What about a Jims Beer Kit yeast Bank

[delboy]

Im dead set on brewing a fullers london pride clone with the correct yeast, of course im sat at home with a free house all the grain i need but no yeast (it'll be about a week coming from H&G).
Its got me thinking that i must set up a mini yeast bank, i have no excuse not to since i have microbiology skills and access to the nesecarry equipment.

I'd be willing to let other members of the forum free access to any of the strains i aquire ie send a 25 ml sterile univeral bottle with the yeast strain to be stepped up to pitching rates by the brewer at the other end.

I know there are a few others on the forum who are savvy on these sorts of micro matters who might be coaxed into doing something the same.
Between a few of us we could effectively cover the white lab/wyeast yeast catalogue.
What do people think a good idea or not really something you'd be interested in?

[Aleman]

I love the ides, but voted no Unfortunately I don't have enough room / time to do it, plus if I contaminate a sample all I do is screw up my beer I wouldn't want to be responsible for doing the same to another brewer.

[Seveneer]

I also voted "No" for pretty much the same reason.

I've been thinking of having a go at building up a yeast bank but only for my own use. I wouldn't want to send out a yeast sample that contaminates someone elses beer but equally, I wouldn't want to receive a sample ruins my beer either.

/Phil.

[delboy]

Seems there isn't much appetite for this for the reasons that TJB and seveneer have stated ie not wanting to be held responsible for buggering up somebody elses beer.

Im still going to go ahead and set up a yeast bank with whatever liquid yeast strains i lay my hands on.
The few people that have voted yes can PM me for a yeast strain at any time, im cofident i won't be sending out contaminated samples (i do this sort of thing for a living after all ).
Im planning on plating out the yeasts etc so you can be confident that a yeast sample will do exactly what it says on the tin

[Jim]

I waited until there were a few replies so I didn't put a damper on it straight away, but my first thought was that I would hate to cock up someone else's brew by passing on a contaminated yeast sample. I think that's the weakness of it.

Plus have a look here. Brewlab are already doing it for us and they'll post you a professionaly prepared slant for only £3.50.

[delboy]

I waited until there were a few replies so I didn't put a damper on it straight away, but my first thought was that I would hate to cock up someone else's brew by passing on a contaminated yeast sample. I think that's the weakness of it.

Plus have a look here. Brewlab are already doing it for us and they'll post you a professionaly prepared slant for only £3.50.

Yeah i saw HHs post earlier, i have to say a slant is a lot more useful than a liquid vial or smack pack since it should allow you to pick a single colony to grow up for the starter and you can pop the slant back into the fridge for the next brew and the next one etc (thats if you treat it aspectically of course).

How do the brewlab strains compare with white labs and wyeast for instance do they have the fullers the chimay the chico strain etc like white labs and wyeast purport to have.

[oblivious]

they seem to be primly English strains

[Horden Hillbilly]

How do the brewlab strains compare with white labs and wyeast for instance do they have the fullers the chimay the chico strain etc like white labs and wyeast purport to have.

imho, the brewlab yeasts are every bit as good as the wyeast/whitelab & I am speaking from personal experience. They also have many others available that is shown on the list on my post Here, if you have a specific requirement you can contact brewlab with your requirements & they will provide you with the most suitable match they have.

Good suggestion and offer btw delboy, but as I have both brewlab & h&g nearby to me (lucky sod!) I will continue using one of these for my yeast supplies.

[delboy]

How do the brewlab strains compare with white labs and wyeast for instance do they have the fullers the chimay the chico strain etc like white labs and wyeast purport to have.

imho, the brewlab yeasts are every bit as good as the wyeast/whitelab & I am speaking from personal experience. They also have many others available that is shown on the list on my post Here, if you have a specific requirement you can contact brewlab with your requirements & they will provide you with the most suitable match they have.

Good suggestion and offer btw delboy, but as I have both brewlab & h&g nearby to me (lucky sod!) I will continue using one of these for my yeast supplies.

HH the brewlab slants are definetely something im interested in thanks for bringing them to our attention.
When i asked about how they compare with white labs/wyeast i wasn't very clear.
I wasn't really asking about the quality of the yeast as such (im sure its exceptional and in perfect condition) what i really meant was that with white labs and wyeast i have a frame of reference ie i know that a certain yeast is from X or Y commercial brewery. I can read up about the strain, its characteristics etc and even purchase some commercial beer brewed with the same yeast.

At the moment for instance brewlab classic ale yeast or yorkshire ale yeast mean absolutely nothing to me.
I had a look on the web for some reviews of brewlab strains but i didn't manage to find anything.

Perhaps you wouldn't mind reviewing the strain you picked up from brewlab once you have used it .
That sort of info will allow me to make an informed choice.

[delboy]

Good to see you back DaaB

[TAXMACKEM]

Can somebody explain to me what a "slope " is pleas?

[delboy]

On a slightly different matter, with your microbiologists hat on, is it possible to pitch starter which might contain a small amount of bacteria and reculture from the starter to the point where you effectively ferment out the bacteria due to the conditions of the beer being inhospitable for the bacteria and end up with a clean or relatively clean yeast sample?

im not sure i'd want to put it to the test, if i thought i had a slight bacterial infection i'd be more inclined to do an acid wash at pH 2.0 which should knock out the bugs and leave the yeasties relatively unharmed.

[delboy]

Can somebody explain to me what a "slope " is pleas?

brewlab slope/slant

I suppose you could think of it as sterile solidified wort on which the yeast grow in colonies, allowing you to see if it is infected with bacteria and also allowing you to pickl an individual clump or colony of cells. The advantage is that they can be stored in the fridge for months.

[J_P]

I think it's a great idea in theory Del but I certainly don't have the skills or equipment to emulate the more experienced members of the forum in culturing clean strains.

The closest I've got to keeping a stock of yeast was when I kept back some WLP007 I'd grown on in a starter. I kept it in a sterilised airlocked milk bottle for a couple of weeks and then put it into a starter solution and grew it on and used it, both beers currently smell wonderful I'll be bottling the original beer tomorrow.

This appealed to my Yorkshire side as I was able to spread the cost of the liquid yeast over two brews which works out at about the same as buying two packets of dried yeast per brew.

[Jim]

Good to see you back DaaB

He just couldn't hold out any longer without his fix!