Brewday - 28/08/09 -

[garwatts]

The only problem for yeast re-use, from my point of view, is the timing. Once the yeast is harvested, you really only have a one or two week window in which to re-use it.

So if you collect the yeast from your previous brew and cover with cool boiled water it only keeps for two weeks in the fridge?

[Invalid Stout]

The longer you keep it the fewer viable yeast cells it will have, so after a while you'll have to make a starter before using it.

[mysterio]

Booldawg, yeah I bet they will be great in a wheat beer. I even used them in a Dubbel.

IS, lemony, interesting. I'll look out for that with this beer.

Quite a slow start to fermentation for this one, it's still not really kicked off in earnest. Pitched the yeast about 1am Saturday morning, now theres a fine cap of white foam on the beer. I was half cut when I rehydrated the yeast, might have been a bit sloppy about it

Ehh although now that I think about it, 48 hour lag phase is pretty par for the course for a cold lager fermentation especially with the first pitch

[mysterio]

Tasted this now, still a fair bit of yeast in suspension. It took its time dropping the last few points, and did so in the keg. Ended up about 1.008. Tastes like a Koelsch. I get what Invalid Stout means about the lemonyness of liberty hops now. Very pleasant. They're a definate for my next wheat beer.

The Weihenstephan yeast is a little fruity, but then again so is the White Labs German lager yeast which it's related too. Hopefully it will end up cleaner in the re-pitched Oktoberfest which is nearly done fermenting. I think I underpitched this batch, instead of 4 packs I might use 6 next time. Or maybe just stay sober when rehydrating the yeast.