Hi,
I am pretty sure this topic has arisen before but I can't find the thread so:
A couple of days ago I considered I had a low cost opportunity to check how well a re-use of yeast would work, sourced from a just bottled fermenter of Guiness style stout.
The reason for considering this in the first place was that I had two very old & well outdated dark ale kits. (Best before Nov 2006 !!!!!!)
I opened the kits & tasted the malt which seemed OK but a very rapid start would clearly be ideal here.
I managed to collect two 1.25 litre bottles of lees from my fermenter.
I knew the stout tasted as it should so no infection, everything is looking good.
Added one 1.25 bottle of lees direct onto my dark ale wort at 26 Deg C (had to cool with pre-cooled water - Australia !!!)
2.5 hours later we have the beginnings of rapid fermentation, which has proceeded for 24 hours now, overpowering the airlock which has needed cleaning every few hours.
I may not know for sure with a taste test in a few days, whether this has been a sensible act or heresy.
The very old malt extract is said to create a slight metallic taste, BTW, so that alone may mask the answer I seek.
I know that boutique breweries are meticulous about yeast sourcing, cleaning, & preservation but I have never been able to establish what they actually do.
May I ask for comment upon this whole subject, but specifically the pros & cons of doing what I just did & how it might be done better (with new extract of course).
I am pretty sure this topic has arisen before but I can't find the thread so:
A couple of days ago I considered I had a low cost opportunity to check how well a re-use of yeast would work, sourced from a just bottled fermenter of Guiness style stout.
The reason for considering this in the first place was that I had two very old & well outdated dark ale kits. (Best before Nov 2006 !!!!!!)
I opened the kits & tasted the malt which seemed OK but a very rapid start would clearly be ideal here.
I managed to collect two 1.25 litre bottles of lees from my fermenter.
I knew the stout tasted as it should so no infection, everything is looking good.
Added one 1.25 bottle of lees direct onto my dark ale wort at 26 Deg C (had to cool with pre-cooled water - Australia !!!)
2.5 hours later we have the beginnings of rapid fermentation, which has proceeded for 24 hours now, overpowering the airlock which has needed cleaning every few hours.
I may not know for sure with a taste test in a few days, whether this has been a sensible act or heresy.
The very old malt extract is said to create a slight metallic taste, BTW, so that alone may mask the answer I seek.
I know that boutique breweries are meticulous about yeast sourcing, cleaning, & preservation but I have never been able to establish what they actually do.
May I ask for comment upon this whole subject, but specifically the pros & cons of doing what I just did & how it might be done better (with new extract of course).