[pete b]

I would like to make a clone of Spencer Trappist Ale. Despite the availability of commercial trappist/ belgian abby yeasts I would like to try harvesting this from the bottle for the experience and because I have some connection to the Abby that just makes me want to use their yeast. There is a very small amount of sediment in each bottle, a tiny ring around the bottom as opposed to covering the bottom. I've never done this before and would appreciate any advice.

[andyi]

I have successfully used dregs from an ommegang white.  Started with 200 ml of 1.020 starter wort (DME), let ferment out for 5 days, added  400 ml and ferment for 5 days, added for a  2L starter at 1.040 and pitched.

[hopfenundmalz]

It is best to have the starter wort prepared and use the yeast sediment from 2-3 bottles. Lower ABV beers are generally what I use, but try to get the strain you are after in this case with a Spencer beer.

Some instructions.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-7.html

http://byo.com/barleywine-and-imperial-stout/item/1661-yeast-culturing-from-bottles-techniques

Lots of videos. I have not watched any of these so I can't say if they are good or bad.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mF7DLNjh0WM

[corkybstewart]

Many brewers filter out their proprietary yeast and use a neutral yeast for bottle conditioning so you may not be getting the yeast you want from the bottle.  I used to have a list of beers that were bottled with the fermenting yeasts but it was so out of date it's useless now.

[denny]

Many brewers filter out their proprietary yeast and use a neutral yeast for bottle conditioning so you may not be getting the yeast you want from the bottle.  I used to have a list of beers that were bottled with the fermenting yeasts but it was so out of date it's useless now.

I'd say it's more like "a few" than "many" that filter out the fermentation strain.

[Jeff M]

Could of sworn i read that Spencer uses the Chimay strain.   If that is true,t hen you can just get a vial of White Labs 500 as MrMalty has documented it to be the Chimay strain.

Cheers,
Jeff 

[HoosierBrew]

In the new BYO there is a good article on Spencer, with a clone recipe for their beer (patersbier) included . The recipe uses WY3787, FWIW. The person at Spencer that spoke to BYO said that they use an existing Trappist strain, but wouldn't elaborate further.

[pete b]

In the new BYO there is a good article on Spencer, with a clone recipe for their beer (patersbier) included . The recipe uses WY3787, FWIW. The person at Spencer that spoke to BYO said that they use an existing Trappist strain, but wouldn't elaborate further.

Could of sworn i read that Spencer uses the Chimay strain.   If that is true,t hen you can just get a vial of White Labs 500 as MrMalty has documented it to be the Chimay strain.

Cheers,
Jeff 

I asked someone I know from the Abby and he thinks the strain is from Rochfort. I believe the BYO article mentions that they worked with people from chimay and used a strain from " the family".  I am hoping he can find out if they use a different strain to bottle condition. I think that this is less likely now that good quality belgian yeAsts are already available. Also maybe less likely to add yeast at bottling because the gravity isn't so high?

[denny]

What Stan wrote in BLAM is that few breweries use a different strain for bottling.  They have so much of the primary strain around (in essence, they're growing it every time they brew) that it doesn't make sense for most of them to keep a separate bottling yeast.

[Joe Sr.]

It's easy enough to culture up if you start with a small amount of low gravity wort.  I say go for it.  I've done it a few times, though I have once or twice gotten bottling yeast (Victory Golden Monkey and maybe Franziskaner).

[Jeff M]

I have a hard time believing that a brewery that only produces one type of beer would have more then 1 type of yeast on hand.  A brewery with a variety of brews at any given time seems more likely to use a bottling yeast with some of their more finicky strains.

That being said, put 1/2 inch of the beer from the bottom into 100mls of 1.020 wort and see what grows!

[hopfenundmalz]

I have a hard time believing that a brewery that only produces one type of beer would have more then 1 type of yeast on hand.  A brewery with a variety of brews at any given time seems more likely to use a bottling yeast with some of their more finicky strains.

That being said, put 1/2 inch of the beer from the bottom into 100mls of 1.020 wort and see what grows!

In the USA. Many of the beers have the house strain, and Bells is my go to.

Many of the European breweries select a stable strain for bottling.

[pete b]

It is best to have the starter wort prepared and use the yeast sediment from 2-3 bottles. Lower ABV beers are generally what I use, but try to get the strain you are after in this case with a Spencer beer.

Some instructions.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-7.html

http://byo.com/barleywine-and-imperial-stout/item/1661-yeast-culturing-from-bottles-techniques

Lots of videos. I have not watched any of these so I can't say if they are good or bad.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mF7DLNjh0WM

Thanks for the links. I'm pretty confident that this beer has primary yeast in bottle. I also feel its a good candidate because I'm getting the beer fresh and its not a super high abv, especially for a Trappist. I have a feeling this yeast is not stressed. I really want to use this strain because I am planning on making this beer with 2 friends of mine who used to be monks at St. Joseph's where this is made. I got them into brewing recently and I am going to make this with them at my house to show them what AG entails.
My remaining question is at what point in the process can I stop and put in the fridge for a couple weeks before using?

[hopfenundmalz]

It is best to have the starter wort prepared and use the yeast sediment from 2-3 bottles. Lower ABV beers are generally what I use, but try to get the strain you are after in this case with a Spencer beer.

Some instructions.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-7.html

http://byo.com/barleywine-and-imperial-stout/item/1661-yeast-culturing-from-bottles-techniques

Lots of videos. I have not watched any of these so I can't say if they are good or bad.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mF7DLNjh0WM

Thanks for the links. I'm pretty confident that this beer has primary yeast in bottle. I also feel its a good candidate because I'm getting the beer fresh and its not a super high abv, especially for a Trappist. I have a feeling this yeast is not stressed. I really want to use this strain because I am planning on making this beer with 2 friends of mine who used to be monks at St. Joseph's where this is made. I got them into brewing recently and I am going to make this with them at my house to show them what AG entails.
My remaining question is at what point in the process can I stop and put in the fridge for a couple weeks before using?

Your question does not have a clear answer. The batch size and gravity will determine the pitch rate,which will determine the starter size. You don't know the viability of the bottled yeast. My advice is to make a big starter and use that as soon as possible.

[pete b]

It is best to have the starter wort prepared and use the yeast sediment from 2-3 bottles. Lower ABV beers are generally what I use, but try to get the strain you are after in this case with a Spencer beer.

Some instructions.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-7.html

http://byo.com/barleywine-and-imperial-stout/item/1661-yeast-culturing-from-bottles-techniques

Lots of videos. I have not watched any of these so I can't say if they are good or bad.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mF7DLNjh0WM

Thanks for the links. I'm pretty confident that this beer has primary yeast in bottle. I also feel its a good candidate because I'm getting the beer fresh and its not a super high abv, especially for a Trappist. I have a feeling this yeast is not stressed. I really want to use this strain because I am planning on making this beer with 2 friends of mine who used to be monks at St. Joseph's where this is made. I got them into brewing recently and I am going to make this with them at my house to show them what AG entails.
My remaining question is at what point in the process can I stop and put in the fridge for a couple weeks before using?

Your question does not have a clear answer. The batch size and gravity will determine the pitch rate,which will determine the starter size. You don't know the viability of the bottled yeast. My advice is to make a big starter and use that as soon as possible.

As soon as possible isn't so soon, hence the question. Can this be saved for a couple weeks.