Saving Money: Yeast

[carrisr]

Here's my dilemma: it looks like I can save some money by buying bulk grains and hops. However, I still need to buy yeast and we have no reliable local home brew shops that carry fresh yeast. So if I buy most things in bulk, but I still have to pay shipping on yeast I don't end up saving much at all. I may as well take advantage of the flat rate shipping that NB, BMW and others charge and just get what I need for a couple of recipes at a time (I really like BMW for this).

So I'm curious what most of you are doing. Are you buying multiple packs of liquid yeast at a time and hoping it keeps until you can use it? Are you using mostly dry yeast? Are you re-using yeast cakes or culturing yeast? Or are you just biting the bullet and ordering ingredients single batches (hops, grain, and yeast).

[tompb]

I order at least 4 at a time. NB has very fresh yesat and the viablility is good for a few months. Keep it in the frig. Make a starter. Even without a stir plate you can do the "shake every time you walk by" method. A step or 2 can boost even an anemic yesat pack.

[Matt F]

I do like Tom. I plan out my next four brews or so and order more than one at a time. Just make sure to use them before they get too old. The shelf life is 6 months but I wouldn't wait that long. Do a starter and you are good to go.

I usually brew in bunches so I tend to plan several beers using the same yeast and just re-pitch. A technique that is simple and has worked for me is to brew batches back to back and just pitch on the primary yeast cake from the prior batch. I don't have much else in the primary than beer and yeast because of my whirlpool chiller. All the hops, hot break and cold break are left in a cone in the middle of my brew kettle.

Another thing that has worked for me is to dump the yeast cake from the fermentor in to a sanitized mason jar and use it within the month, again doing a starter to make sure it is ready to rock. You can also wash the yeast but I never have.

[kurtford]

I read an article that said you could reuse the yeast cake when you rack off your beer. It takes some planning and they say to keep with the same types of styles, like doing a pale ale, then an IPA, then another IPA. I've done it once and it worked good( made two porters in a row) They said if you jump to a high gravity beer it stresses out the yeast and they recomend not reusing it.

Anyone else ever tried this?

[HowBrewed]

I am trying to experiment with saving yeast. More for the challenge. Like randy I am staying with 3 gal batches so if one get infected it's not a bank buster. It will be worth the experience.

Ok, I may be stretching a bit for only have a few batches under my belt, but I washed the yeast from my last batch and split into two sterilized mason jars. It was a pretty low gravity ale. (will use these in a couple of batches down the road).

My current batch is a brown ale which I pitched with 1/2 of a Wyeast Smackpack. The yeast were very happy in the carboy within 12 hours of pitching only half the pack. ( three gallon batch)

I saved the other half of the smackpack in a sterilized 22 ounce bottle. I plan to brew a second brown ale batch with a tweak in the recipe using the second half of the yeast with a starter in the bottle.

It may be a disaster but that why they call it experimenting

[brownbeard]

I read an article that said you could reuse the yeast cake when you rack off your beer. It takes some planning and they say to keep with the same types of styles, like doing a pale ale, then an IPA, then another IPA. I've done it once and it worked good( made two porters in a row) They said if you jump to a high gravity beer it stresses out the yeast and they recomend not reusing it.

Anyone else ever tried this?

I have done this. I generally do like Matt now. When I rack off the primary, I pour the yeast cake into a mason jar and refrigerate it. I usually use it within a month or 2, and have had great luck with that. As for the high gravity, I usually do a batch to make a yeast cake especially for high gravity brews.

[Matt F]

Great minds think alike. I also brew a low gravity beer to build up yeast for a high gravity beer since a starter would need to be a huge volume anyway. For example, if I want to make a huge Belgian Dark Strong, I will do a 6%-7% Belgian Dubbel first. While this isn't that low a gravity of beer, it is much lower than the 12% I may be shooting for with the Dark Strong.

[BrewHound]

Great minds think alike. I also brew a low gravity beer to build up yeast for a high gravity beer since a starter would need to be a huge volume anyway. For example, if I want to make a huge Belgian Dark Strong, I will do a 6%-7% Belgian Dubbel first. While this isn't that low a gravity of beer, it is much lower than the 12% I may be shooting for with the Dark Strong.

So do serial killers!

[kurtford]

Matt pretty much nailed the article I had read, when I was talking about High gravity beers stressing the yeast cake I was talking about beers that are 10% plus.