I've recently tried a rather nice bottle conditioned beer called Goldminer. Not only does every bottle yield me a guaranteed cert for a recyclable beer bottle but I have noticed yeast residue at the bottom of each glass.
I'm quite tempted to attempt to recover the yeast for brewing as the beer has a complex and very pleasant taste. I undestand the theory, but has anybody ever tried this? I'd quite like to have a go, but need to be aware of the pitfalls... :huh:
Recovering Yeast from Bottle Conditioned Ales
I've never done this, but I know of 2 potential problems:
1. Yeast can only be 'recycled' from one brew to the next a certain number of times before it needs to be 'rejuvenated' by acid washing etc. Some can only be recycled 4 or 5 times before they become unusabe. The problem is, you have no way of knowing how many times the yeast in your bottle has been round the cycle; it may be on its last legs.
2. Some bottle conditioned beers don't use the same yeast in the bottle as was used to ferment the main brew, because some yeasts are unsuitable for use in the bottle. In these cases the beer is filtered and a different yeast added before bottling. You need to be sure the bottle you are using isn't one of these, or you'll be disappointed in the performance of the yeast.
1. Yeast can only be 'recycled' from one brew to the next a certain number of times before it needs to be 'rejuvenated' by acid washing etc. Some can only be recycled 4 or 5 times before they become unusabe. The problem is, you have no way of knowing how many times the yeast in your bottle has been round the cycle; it may be on its last legs.
2. Some bottle conditioned beers don't use the same yeast in the bottle as was used to ferment the main brew, because some yeasts are unsuitable for use in the bottle. In these cases the beer is filtered and a different yeast added before bottling. You need to be sure the bottle you are using isn't one of these, or you'll be disappointed in the performance of the yeast.