Yeast Propagation Ideas

[cmwilson99]

Hello All,

I am looking for help planning out a yeast prop and was looking for any direction you could lend. Normally, we pitch off yeast produced with our IPA, but sales of our BIG beers are out pacing the IPA sales making it difficult to keep up. We are looking at purchasing a small starter (1L or 2L or...) and working it up to a pitchable quatity to help out. So I would like to know, what types of systems you use to grow yeast. Anybody know of an of-the-shelf system?

Other Info:
We are producing high-gravity ales up to 26 Plato. Our batch size varies from 30 to 40 bbls. We have a small (3bbl) yeast brink for storage if needed. Cost is unimportant.... just kidding.

Cheers,
Chris Wilson
Head Brewer
Weyerbacher Brewing Company

[South County]

yeast recommendations

Chris,

Greetings from Southern, PA. Just had the XIII, very good. I can't make any specific recommendations as 26P is not my specialty, but I just finished reading "Yeast, the practical guide to Beer fermentation" by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff, and hands down the best book on anything yeast and fermentation. In this case for you chapter 5, pages 121-172. Brewers association sells it for $19.95.

http://shop.beertown.org/brewers/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=Yeast%3A+The+Practical+Guide+to+Beer+Fermentation+by+Chris+White+and+Jamil+Zainasheff&pf_id=3100_499&dept_id=3112

cheers
JR

[Ipscman]

"Yeast"

I agree that book is incredibly practical. I have over 120 brewing science books and none of them deal with the practical aspects of dealing with yeast like this one. It is a wonderful text - get it, learn, and enjoy.

Mark
http://www.hiddenwellbrewery.com

[Brancid]

We routinely prop up from a 1bbl pitchable at our place. We will schedule brews so that we can knockout 1bbl of some lightly colored wort into the FV that we will be brewing into the next day, then continue to knockout into another FV. The next day we just knockout 12bbls into the FV with the prop. Never noticed any neg affects. Although, we have an ave OG of 13 or so; I'm not so sure I'd try that with 20+ plato wort. You may want to just dilute with chilled brewing liquor. I believe 10P is optimal for growing yeast.

Also, Wyeast has some good info on their website about prop'ing yeast, as far as proper gravities and wort amounts.

Hope that's helpful!

[gitchegumee]

"Brewing Yeast and Fermentation" by Boulton and Quain. Might want to read this one before declaring White's book hands down winner. It's quite good. Anyway, we propagate from smack packs into 10 liters, then up following Brancid's general technique. Works well, but you have to have your logistics figured out. Also helps to have your sample valves installed at 10% of fermenter volume as a kind of gauge. When wort comes out the sample valve, you have your propagation volume. Switch to other fermenter.