[Pawtucket Patriot]

I bought several quart-size Mason jars so I could start washing my yeast.  I've washed slurries for two strains so far, but I haven't actually used them yet.  The slurries look really "clean" -- much more so than when I was just draining used yeast cakes (trub and all) into gallon-size ziplocks.  I'm excited to use washed yeast next weekend for my porter!

[ukolowiczd]

Can you explain how to wash yeast? I've read about it and kind-of tried it by just adding purified water, stirring, and letting it settle but I didn't get good results.

[uthristy]

Lets just be up front and clear about this>>>  your not washing but rinsing the yeast as washing needs a  PH 2.0.

Tried it yrs ago and found it to be of no use at all.(rinsing)

[Hokerer]

Lets just be up front and clear about this>>>  your not washing but rinsing the yeast as washing needs a  PH 2.0.

Tried it yrs ago and found it to be of no use at all.(rinsing)

I wouldn't say rinsing is of no use at all.  Eliminating all that trub and getting to a clean measurable amount of actual yeast is certainly worthwhile.  I used to do it but have switched to ranching since I rarely re-use a yeast strain within a short enough timeframe, though.

[bluesman]

I recently started rinsing my yeast as a part of my process. JZ has me convinced me that clean, healthy and viable yeast is a very important part of brewing great beer. Afterall, the yeast makes the beer.

[uthristy]

I brew using the same yeast every 3wks, after 3-5batchs start with a new yeast. The yeast is pretty clean as the wort is clear at pitching time and I don't dry hop in the primary. 

Been there done that and found it was just playing with the yeast slurry

[Pawtucket Patriot]

Lets just be up front and clear about this>>>  your not washing but rinsing the yeast as washing needs a  PH 2.0.

Tried it yrs ago and found it to be of no use at all.(rinsing)

Ok, rinsing...  

I'm not looking to "wash" by lowering the pH; I'm only looking to separate the yeast from the trub in order to have a cleaner pitch.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

I recently started rinsing my yeast as a part of my process. JZ has me convinced me that clean, healthy and viable yeast is a very important part of brewing great beer. Afterall, the yeast makes the beer.

This is pretty much my outlook too, Ron.  Even if I don't notice the most appreciable difference in my beer, I think it's still probably just good practice to pitch as little trub from previous batches as possible.  I'm sure there's a great deal of subjectivity on this topic; I'm not arguing for one practice over another.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

Can you explain how to wash yeast? I've read about it and kind-of tried it by just adding purified water, stirring, and letting it settle but I didn't get good results.

Here's the tutorial I used when I washed/rinsed my yeast.

http://home.comcast.net/~wnevits/wizards/yeast_washing_rev_5.pdf

[blatz]

I recently started rinsing my yeast as a part of my process. JZ has me convinced me that clean, healthy and viable yeast is a very important part of brewing great beer. Afterall, the yeast makes the beer.

This is pretty much my outlook too, Ron.  Even if I don't notice the most appreciable difference in my beer, I think it's still probably just good practice to pitch as little trub from previous batches as possible.  I'm sure there's a great deal of subjectivity on this topic; I'm not arguing for one practice over another.

I too found no noticeable difference.  However, this may be a result of my system?  I don't believe I have a lot of trub present in the beer - I use a WIC, so I leave a good amount of solids behind, and then I follow that up with a 1-2 qt dump when the beer is at high krausen.  Not sure if this helps my situation, so YMMV.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

I recently started rinsing my yeast as a part of my process. JZ has me convinced me that clean, healthy and viable yeast is a very important part of brewing great beer. Afterall, the yeast makes the beer.

This is pretty much my outlook too, Ron.  Even if I don't notice the most appreciable difference in my beer, I think it's still probably just good practice to pitch as little trub from previous batches as possible.  I'm sure there's a great deal of subjectivity on this topic; I'm not arguing for one practice over another.

I too found no noticeable difference.  However, this may be a result of my system?  I don't believe I have a lot of trub present in the beer - I use a WIC, so I leave a good amount of solids behind, and then I follow that up with a 1-2 qt dump when the beer is at high krausen.  Not sure if this helps my situation, so YMMV.

Are you using a conical, Paul?

I have a regular IC (no whirlpooling), so just about everything that doesn't get trapped in the hop bag goes into the fermenter.  There can be some very interesting looking sludge on the bottom after primary fermentation is complete.   

[The Professor]

...Tried it yrs ago and found it to be of no use at all.(rinsing)

I agree.  I found that there was no difference at all using rinsed yeast as opposed to a slurry that had been repitched repeatedly (up to 9 times) without any rinsing.  No difference whatsoever. 

So rinsing the yeast is all well and good and does no harm if you can do it cleanly. 
But not necessary by any stretch and according to the tests I've done, it offers no advantages.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

Well, I can think of at least one good reason to do it in my case: keeping rinsed yeast in mason jars won't smell up the mini fridge in which I store my yeast.   My current practice involves just collecting the slurry in a one gallon plastic bag.  This gets messy when pitching to a starter and it really starts to smell after a while.

[uthristy]

Well, I can think of at least one good reason to do it in my case: keeping rinsed yeast in mason jars won't smell up the mini fridge in which I store my yeast.   My current practice involves just collecting the slurry in a one gallon plastic bag.  This gets messy when pitching to a starter and it really starts to smell after a while.

So your still making a starter? with saved yeast no less? < giggling >

My simple method is make a 1.5L starter and save a  couple whitelab tubes (or 4-5 tubes when making a yeast blend). Each tube is pure as possible unlike `washed slurry' , so when I need to make a new starter I just pitch a tube.


--
Rinsed slurry- unknown level of possible contamination
Saved starter tube- very low level of possible contamination


Ease of rinsed slurry- carefully collect slurry > rinse> make starter> pitch
Ease of tube- > make starter> pitch

[blatz]

so uthristy, you never repitch yeast? just curious.

Matt - yes I use a conical.  I'm wondering if that helps keep the percentage of 'junk' lower in my slurries.