Am I just cheap?

[jonnys_spirit]

Hi,

I have an issue with paying about $5 for every packet of yeast so I started harvesting and cleaning trub and starting my yeast a day or three early. Rehydrating, adding some dead yeast and a little sugar then as the mash turns sweet I'll add some wort into the yeast starter.

This past weekend I was able to use a single packet of nottingham ale yeast and get it going over a couple days as the mash cooled to pitching temp - no big hurry. I was able to use a single packet to start two 16gallon mashes. Once those are done I'll keep some trub and wash it in cold clean water and cold crash in the fridge. Last time I did this I was able to start about 10 mashes with the same first generation trub and still have plenty left in a wine bottle I keep in the fridge.

I'll use lager yeasts during the cold months when my cellar is much cooler and use the same protocol.

Anyone know of any drawbacks to this method? I've not had any stalled ferments over quite a few runs.

Cheers!
-jonny

[fizzix]

The beer forum I hang around (HomeBrew Talk) always has threads and archives about farming yeast and making starters.
My notes say after about 6 batches or 6 months the yeast has pretty much mutated beyond its flavor profile.
And always, always, always use sterile water and keep your work area & tools impeccably sanitized.

Are you cheap? I prefer to say efficient.

[zapata]

I wouldn't harvest from a whiskey batch, this isn't a beer that is boiled.
Besides if you're already making starters, just add one extra step.
Step one is your typical starter, boiled and fermented under airlock.
When it's done just split between 6-10 sterile jars. They keep in the fridge for months. For almost ever if you wash them and replace the wort and trub with clean water.
Now each jar is ready to make a new starter for each batch getting you 6-10 batches per yeast packet. You can keep repeating this and making new starters from your starters for several generations, but you'll never need to go 6 generations. If you make 6 jars from each batch, 6 generations would be over 40,000 batches!

[Expat]

The beer forum I hang around (HomeBrew Talk) always has threads and archives about farming yeast and making starters.
My notes say after about 6 batches or 6 months the yeast has pretty much mutated beyond its flavor profile.
And always, always, always use sterile water and keep your work area & tools impeccably sanitized.

Are you cheap? I prefer to say efficient.

I agree with most everything you said. But, there is a limit to how far efficiency takes you as there is opportunity/effort cost involved. If I were using expensive or hard to get beer yeasts, I'd be inclined to agree there is value in taking the time to culture them rather than re buy. But for bakers yeast I really don't see the point. Any amount of time/effort added would outweigh the less than $1 cost (or less) of a batch worth of bakers.

[jonnys_spirit]

Next time I'll take the advice and sterilize and ferment the starter under airlock and I've made small stovetop corn/malt mashes also using enzymes just for a starter mash.

Yeast banking does sound sorta fun and maybe one day I'll set up for that in more detail but easily stretching a pack of $5 yeasties across a handful or two mashes is pretty good without getting much more involved.

Cheers!
-jonny

[fizzix]

Without a doubt I agree, Expat. Strictly addressing the OP's $5 situation.

The beer yeasts are considerably higher in cost, and that's probably why the beer forums
have more information on it and more participation.

The other day I saw an older thread at 'Brew Talk when there was a Wyeast 1335 shortage
and harvesting was the topic du jour. You just don't see that here at HD.

[jonnys_spirit]

Thanks fizzix - That''s it exactly. If I can for instance easily stretch a premium $8 beer yeast across 8-10 mashes then it only costs $.80/mash (which is also typically a 16 gallon mash for me).

If I "followed directions and used one packet/5gal" (not a chance in hell of following directions) then it'd cost 16 gallons x ten mashes = 160 gallons = 32 x 5gallon batches = about $250 ($160 for $5 yeast) in yeasties @ $8 a pop.

Cheers!
-jonny

[zach]

I've kept a us-05 colony harvested from a beer for 3 generations of beer and used it for several whisky mashes/.

I've been experimenting with a sour dough starter where I've captured wild yeast for making bread dough and pizza crust.

After a week at ambient temperatures and adding flour and water daily to the jar, I had a vigorous colony.

I've kept the colony alive in the refrigerator with a weekly feeding. I was thinking of using these yeast for batch of a wheat flour whisky.

[Twisted Brick]

Step one is your typical starter, boiled and fermented under airlock.
When it's done just split between 6-10 sterile jars. They keep in the fridge for months. For almost ever if you wash them and replace the wort and trub with clean water. Now each jar is ready to make a new starter for each batch getting you 6-10 batches per yeast packet.

+1

Starters are not an element of being cheap, but rather of control. Pre-made starter worts allow the distiller to mirror the final grain bill, introducing the yeast to the environment in which it will subsequently be working. Also, it allows for the production of a lower gravity wort (I like 1.035 - 1.040), reducing the potential for osmotic pressure rupturing of yeast cells and ensuring the highest possible count of healthy workers.

[brat]

If you want to take a little further start your own frozen yeast bank. I've been doing this for years. And you can store yeast for a very long time. Here is a video link to get a better insight.

https://youtu.be/NLKGhcZM0OA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow