MikeinRH said:
Beerfun: Great Post!!!
I have a question as to how you maximize your generations of yeast. Do you wash after a fermentation? Or do you separate a starter?
No to both of those questions. I don't have a lab (or even space for one), either. It would be easier and more reliable, if I did. Plus I'd get at least twice as many generations. Once a fresh pitch is used, it never sees open air again. It is aseptically transferred from batch to storage and back into the next batch.
Here are my control points
A: Sanitation at every stage.
B: Most of the trub is bypassed, leaving clear wort going to the fermenter (see the pic)
C: Yeast nutrient in every batch (high zinc)
D: Harvesting the creamiest, healthiest portion of the yeast cake from the cone
E: Lots of O2
F: pH monitoring of fermentation
G: Limiting my selection to one ale and one lager strain
H: Both beer and yeast are kept at proper temperatures for their stage of the process
*pic came out sideways. Sight glass should be on the bottom and the fermenter cone is on top.