ReUsing Yeast with Bran Recipe?

[Wanker]

I have been reading on the parent site about reusing yeast and I am a little confused about this statement. “For yeast re-pitching & yeast washing applications the alcohol should not go above 6%. This is so the yeast will not become stressed and start to reproduce sexually (causing off flavors & mutations) rather than asexually.”

Since I use a modified version of Rad’s Bran sugar wash with enough sugar to ferment out to 14% if this statement is true I shouldn’t try reusing my yeast. Does anyone know if this 6% rule has any validity with reused yeast? Has anyone tried reusing Fleishman’s bakers yeast with the Bran wash and if so had any luck?

[Dnderhead]

i do this all the time and many do also.once started i just keep the fermenter going.

[Wanker]

Great to hear Dnderhead, I was hoping I could since this would make mixing that much easier. May I ask if you are using the Bran recipe when you do and if you add more bran or nutrients when you do mix a new wash?

I thought that 6% rule sounded strange, I mean who is going to make a wash less than 6%?

[Ayay]

Learnin to propogate yeasts is a survival technique. My experience with re-using baker's yeast is that it's slower. Fresh is faster but I'll be tryin re-used again to be sure. I'll repeat the experiment of adding water to the sludge, pour the liquids off the main solids an let the fine yeasts settle once more. Remove the water after the yeasts have settled. Put the final sludge in the fridge. If it's not alive at least it's a nutrient.

[ArkyJ]

While not a bran mix as you are using. I am into my sixth generation of a sweetfeed/ molasses mix that has the same bakers yeast working away. Just recharge the 5gal bucket with new grain, molasses, backset and sugar and 30 min later it's bubbling.
If all that white stuff at the bottom of the bucket is dead yeast (lees). I have one hell of a grave yard started. Must be two inches thick.
ArkyJ

[Wanker]

Thanks a lot ArkyJ for the info. Sixth generation with bakers yeast; very encouraging. Yea till now I have just been dumping the whole thing down the sink and starting from scratch every time which I see now is a waste of money and labour.

Would be nice still to hear from someone reusing the bran recipe to hear if they are adding more bran or nutrients each reuse?

[Braz]

Would be nice still to hear from someone reusing the bran recipe to hear if they are adding more bran or nutrients each reuse?

I can't address your query exactly, but I once harvested the yeast trub from an all bran ferment and used it in another new all bran wash. It worked OK but took at least twice as long to ferment to completion.

I'd think you'd need to renew the all bran, or at least add some more, as the all bran is the primary yeast nutrient in this wash and it stands to reason that it will be depleted over time. (For what it's worth, I don't use any additional nutrients in my all bran - just the cereal, a little boiled yeast and a vitamin B tab or two - no fertilizer, DAP, etc.)

[beelah]

I do a modified Bran flake wash but I used corn flakes instead and I have reused the yeast. However, I usually start my ferment in an open vat, let it work about halfway to 2/3 dry and then I transfer it into a sealed carboy and leave it until it is finished when ever that is, whic could be a couple of days or another week.

Usually most of the corn or bran flakes are left in the primary fermenter but some comes over ( I am not to fussy int he inital first racking)

Whnen it has cleared nice, I tranfer it to my boiler and there is usually a layer of yeast at the bottom of the carboy.

I add warm water to this and let it keep nice and comfortable until I am done my run, when I then run a couple of gallons of the hot backset into the primary fermeter and desolve the sugar and corn/bran flakes for the next batch. I then add cold tap water and generally get it to pitching temperature and I add back in the yeat slury from the earlier batch.

So far has worked good for me.

I just started some rum about a week ago and had no rum dunder so I used the yeast and backet from the cornflake run and boy did it take off. It was at between and 8-10% wash and was done in three days!!! I am just letting it settle out and clear now and I will run it sometime this week as I have most of it off before Christmas.

Oh and I was using flelishemans bread yeast as well. I do always add a couple of tps of DAP as it is always makes for a good fast ferment. One thing to check for is the PH as I have pretty acidic water and rerunning the dunder/backset can run up the PH. I used calcium carbonate to buffer it.

[Wanker]

Thanks beelah, good to hear someone reusing Fleishman’s with flakes. I see you add more flakes with sugar. I was wondering if you use the same amount you would in an original batch?

I also use DAP with this recipe and Ferment K but I am going to see if it works as well with just DAP. I also find using an airstone for twenty minutes really helps also. I will keep an eye on my ph if I can find a cheap way to test, what ph do you like? Thanks again.

[beelah]

The recommended ph is between 4 and 5. I use the ph strips that you can by at a pharmacy or medical supply place. They come a on a roll and you just tear off a strip when you need one, dip and compare the colour to the chart on the container.

If too adidic, I just throw in a tbsp of Calcium Carbonate and check the ph and add more until it is int he zone.

Sometimes my wash is slower and I think it may be the Na content inthe flakes, as most yeast donit care too much for salt. Others don't seem to have this problem. The other problem with a slow wash besides ph, Na or temp is the chlorine in the water. I once made a DWWG(Deathe Wish Wheat germ for those that don't know) wash and used rain water and boy did that baby take off in a hurry!!!!

As for the flakes, I always use the same amount that is called for in the recipe.

I donlt use an airstone as I don't what they are. I have heard folks talk about them here, but don't really know what are like. I find that I have a shower head that breaks up the water flow real good and that seems to airate just fine.

[Wanker]

Thanks beelah for the info about the ph strips. Sounds like a cheap way to test but I think I read if you put calcium carbonate in your wash once it was distilled you would end up with ammonia, I could be wrong but I thought that is why it is only added to low wines to reduce impurities.

An airstone is just the porous stone put on the end of a hose attached to an aquarium air pump to give tiny bubbles.

Thanks for the info about the flakes.

[Dnderhead]

a alkaline wash + nitrogen makes ammonia.

[Wanker]

a alkaline wash + nitrogen makes ammonia.

Thanks Dnderhead but just to clearify; since i am using DAP which i understand contains nitrogen does that mean if calcium carbonate is used in a wash to raise the ph it will produce ammonia or only if it is above ph7? Is it alright to use calcium carbonate as long as the wash is still below ph7 or acidic?

[Dnderhead]

right,you dont want the PH nowhere that high anyway. 4-5 is good.