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Author Topic: Vials of yeast  (Read 811 times)

Offline redrocker652002

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #15 on: December 16, 2023, 01:31:48 pm »
Thank you all for the replies.  My interest in this stems from hoping to retire in the next couple of years and moving out of California to a more rural area of Oregon where my brother lives.  Not sure of the availability of Home Brew shops there so thinking ahead on how to have stuff at the ready.  Plus, as with any hobby I get into to, I want to try and experiment with all the different parts of it.  But, in this case, it looks like this might be more of a pain than it is worth.  Seems that just saving the slurry in pint mason jars to use at a later date is much easier and more convenient. I have a ale that is on deck, so I might try to save that yeast and see where it goes.

Mason jars are easier but you'll want to feed them a little every few months. Depending on how many strains you keep, you may find your fridge space slowly consumed by yeast. Freezing vials is a great way to keep a lot of strains you use infrequently at your disposal but jars in the fridge makes more sense for the strains you use more regularly.

Also, if you use any brett or blends with bacteria, you should not freeze those. Brett doesn't hold up to freezing particularly well and lactic acid bacteria even less. They will hang out in your fridge using the same feeding schedule.

Quote
Another question I had was simple.  How do I know whether the yeast is doing anything in the starter?  Will it make a small Krausen or will I see the normal churning that I would see in a batch with a fresh packet?  I know, stupid question, but what the heck I am good at asking stupid questions.  Thanks to all for the input.

Aerate the heck out of it at first and let it sit. You should see some activity on the surface or a ring above the liquid from krausen if you miss it. If a few days go by with no activity, test the gravity or taste it as Tommy suggests.

Awesome.  Thanks.  Was thinking Bry97 and maybe the new dry WLP001 and the S05.  I tried CellularScience Cali yeast and I might add that as well.  More or less on jar of each should be more than enough.  When you say feed them do you mean sprinkle a bit of DME in the jar?  Or should I make a small amount of wort and add that.  The more you all tell me, the more questions I have   LOL.  Other than that, I don't see myself making anything really outside of those unless my first attempt at a lager goes ok. 

Offline denny

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #16 on: December 16, 2023, 02:00:22 pm »
Thank you all for the replies.  My interest in this stems from hoping to retire in the next couple of years and moving out of California to a more rural area of Oregon where my brother lives.  Not sure of the availability of Home Brew shops there so thinking ahead on how to have stuff at the ready.  Plus, as with any hobby I get into to, I want to try and experiment with all the different parts of it.  But, in this case, it looks like this might be more of a pain than it is worth.  Seems that just saving the slurry in pint mason jars to use at a later date is much easier and more convenient. I have a ale that is on deck, so I might try to save that yeast and see where it goes. 

Another question I had was simple.  How do I know whether the yeast is doing anything in the starter?  Will it make a small Krausen or will I see the normal churning that I would see in a batch with a fresh packet?  I know, stupid question, but what the heck I am good at asking stupid questions.  Thanks to all for the input.

What part of Oregon?

My brother moved to a little town called Prineville, just outside of Redmond.  It is a cool little town, they have a brewery called Wild Ride there that has some really good beers and a nice patio with food trucks.  I can see that being my normal hangout. so to speak.  LOL.

I know Prineville and Wild Ride. They once made a beer named for me. Spoke to a meeting of the local homebrew club there.
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Offline redrocker652002

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #17 on: December 17, 2023, 09:24:20 am »
Thank you all for the replies.  My interest in this stems from hoping to retire in the next couple of years and moving out of California to a more rural area of Oregon where my brother lives.  Not sure of the availability of Home Brew shops there so thinking ahead on how to have stuff at the ready.  Plus, as with any hobby I get into to, I want to try and experiment with all the different parts of it.  But, in this case, it looks like this might be more of a pain than it is worth.  Seems that just saving the slurry in pint mason jars to use at a later date is much easier and more convenient. I have a ale that is on deck, so I might try to save that yeast and see where it goes. 

Another question I had was simple.  How do I know whether the yeast is doing anything in the starter?  Will it make a small Krausen or will I see the normal churning that I would see in a batch with a fresh packet?  I know, stupid question, but what the heck I am good at asking stupid questions.  Thanks to all for the input.

What part of Oregon?

My brother moved to a little town called Prineville, just outside of Redmond.  It is a cool little town, they have a brewery called Wild Ride there that has some really good beers and a nice patio with food trucks.  I can see that being my normal hangout. so to speak.  LOL.

I know Prineville and Wild Ride. They once made a beer named for me. Spoke to a meeting of the local homebrew club there.

Cool.  They have a hazy pale ale that I really like.  I was looking at their website and they have added and subtracted since I was there last year.  Looking at going agin for a few days this summer.  Couple of places I want to go see if they are still on the market. 


Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2023, 11:54:25 am »
Awesome.  Thanks.  Was thinking Bry97 and maybe the new dry WLP001 and the S05.  I tried CellularScience Cali yeast and I might add that as well.  More or less on jar of each should be more than enough.  When you say feed them do you mean sprinkle a bit of DME in the jar?  Or should I make a small amount of wort and add that.  The more you all tell me, the more questions I have   LOL.  Other than that, I don't see myself making anything really outside of those unless my first attempt at a lager goes ok.

As far as feeding I pour out a few ounces of the beer and replace it with an equal amount of starter wort. I leave the jars out of the fridge for a few days with the mason jar ring loose so it can vent gas as needed. Then I'll tighten the ring and return it to the fridge. If it continues to ferment a little in the fridge it's not a big deal. Sanitize along the way.

You'll help yourself out to wipe down the threads on the top of the jar so the beer/wort whenever you pour in and out of the jars. If you don't, the beer/wort will slowly dry into a glue and you'll have a fight on your hands trying to get the ring off.
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Offline Semper Sitientem

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2023, 04:48:08 pm »
OK, having read a thread about frugal brewing on another forum got me thinking about the yeast vials I have in the freezer that I got from a user who was getting out of the hobby for a bit.

Like many cellular organisms, don’t yeast cells rupture when frozen without the addition of glycerin?
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Offline denny

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Re: Vials of yeast
« Reply #20 on: December 18, 2023, 08:23:40 am »
OK, having read a thread about frugal brewing on another forum got me thinking about the yeast vials I have in the freezer that I got from a user who was getting out of the hobby for a bit.

Like many cellular organisms, don’t yeast cells rupture when frozen without the addition of glycerin?

Yes, they do.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell