Can it be salvaged?

[PieOPah]

I had always planned on saving my yeast from my most recent brew. Now unfortunately due to such a bad day brewing, there is so much crud in my beer that I didn't want to take any of the yeast slurry.

I have transferred the beer to a new fermenter and I now have a much cleaner beer with the remaining crap having settled out. Again, while I Would have liked to use the yeast, I feel that there is too much undesirables mixed in.

So, since I have a cleaner beer, I was wondering how easy it would be to salvage any of the yeast that is still in suspension?

Could I draw off a sample and make a starter?

What would be the best method of doing this?

I was thinking of drawing off about 1/4 pint and adding this to half a pint of 1.040 wort. This should give me a small 'starter' which I could hopefully step up to a litre and then save the yeast.

Is this the best way to retrieve my yeast without getting all the other stuff that is now mixed in with the slurry?

Thanks

[tubby_shaw]

I was thinking of drawing off about 1/4 pint and adding this to half a pint of 1.040 wort. This should give me a small 'starter' which I could hopefully step up to a litre and then save the yeast.

Is this the best way to retrieve my yeast without getting all the other stuff that is now mixed in with the slurry?

Thanks

Draw off your 1/4 pint but put it in your sanitised starter bottle and stand it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the yeast sediment, pour off the green beer above it, let it come back to room temp and then add your starter solution
Doing it this way you will not dilute your starter too much

[PieOPah]

Will being in the fridge help the yeast settle out then?

If this is the case then it means that I will be able to
a) drink the beer
b) make a larger (less diluted) starter

[tubby_shaw]

Will being in the fridge help the yeast settle out then?

If this is the case then it means that I will be able to
a) drink the beer
b) make a larger (less diluted) starter

Yes cooling down the sample will slow the activity of the yeast and help it settle

In answer to your point above
a)
b) I would start with a 1/2 pint sample and step up when the yeast is actively fermenting
In my experience using too large an initial volume tends to overwhelm the yeast and slows it down

I will be attempting to salvage some yeast from a couple of bottles of Chimay red this evening using the above technique.

[PieOPah]

The yeast has settled out much quicker than I would have hoped for. Also seems that I have a little more than I imagined. Will make a starter up tomorrow

Thanks

[PieOPah]

Made my 1/2 pint starter yesterday. Poured off the beer first leaving a tiny amount of yeast sediment. This morning it looks to have increased nicely. I'll pour this off and make a litre starter. This should be enough for me to pitch on Thursday (assuming I get to brew - if not it'll go into temp storage!)

Had a taste of the beer that I was salvaging the yeast from and despite all the problems I had brewing it, it tastes great - the hops bitterness does need to mellow out a bit though. Great body and I imagine it will be even better after it has been carbonated. Will likely keg on Thursday during my brew day.

[tubby_shaw]

Good to know that it's all ok after all your problems
It's pretty resilient stuff beer, you have to work really hard to make a bad brew

[PieOPah]

Okay, when making starters/salvaging yeast from a bottle is the following practice okay?

Make up starter - in this instance 1/2 pint
Leave to ferment for 24 hours. After 24 hours still slight activity (small krausen and airlock slight bubbling)
Step up starter to 1 litre. Rather than pouring off the 1/2 pint from the yeast, I made up a 1/2 litre wort but using enough DME for a full litre at 1.040 After this had been boiled/cooled I added the original starter (full amount) and then topped up to a full litre.

I gathered that this would mean I would still have the yeast in suspension from the 1/2 pint plus the yeast is already active meaning it shuold carry on quicker.

[tubby_shaw]

Okay, when making starters/salvaging yeast from a bottle is the following practice okay?

Make up starter - in this instance 1/2 pint
Leave to ferment for 24 hours. After 24 hours still slight activity (small krausen and airlock slight bubbling)
Step up starter to 1 litre. Rather than pouring off the 1/2 pint from the yeast, I made up a 1/2 litre wort but using enough DME for a full litre at 1.040 After this had been boiled/cooled I added the original starter (full amount) and then topped up to a full litre.

I gathered that this would mean I would still have the yeast in suspension from the 1/2 pint plus the yeast is already active meaning it shuold carry on quicker.

Absolutely
Although I leave the initial 1/2 pint starter for up to 72 hours until it is showing good signs of fermentation before stepping up and don't forget plenty of dissolved oxygen in those starters

[PieOPah]

Thanks

Doesn't look like I will be brewing today but at least I now have enough yeast to store in the fridge