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I read on HBT that someone would save his yeast cake into three plastic bottles, and then use each bottle in a new batch. I didn't have three plastic bottles, used to hold pressure from the yeast as opposed to glass. And the guy at my LHBS told me the pressure in the plastic bottles would be bad for the yeast, and he just saves his yeast in a growler. Given I had many empty growlers, I just poured my yeast cake, with some fermented wort to swirl it up, into a growler and put it in the fridge.

My question, given the above "thirds" implication, can I reuse the yeast in my growler, and how much to use for my next batch.

The yeast was a wyeast 001

CDspace
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I use plastic 1/2 gal. tubs to store yeast. They have snap on lids that will pop off of there's too much pressure. Remember that even in the fridge the yeast will continue to slowly ferment any food remaining and build up pressure. Whatever container you use, don't seal it tightly. And be sure to keep the yeast slurry covered with either beer or boiled and cooled distilled water.

Denny Conn
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  • It's in the fridge, covered with foil. I left a few ounces of beer in the carboy, swirled it up with the yeast cake, na dit fit perfectly into a growler. A few days later now, it's settled with a few inches of beer on top. When trying to pitch it, should I swirl it back up before getting the amount I need. And I'll probably look into putting it into a starter before pitching. – CDspace Feb 03 '14 at 18:16
  • Pour off the beer on top before pitching. If you use it within maybe 3 weeks, you can use it as is without a starter. – Denny Conn Feb 03 '14 at 19:13
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Saving yeast in a grower, or any other glass, stainless steel, or ceramic container is just fine. Store the yeast in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap to keep critters out. Fresh yeast will remain healthy enough to pitch (jargon for "use to start a fermentation") for at least two weeks. After that, a starter is recommended. As for how much slurry to use, the best resource around is the Mr. Malty Yeast Calculator

EmpiricAles
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