yeast slurry stirred up, and after that it's pretty easy to pour it
>out.
>
>
>John.
>
>
--------------030604090404070507010509
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" >
<html >
<head >
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type" >
</head >
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" >
I cleared out all my messages before I had a chance to respond to
everybody's threads that tried to help me, so I'm ''jacking" this
thread to tell yall all thanks for the help. Being new to something,
you really appreciate the help that people give you and I didnt want
folks to think I didn't care.<br >
<br >
So thanks to all who responded to PineWoodsBrewer....<br >
<br >
(and sorry to yall about hijacking this thread...)<br >
Rex....<br >
<br >
John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
<blockquote cite="midslrnem6juj.sdc.spam@weizen.shagg.net" type="cite" >
<pre wrap="" >On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:38:38 -0600, <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:rrhaskin@gmail.com"><rrhaskin@gmail.com></a> wrote:
</pre >
<blockquote type="cite" >
<pre wrap="" >I've read everything I can find about yeast starters as well as all the
recent threads on this newsgroup and haven't been able to anser this one
question. Let's say I make a 1 liter yeast starter, how do I deal with
it when it comes time to pitch it? I've read that some people just pitch
the entire contents of the starter (this is what I did on the one and
only starter I have made so far) and others say you should decant the
liquid and pitch only the yeast. And of course some people pitch only
part of the yeast and store the rest for another batch. I like the idea
of decanting the liquid, pitching most of the yeast and saving the rest
but I haven't seen anyone address how I would get the yeast cake out of
the beaker. For instance I have a pyrex beaker that is shaped like a
cone with a small opening at the top where I fit a stopper and airlock.
The only way to get the yeast out is to pour it, but after the liquid is
skimmed off I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to to get the yeast out. How
do you guys get the yeast out? Thanks!
</pre >
</blockquote >
<pre wrap="" ><!---->
Just leave a little bit of the liquid behind. I decant most of it, but still
leave enough to cover the yeast. Then I swirl the flask in order to get all
of the yeast slurry stirred up, and after that it's pretty easy to pour it
out.
John.
</pre >
</blockquote >
</body >
</html >
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