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Yeast

S

SAHomeBrew

Was looking at some of the older topics, and raised an eyebrow when I came to the one about harvesting yeast.

I tend to use a different yeast when I brew, what I mean is London Ale for my stout/ porter recipe, German bock lager for , you guessed it my bock.

The question I have is, are you guys using the same type of yeast for all your brews, or are you harvesting different types accourding to what you are brewing. I really don't have the space to store any real amount of yeast/ingrediants and anything else I need (my friends call me "the bootlegger" because my apartment looks more like a brewery than a place to live).
 
I store my yeast samples in 12 oz starters with stoppers and airlocks next to the kegs in the fridge.  I do harvest samples of the yeasts I usually brew with and match them to the style.

Cheers!
Brad
 
I schedule my brews so that I can make three or four beers from the same yeast before starting a new yeast. In general, though, I don't worry too much about using the "proper" yeast for most ales as I've found that a lot of yeasts do a great job. I do make lagers with lager yeast strains, though, and if I even make a weissen or a Belgian something-or-other, I'll make sure that I use the appropriate yeast.
 
I normally brew a beer appropriate to the yeast I have on hand. I initially make a big starter, and save some of it in a few sterilized 1-cup canning jars in the fridge. So, I usually have 4 or so different strains available.

My experience is that generic pale ale is pretty forgiving of the exact yeast used. Not so with most other styles.
 
I normally brew a beer appropriate to the yeast I have on hand. I initially make a big starter, and save some of it in a few sterilized 1-cup canning jars in the fridge. So, I usually have 4 or so different strains available.

I have thought of doing this, simply because there is less chance you will contaminate a new batch of beer with yeast from a previous batch. When you harvest from a completed batch, and something is wrong with it, you may not find out til it is too late. I bottle condition because I do not have room for kegging (that will change when I move). I try to use the "Smack Packs" because they take up very little room to store, I wind up with a 1000ml starter and have worked very well for me, my fermentation starts with-in 4 - 6 hours, but I end of spending $6 or so every time I brew.

When I move and have room for my freezers, I'll be able to keg, and store supplies. At that point I'll make big starters, and store 1/4 or so till next brew.

I just can't see the risk of harvesting from a batch of beer, when I can do the same thing with a big starter. The risk of contamination (hasn't been an issue yet) is not worth a day of brewing going down the drain.
 
I have several strains of yeast that I use often. American Ale, Kolsch, Bavarian Lager, American Wheat and London Ale.  I always harvest yeast from the primary and usually get two slurries from each primary that I save in sanitized swing top bottles in the fridge.  As long as you are carefull with your sanitation procedures during transfer there is really little to worry about.  I would say that in the past few years out of nearly 100 batches of beer I have only had one bad batch of saved yeast, and I knew it when I poped the swing top on the bottle (no pop and a strange odor).  I always have a small taste of the yeast before pitching just in case and that time it probably saved me a batch of beer (brewed an ESB with american ale yeast that day) and I normally brew 7 batches with the same pack of yeast (original smack pac plus two saved slurries and then two more slurries form each of those) so the cost drops down to less than a buck a batch.
 
I keep several strains of yeast on hand at all times.
Depending on what I'm going to brew, I'll make a starter 1 week ahead of time, so if there's any lag time, I'm still covered, and ready to go on brew day.
I also keep dry yeast on hand, for emergencies.
 
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