Another washing yeast thread (with pics)

[Redweasel]

Holy hell! I ended up with almost a full half gallon of yeast! I decanted it off the trub twice last night so I'm pretty sure it's almost all US-05. Freaking sweet man. I will be doing this more often for sure.

[Tankard]

I need to start doing this too. Will I be able to wash this Oflan standard stout WLP004? Won't it be too dark?

Also, how long can the yeast stay good in the fridge after you harvest them?

[murl]

Originally Posted by Tankard

I need to start doing this too. Will I be able to wash this Oflan standard stout WLP004? Won't it be too dark?

Also, how long can the yeast stay good in the fridge after you harvest them?

These are the exact questions I had. Does anyone care to chime in? Do you boil the water you use to wash it? Is it necessary to separate it into two different jars? Couldn't you keep it all in one if you wanted?

[flyangler18]

Originally Posted by Tankard

I need to start doing this too. Will I be able to wash this Oflan standard stout WLP004? Won't it be too dark?

Also, how long can the yeast stay good in the fridge after you harvest them?

Originally Posted by murl

These are the exact questions I had. Does anyone care to chime in? Do you boil the water you use to wash it? Is it necessary to separate it into two different jars? Couldn't you keep it all in one if you wanted?

Boil then cool the water. This will accomplish two things:

(a) thoroughly deoxygenate the wash water
(b) effectively sanitize the water

I've grown up starters from a washed yeast slurry that was three years old without incident, and as always, be observant. If the yeast smells off or doesn't quite look right, toss it.

I portion out into smaller jars because they're just more convenient for my purposes.

[murl]

I guess if you have multiple jars and have a sanitation issue with one you are not out of yeast. You would also have plenty of yeast if you decided to throw a batch together on an unexpected day off. I suppose it will also save you some money.

[Ó Flannagáin]

Originally Posted by murl

I guess if you have multiple jars and have a sanitation issue with one you are not out of yeast. You would also have plenty of yeast if you decided to throw a batch together on an unexpected day off. I suppose it will also save you some money.

It saves a LOT of money. Can't wait to get my collection back up to par.

[Evan!]

I often start out with several containers (usually because of the volume of the yeast/water solution), and then a while later, I decant off most of the clear liquid on top, swirl, and combine them into one single container. I usually do this with beer bottles. The reason I combine is mainly because of space constraints. I don't have the room for a huge collection.

[fireballmatt]

How long will the yeast last once you've sealed the jar? Keeping it in the fridge of course.

[flyangler18]

Originally Posted by fireballmatt

How long will the yeast last once you've sealed the jar? Keeping it in the fridge of course.

Asked and answered.

[fireballmatt]

Originally Posted by flyangler18

Asked and answered.

Ah, I didn't see the "three years" part...guess my eyes skipped over it for some reason. thanks!