yeast washing, first try

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Date: 14 Jul 2006 08:33:38
From: Dave Smith
Subject: yeast washing, first try

I was inspired by a fellow club member to try yeast washing. Here are
the pictures which I thought were very interesting. The proof will be in
the pudding when I pitch it into my next brew.

http://homepage.mac.com/davecalhoun/PhotoAlbum162.html

So far I am just storing it in a mason jar in the fridge, but my friend
made a starter before he stored it. Not sure if I want to do that or not
due to space restrictions in the fridge. How long do you think the yeast
will be viable?

Dave

Date: 14 Jul 2006 09:17:28
From: Pj
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

Dave Smith wrote:
> I was inspired by a fellow club member to try yeast washing. Here are
> the pictures which I thought were very interesting. The proof will be in
> the pudding when I pitch it into my next brew.
>
> http://homepage.mac.com/davecalhoun/PhotoAlbum162.html
>
> So far I am just storing it in a mason jar in the fridge, but my friend
> made a starter before he stored it. Not sure if I want to do that or not
> due to space restrictions in the fridge. How long do you think the yeast
> will be viable?
>
>
> Dave

Dave,

I'm curious about yeast washing, could you or someone please elaborate
just a little on this. From the pictures it looks like yeast washing
is just taking the slurry and letting the solids settle out so the
yeast can be used again. But the word "trub" was used which implies
the sediments from protien coagulation during cooling of the wort.
There wouldn't be any yeast in that.

Thanks in advance.

Pj

Date: 14 Jul 2006 09:15:49
From: Pj
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

Date: 14 Jul 2006 09:25:07
From: Dave Smith
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

In article <1152893749.435166.64680@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com >,
"Pj" <frysning@yahoo.com > wrote:

> I'm curious about yeast washing, could you or someone please elaborate
> just a little on this.

A friend of mine gave me these instructions which I loosely followed:
http://www.hbd.org/carboy/yeast_washing.htm

Basically this is what I did:
1. boiled water & cooled it
2. filled two 1qt mason jars half way
3. poured each mason jar of water into a carboy with trub on the bottom
4. filled each mason jar with the trub after swirling
5. put cling wrap on top and placed it in the fridge to seperate
6. combined the top layers of each jar into a third jar, stored.

Now I'm no expert and maybe I could have done this better, it was my
first time, but it seems to have worked. I'm eager to try it in a batch
of beer and see how it performs.

Dave

Date: 14 Jul 2006 19:47:06
From: Scott Sellers
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

Pj <frysning@yahoo.com >:

[...]

>I'm curious about yeast washing, could you or someone please
>elaborate just a little on this. From the pictures it looks
>like yeast washing is just taking the slurry and letting the
>solids settle out so the yeast can be used again. But the word
>"trub" was used which implies the sediments from protien
>coagulation during cooling of the wort. There wouldn't be any
>yeast in that.

At the end of fermentation, yeast settles at the bottom of the
fermenter, along with the trub that is already there, to form
what is commonly called the "yeast cake".

Yeast washing is a way of separating some of that yeast from the
trub. It consists of mixing some slurry from the yeast cake with
water, and shaking it up. The key to the washing process is that
the break material/trub settles out before the yeast does. Then
the remaining liquid, which contains suspended yeast, is decanted
off of the trub. The yeast then settles out.

If desired, you can do this washing process more than once, to
end up with a clean yeast sample, which is more suitable for long
term storage.

Scott S

--
Scott Sellers

Date: 14 Jul 2006 13:08:22
From: Dave Smith
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

In article <_wStg.8534$cd3.799@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net >,
Scott Sellers <scottsellers@mindspring.com > wrote:

> Pj <frysning@yahoo.com>:
>
> [...]
The key to the washing process is that
> the break material/trub settles out before the yeast does. Then
> the remaining liquid, which contains suspended yeast, is decanted
> off of the trub. The yeast then settles out.
> > Scott S

Do you think that by letting it sit overnight in the fridge that the
yeast may have settled out? I suppose I will not know until I try it but
any info is appreciated.

Dave

Date: 14 Jul 2006 20:51:38
From: Scott Sellers
Subject: Re: yeast washing, first try

Dave Smith <dave@nowhere.com >:

>In article <_wStg.8534$cd3.799@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
> Scott Sellers <scottsellers@mindspring.com> wrote:

>> Pj <frysning@yahoo.com>:
>>
>> [...]
> The key to the washing process is that
>> the break material/trub settles out before the yeast does. Then
>> the remaining liquid, which contains suspended yeast, is decanted
>> off of the trub. The yeast then settles out.
>> > Scott S

>Do you think that by letting it sit overnight in the fridge that
>the yeast may have settled out? I suppose I will not know until
>I try it but any info is appreciated.

From what I understand, that might be too long. Can you see a
yeast layer on the bottom? If so, there might be enough to make
a starter. Check out this article by Mike Dixon:

http://hbd.org/carboy/yeast_washing.htm

Scott S

--
Scott Sellers