Yeast Bed

These little beasts do all the hard work. Share how to keep 'em happy and working hard.

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liqrlkr
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Yeast Bed

Post by liqrlkr »

Good morning folk's.I haven't posted in a while but had a question about a yeast bed. I am fermenting in six gallon buckets with about four inches of sweet feed. When I remove the spent grain on top after a ferment does some of the yeast get removed also or is the yeast bed below the grain on the bottom of the bucket. I am not having any particular problem but was curious about this. Thanks in advance!!
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Demy
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Re: Yeast Bed

Post by Demy »

Generally at the end fermentation the yeast is deposited on the bottom.
liqrlkr
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Re: Yeast Bed

Post by liqrlkr »

Thank you Demy, I thought that was the answer!!
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IMALOSERSCUMBAG
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Re: Yeast Bed

Post by IMALOSERSCUMBAG »

I did my last run of UJSSM Saturday. I stopped counting at gen 10 but pretty sure I hit 15+ generations. Needless to say I have one hell of a yeast bed. I was going to throw it in the woods and got sidetracked. Later I realized I had 3-4 gallons of Sunday Chocolate, 3-4 gallons of Booners and 6 gallons of my own recipe (Been calling it Easy Street Bourbon) all not run but never threw out. I figure what the hell and threw it in with the trub of the UJSSM and mixed the hell out of it.

By the end of the day I had one hell of a ferment going on. I never added yeast or anything other than the un-ran mashes. The yeast bed was defiantly active. Not sure what I'll get when I run and will likely neve be able to re-create. Maybe I'll call it my Frankenstein?
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Reaverman
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Re: Yeast Bed

Post by Reaverman »

Made a similar post, out of 5 generations I have about 2/3 rds of a litres of yeast. So I think you have confirmed my hunch!
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Yeast Bed

Post by jonnys_spirit »

When I'm doing runs in a batch or maybe even a couple batches I like to make a starter for the first run then harvest and wash the 1st generation trub in water several times then use that to make additional starters from the first generation trub. I'll harvest and wash about a wine bottle full by filling a sanitized gallon jug almost half full of trub and the rest of the way with clean cool water... Mix well and crash it in the fridge with an airlock for a day - decant off most of the water after the trub bed settles and repeat this several times to clean the trub.... I'll then store this in a air-locked wine bottle in the fridge and use about 1/2 cup to make a new starter for each ferment. As yeast go through multiple generations it has a tendency to become contaminated with other wild yeasts and micro's so first generation is still mostly clean and good and plenty available for harvesting... Nothing wrong with multiple generations either as long as it ferments adequately but closer to first generation without a lab setup is going to best maintain properties of that particular strain... Bakers is cheap enough IMO to not really fuss too much over it and just use fresh yeast but some other beer yeasts cost maybe $5-10 per packet which can add up in larger batches run back to back... A UJ protocol uses multiple generations which is also proven and the dominant strains in any particular UJ ferment after some generations are likely to be at least slightly more diverse than the initial strain pitched...

Cheers!
-jonny
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
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