I'm a believer!!!

[MARK123]

My first time with wyeast. I farmed a smack of 1056 into 6, started 1 with a half gallon of wort. Got a 1.070 to 1.017 in 4 days, and it was so good I drank 3 glasses out of the primary going into the secondary!!

[Tweek]

LOL 3 glasses at racking time. Pace yourself so you can have a little left to carbonate :)

[barley ben]

But the good side is that's 3 less bottles to fill!

[MARK123]

Now for the real test.....I just dumped a 1.065 red on the yeast cake!!!!...Go wyeast!!!!!!
Just call me Mr. Frugal.

[MARK123]

Racked my red after 2 1/2 days....From 1.065 to 1.014 in 2 1/2 days....Yeast cakes have been very, very good to me...WOW!!!!!

[Moondoggy]

I had every intention to do the same but, I have not had the time. Although, I am inspired!

[YamahaXS]

I like 1056 a lot, though i have had one batch that attentuated too far, and came out a bit thin.

[MARK123]

Yamaha,
Down to what??...And what do you mean too thin??..
Not malty enough???

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by MARK123
Yamaha,
Down to what??...And what do you mean too thin??..
Not malty enough???

good question... i didn't take FG in either case. BUT the beers are not quite as malty as i prefer. No worries though, b/c i have another beer on tap that is a bit too sweet, so I usually pour 1 part sweet, 2 parts other and get a beer that is very good and complex.

[SLOSHomebrewers]

Originally posted by MARK123
Now for the real test.....I just dumped a 1.065 red on the yeast cake!!!!...Go wyeast!!!!!!
Just call me Mr. Frugal.

I often will reuse a yeast cake three times without a problem.

[Moondoggy]

I finally parallel cultured some WLP002.

Currently, the hungry critters are dancing the happy dance.

I will bottle sooooooon!

[gallowd7]

I'm about ready to bottle. How high do I fill it? Like a regular beer or to the top?
Thanks

[MARK123]

I bottled mine like a regular beer and put them in the fridge. Make sure all activity is done though! I'm gonna start one tomorrow to do 3 batches in a row on!!

[sallad]

How high do I fill it? Like a regular beer or to the top?

like a regular beer bottle - about an inch or so from the top. the beer will ferment a little in the bottle and give off some co2. you need some room to absorb that pressure so your bottles don't explode!

I bottled mine like a regular beer and put them in the fridge.

you need to wait a few weeks before you put them in the fridge. the cold temps will make the yeast inactive, and the beer will not carbonate. usually, 1-2 weeks is enough time for them to carbonate, though i usually wait at least 3 weeks for proper carbonation.

[MARK123]

I thought gallowd7 was asking about bottling his yeast!!!..For
parallel culturing!!

[Tweek]

Originally posted by MARK123
Yamaha,
Down to what??...And what do you mean too thin??..
Not malty enough???

Im not sure if this is what Yamaha was referring to, but I have had a few beers ferment out too far, wheat beers especially. The end result is a beer that seems to make you more thirsty as you drink it. It has a drying effect on the palate. It is subtle but definately noticable.

[MARK123]

How do you prevent that??...Different yeast???

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by Tweek
Im not sure if this is what Yamaha was referring to, but I have had a few beers ferment out too far, wheat beers especially. The end result is a beer that seems to make you more thirsty as you drink it. It has a drying effect on the palate. It is subtle but definately noticable.

thats what i was referring too. thanks for translating :)

[gallowd7]

Mark123 is correct. I'm wondering how far to fill up the bottles with the yeast mixture.

[MARK123]

I filled mine like a regular beer. It looks like all the yeast has settled to the bottom protected by the wort/beer.

[MARK123]

Tweek?
Do you mean dry like a cabernet wine??
I had this Opus 1 once that was very dry but good!!

[Moondoggy]

It has been 4 days and my yeast are still dancing!

I put a stop watch on and waitied ten minutes and the air lock never bubbled once but the yeast cake is still perking.

Do I wait until all activity has ceased prior to bottling these critters?

[MARK123]

I used 2 1/2 cups dme and 80 ounces of water and bottled after 2 days when the air lock stopped bubbling and the visual activity stopped!

[gallowd7]

First batch of "plain old" session bitter is going cazy after about 8 hours. What's even better is that I've got 4 more batches of yeast that I don't have to buy!

[MARK123]

I just started my second bottle of six yeasts...and I do 3 batches in a row on the yeast cake!!

[Professor Frink]

I've searched for the answer for this question on these boards, but never quite found the definitive answer. Anway, sorry for any redundancy, but I'm curious.

I'm under the assumption that making a starter with yeast mainly just affects lag time for fermentation to start. This inversely decreases chances of contamination. I've never had a contaminated batch, so I don't really see a huge necessity for speeding up fermentation. It just seems like more work/equipment with very little reward for your troubles. I use White Labs liquid yeast and aerate the heck out of my wort with a electric drill whisklike attachment my LHBS suggested. My lag time is usually less than 24 hours.

So...., is there any other purpose/benefit to using a starter to make it worth switching my procedure???

[MARK123]

Here are some reason I see....And besides, like someone else said "It gives me something else to ferment"



--Yeast starters are highly recommeded for all Wyeast "smack-packs!" Fermentation will begin and finish much more rapidly by dramatically increasing the pitching rate of your yeast.
--If you are brewing strong beers (i.e. with gravities beginning over 1.070), starters are even more highly recommended. These worts require higher pitching rates of yeast and more aeration after cooling.
--It is generally not necessary to make a yeast starter for the White Labs Pitchable Brewers Yeast. Still, if you are brewing a high gravity wort or if your yeast is over 6 - 8 weeks old, it is not a bad idea to prepare a yeast starter.
--Please note that lager yeasts work noticeably faster if a yeast starter is utilized.
--The limiting factors in minimizing lag time are the amounts of nutrients, dissolved oxygen and yeast. Yeast nutrient is recommended for extract based batches, though usually not necessary for all grain batches. Agitating your primary fermenter to oxygenate your wort usually works well for home-sized fermentations
Using the Wyeast package without a starter will result in lag times of 2 - 4 days - more than enough time for wild yeast and bacteria to establish themselves. It only takes a few cells of these organisms to make their presence known through filminess, cloudiness, off-flavors or outright spoilage. A healthy yeast starter will begin fermentation faster, retarding many of these organisms through the lowering of pH and production of alcohol and carbon dioxide.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Professor Frink
I've searched for the answer for this question on these boards, but never quite found the definitive answer. Anway, sorry for any redundancy, but I'm curious.

I'm under the assumption that making a starter with yeast mainly just affects lag time for fermentation to start. This inversely decreases chances of contamination. I've never had a contaminated batch, so I don't really see a huge necessity for speeding up fermentation. It just seems like more work/equipment with very little reward for your troubles. I use White Labs liquid yeast and aerate the heck out of my wort with a electric drill whisklike attachment my LHBS suggested. My lag time is usually less than 24 hours.

So...., is there any other purpose/benefit to using a starter to make it worth switching my procedure???

One of the biggest reasons is that it limits the amount of reproduction that has to occur in the wort. Excessive reproduction creates its own set of by-products that can contribute to off-flavors(excess esters and fusel alcohols being the most notable). Also if you're starter is similar to your wort(in composition) then there is a considerably shorter adaptation period for the yeast and less undesirable by-products are created.