| Author |
Message |
    
Vince Turley
Member
Username: Vince
Post Number: 237
Registered: 05-2003
Posted From: 192.31.106.35
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 02:56 pm: | 
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3 weeks ago I made a St. Chuck's Porter using WLP-028 (Scottish Ale, the Edinburgh strain). I will be racking the beer to secondary this evening and plan to harvest the yeast for a Scottish Export 80/ ale.
Since it will be a week before I need the yeast, how should I handle the yeast. I see two possible options:
- Go ahead and store all the yeast in canning jars under pre-boiled distilled water in the refrigerator (my typical method for long term storage), and then make up a starter late next week from one of the jars.
- Or, put a pint of the yeast cake directly into a 1 gal. glass container, and top off with starter wort (1.040 SG) and let this go until I need it next week.
Obviously the easiest thing to do is simply make the starter up now, any downside to this approach?
TIA,
-Vince |
Skotrat
Senior Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 1469
Registered: 04-2003
Posted From: 24.61.120.214
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 02:59 pm: |
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Hi,
Why not do both???
I often take slurry and split it up. That way you can use the yeast a couple more times.
-Scott |
Miker
Intermediate Member
Username: Miker
Post Number: 317
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 69.15.183.207
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 03:43 pm: |
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It seems to me there would be plenty of yeast even in just one jar. I have stored yeast cake in a sanitized pint jar in refrigerator for a week or so, let it warm up to fermentation temp. and then just pitch that into new wort with no starter. It takes off in a few hours.
You don't even need to cover with distilled water for short-term storage. |
Chumley
Senior Member
Username: Chumley
Post Number: 3781
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 71.37.187.137
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 03:48 pm: |
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Pre-boiled distilled water seems like a lot of work. That's why God made PBR. |
Ric Heinz
Intermediate Member
Username: Rheinz
Post Number: 313
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 64.154.26.251
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 03:55 pm: |
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"...pre-boiled distilled water..."
I was wondering about that the other day. Since distilled water is made by boiling it off and then condensing the vapor, isn't it a little silly to boil it again, especially if the container is new (sealed)?
Ric
Flatfender Brewing, NW Houston
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Skotrat
Senior Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 1470
Registered: 04-2003
Posted From: 24.61.120.214
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 03:59 pm: |
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Hey Now,
"let it warm up to fermentation temp."
Yes... Be careful opening that jar as sometimes you may just get a yeast bath. A few times I have had some very active slurry in there.
"Pre-boiled distilled water seems like a lot of work. That's why God made PBR."
I thought that PBR was only for drinking and boiling BRATS in Chumley.
-Scott |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1009
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 65.218.192.240
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:03 pm: |
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I would do (and have done) what Miker suggests. It's the easiest solution and will work just fine. |
Art Beall
Junior Member
Username: Artfull
Post Number: 69
Registered: 05-2003
Posted From: 67.97.33.98
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:04 pm: |
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Bud Light make a nice sanitary rinse and yeast wash. Be carefull to wash your hands afterwards, dont want to acidentally get any near your mouth. |
Ken Anderson
Senior Member
Username: Ken75
Post Number: 1118
Registered: 11-2002
Posted From: 69.168.141.10
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:08 pm: |
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Agreed with Nye and Miker.
(Message edited by Ken75 on November 11, 2005) |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 3872
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.57.229.8
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:11 pm: |
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There is some disagreement about this, but I am in the camp that prefers distilled water for long term (more than a couple of months) yeast storage. The reason for boiling the water is that unlike tap water it has no added chlorine to prevent contamination by airborne microorganisms.
Covering the yeast with beer (yes, any beer, including PBR), however, is more than sufficient for shorter term storage.
If you are going to use the yeast within a week, you could make a starter now. This isn't really necessary if you are saving the entire yeast cake. In any case, if the yeast is a week old, it would be best to feed it a quart or so of starter wort on the morning of your brew day. |
Skotrat
Senior Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 1473
Registered: 04-2003
Posted From: 24.61.120.214
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:19 pm: |
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Hey Now,
I gotta go with Bill on this one... For term storage distilled water is the best.
I have used beer from time to time also though.
-Scott |
Ken Anderson
Senior Member
Username: Ken75
Post Number: 1119
Registered: 11-2002
Posted From: 69.168.141.10
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:23 pm: |
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The OP wants to hold the yeast for a week. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 3874
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.57.229.8
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:32 pm: |
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On a few occasions I've added some beer to the primary fermenter after racking, swirled it around and poured the slurry into a sanitized growler, which I capped and stored in the fridge until using it to brew a week or two later. |
Chumley
Senior Member
Username: Chumley
Post Number: 3783
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 71.37.187.137
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:47 pm: |
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PBR is the wonder beer, Skot...in addition to the three uses we've identified, another is topping off oak casks full of lambic to account for evaporation losses...if NASA could freeze dry PBR, I am sure that astronauts would have it. |
Skotrat
Senior Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 1475
Registered: 04-2003
Posted From: 24.61.120.214
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 04:58 pm: |
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I am with ya Chumley...
I am with ya...
-Scott |
Anil Tyson
New Member
Username: Anil
Post Number: 13
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 67.168.182.73
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 06:40 pm: |
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I agree with Scott. Split the yeast cake into more than one clean/sanitized mason jar. Store one (or more) in the refrigerator, and leave one at room temp (65-68). A couple of days prior feed it into a gallon starter if you want to, or pitch it right into your wort. |
David Lewinnek
Member
Username: Davelew
Post Number: 200
Registered: 02-2005
Posted From: 198.51.251.199
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 07:19 pm: |
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After a bad experience with a canning jar and some WY1214 that I still can't get off the ceiling, I now store harvested yeast in beer bottles with an airlock. After a couple of weeks I replace the airlock with a sealed cap.
You might be surprised at the amount of pressure that can build up if you tightly cap freshly harvested yeast. I recently racked a bo-pils to the secondary, and harvested some yeast to a growler with an airlock on it. As I ramp down the temperature to lagering, there is more activity in the airlock of the 20 oz growler of slurry than there is on the airlock for the 6 gallons of beer in the carboy (yes, the carboy is properly sealed). |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1010
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 65.218.192.240
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 08:00 pm: |
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I NEVER close Mason jars tightly when yeast are in them. Leave the lid slightly loose. |
Miker
Intermediate Member
Username: Miker
Post Number: 320
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 69.15.183.207
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 08:06 pm: |
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That's why you refrigerate. I usually put jar lids on loose until well cooled then tighten up (hmmm... that reminds me that I didn't tighten up those jar lids from the WY1007 I harvested a couple of days ago from that Alt racking)
Also, when warming yeast, I put jar into a large sanitized measuring cup so I don't lose any yeast that overflows the jar. |
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