Yeast on Yeast on Yeast action..

[Halfacrem]

I've just ordered my ingredients for my next 4 brews. I'm working my way through Greg Hughes excellent book. At the moment I have no reason to look elsewhere as I'm very happy trying our his recipes at the moment. The brews I have planned are his Pattersbier and Dry Stout, which I have brewed before and really enjoyed, plus the Black IPA and Summer Ale.

I have decided to use White Labs WLP007 for the Black IPA, Summer Ale and the Dry Stout, so my thoughts have turned to how best to reuse one pouch of Yeast (Batch length will be 11.5 litres per brew)

In the past, I have made a DME starter for brews and I'm quite happy to do that again, leaving some of the starter in the fridge in between brews. The alternatives are top cropping and re pitching, however I've never done either of these before.

My first question is, is WLP007 a decent top cropper?

Secondly, if I repitch onto the slurry from a previous brew, would doing this three consecutive times be pushing it too far? Also I'd be concerned about the crud that accumulates in an FV and how to clean that out without being able to wash out the FV. Or perhaps my thoughts on this method are wrong and it's best just to transfer the slurry into a fresh fv every time?

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

[McMullan]

I use WLP007 quite often. It’s a great strain and should cover those 3 brews you’ve planned. It’s quick, very flocculant and the krausen can disappear before you’ve realised it was even there, so you’d have to keep an eye on it and time things well. Alternatively, make a 1.5-2.0L starter and, when it’s done, give it a good shake (mix on a stir plate if you use one) and divide it among 3 jars (about 500ml in each). One of these should be sufficient for an 11.5L fermentation. Don’t use the whole yeast cake, if you decide to reuse slurry. The first fermentation would contain enough slurry for at least 3-4 brews, I’d guess. If you pitched directly on top of the whole yeast cake, there would be very little yeast growth, which can reduce the quality of the end product. Autolysis might reach detectable levels, especially if done twice in a row. The new packs are not as easy to split as the vials were, but you could split the ‘fresh’ yeast and make 3 starters. Repitching slurry is probably the easiest. If you take that route, make the stout last, as it would have very dark slurry.

You could always have a go at top cropping the first batch. It's not that straight forward the first time round. Leave your options open, make 3 starters or split a bigger one; top crop a batch and repitch some slurry. Have a play around, get some practice for the different techniques and see what works for you. They all work and all come in handy at some point.

[Halfacrem]

I use WLP007 quite often. It’s a great strain and should cover those 3 brews you’ve planned. It’s quick, very flocculant and the krausen can disappear before you’ve realised it was even there, so you’d have to keep an eye on it and time things well. Alternatively, make a 1.5-2.0L starter and, when it’s done, give it a good shake (mix on a stir plate if you use one) and divide it among 3 jars (about 500ml in each). One of these should be sufficient for an 11.5L fermentation. Don’t use the whole yeast cake, if you decide to reuse slurry. The first fermentation would contain enough slurry for at least 3-4 brews, I’d guess. If you pitched directly on top of the whole yeast cake, there would be very little yeast growth, which can reduce the quality of the end product. Autolysis might reach detectable levels, especially if done twice in a row. The new packs are not as easy to split as the vials were, but you could split the ‘fresh’ yeast and make 3 starters. Repitching slurry is probably the easiest. If you take that route, make the stout last, as it would have very dark slurry.

You could always have a go at top cropping the first batch. It's not that straight forward the first time round. Leave your options open, make 3 starters or split a bigger one; top crop a batch and repitch some slurry. Have a play around, get some practice for the different techniques and see what works for you. They all work and all come in handy at some point.

Thanks for that. My concern about the top cropping was catching it at the right time, so I might try to catch it, but if not, I think I'll make a big starter as a fall back in case I miss it. If I also took some of the slurry, how much would I need to take? A big kitchen spoon or ladle's worth or a bit more for another 11.5 litre batch?

[McMullan]

My SS ladle holds about 130ml, so for an 11.5 batch I'd say 60-70ml should be plenty. Give it a good swirl then rest the FV so the slurry collects to one side and take about what you need. Don't worry about taking a precise volume, a little over or under isn't going to matter. Straight out and stir into fresh wort.

[Halfacrem]

My SS ladle holds about 130ml, so for an 11.5 batch I'd say 60-70ml should be plenty. Give it a good swirl then rest the FV so the slurry collects to one side and take about what you need. Don't worry about taking a precise volume, a little over or under isn't going to matter. Straight out and stir into fresh wort.

That's great. Cheers!

[rpt]

I haven't used WLP007 but I got 4 brews from WLP-002 by using the slurry. I collected about 100-200mL of slurry and repitched almost immediately. I could probably have done many more repitches but wanted to use a different yeast.

This was for 23L.

[Halfacrem]

I haven't used WLP007 but I got 4 brews from WLP-002 by using the slurry. I collected about 100-200mL of slurry and repitched almost immediately. I could probably have done many more repitches but wanted to use a different yeast.

This was for 23L.

That's good to know, thanks.