Homebrewers - Whats in the fermenter?

[BeerAdvocate]

Originally Posted by kenstogie

I heard of this, reusing/repitching yeast but...
How is this done?

Very simple!
You usually only want to do this if the next brew you are brewing is similar(in color) to the one that is done fermenting.
All you do is rack your beer to your keg or bottle like you normally do, then simply pour your wort in from your new beer you just brewed and shake like hell.
You dont have to worry about cleaning your carboy or sanitizing or anything.
And all the sediment and used hops still drop to the bottom.
You have to do this within 24hrs of racking your beer from the carboy. You cant let the yeast cake sit in there too long before you put the new wort in.
I currently have a Bells Two Hearted Ale clone in primary right now, that I used some WL California Ale yeast, the day that I keg it, I am going to brew a PaleAle and pitch it right on the Two Hearted Ale yeast cake.
I have been reading about this for awhile now and have always been scared to do it, but alot of people on Homebrewtalk.com do it.
Some people use the same yeast cake up to 3 times!
I want to start washing too, but if I am going to be brewing something that uses the same yeast that I just used previously, why not just rack it on top of that yeast cake!

[kenstogie]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

Very simple!
You usually only want to do this if the next brew you are brewing is similar(in color) to the one that is done fermenting.
All you do is rack your beer to your keg or bottle like you normally do, then simply pour your wort in from your new beer you just brewed and shake like hell.
You dont have to worry about cleaning your carboy or sanitizing or anything.
And all the sediment and used hops still drop to the bottom.
You have to do this within 24hrs of racking your beer from the carboy. You cant let the yeast cake sit in there too long before you put the new wort in.
I currently have a Bells Two Hearted Ale clone in primary right now, that I used some WL California Ale yeast, the day that I keg it, I am going to brew a PaleAle and pitch it right on the Two Hearted Ale yeast cake.
I have been reading about this for awhile now and have always been scared to do it, but alot of people on Homebrewtalk.com do it.
Some people use the same yeast cake up to 3 times!
I want to start washing too, but if I am going to be brewing something that uses the same yeast that I just used previously, why not just rack it on top of that yeast cake!

That's pretty easy, Thanks!

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

I want to start washing too, but if I am going to be brewing something that uses the same yeast that I just used previously, why not just rack it on top of that yeast cake!

Travis:

Here's the basic method that I use to harvest & wash yeast, I think Papazian has a write up in one of his books, too:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yea...strated-41768/

The only difference is that I don't use mason jars to store my yeast, I use beer bottles topped with an airlock. They take up less room in the frig and I can keep them in a 6-pack holder. The advantage of this method is that the yeast goes dormant but stays fresh for up to...6?...months, I think. I've re-used yeast that was 12-18 months old before, it just takes the starter longer to get going.