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Propagation Troester way

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  • Propagation Troester way

    Found this linked to one of the online yeast calculators. Seem like the man has some kind of academic background but my reading in the subject is limited. Wonder if anyone here hooked on yeast would like to comment on it. If it has any wisdom in it it would sure revolutionize my yeast handling. Downside for me is that I have no possibility to count yeast and live in an area where yeast labs do not exist. And ordering a pitchable amount yeast clearly makes an impact on budget. Sure, we reuse our strain but it would be nice to be able to restart a culture in a doable way and to use other strains.

  • #2
    I think it (estimating cell growth based on fermentable extract) is a valid technique. At a minimum I would think you'd need to do at least one calibration count per strain and per propagation technique, to at least get in the ballpark. Otherwise you're just guessing, and even with a single strain the variances in Troester's data are larger than I would be comfortable with. Better just to measure slurry by volume and eyeball the cell density, IMHO.

    Why can't you do cell counts?
    Sent from my Microsoft Bob

    Beer is like porn. You can buy it, but it's more fun to make your own.
    seanterrill.com/category/brewing | twomilebrewing.com

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    • #3
      Well, there is no personal impairment or anything, just that I at the moment lack a microscope...

      One other thing I was thinking of. Our house yeast is a really flocculant one. Would it be difficult to count cells in that kind of culture?
      Last edited by J&B; 05-14-2013, 10:22 AM.

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      • #4
        Agree with previous post. The issue is that cell growth is going to be highly dependent on getting them air; if you don't get the yeast enough O2 while they are growing (and they need a lot) then you'll lose out on some growth.

        I'd say propagate how you can and make sure you get the approximate volume of yeast you need by eyeballing it. You can make it really complicated but that takes time, money, and some knowhow.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by J&B View Post
          One other thing I was thinking of. Our house yeast is a really flocculant one. Would it be difficult to count cells in that kind of culture?
          In my experience it doesn't make much of a difference. Even agitating by hand, it's easy to re-suspend a small sample. One thing that might help is to dilute with wort instead of water. Most strains will de-flocculate rapidly once they're in wort.

          Keep an eye on eBay and you should be able to get a decent scope and cytometer for <$100. Once you have your procedures down, it takes maybe 15 minutes to do a triplet of counts and viability stains (though the staining is probably unnecessary if it's a fresh harvest). Once you have a feel for cell densities using your house strain, you can probably just go to a monthly or quarterly spot-check, but I feel like pitching rates are so important for consistency that it's worth the small amount of labor each time.
          Sent from my Microsoft Bob

          Beer is like porn. You can buy it, but it's more fun to make your own.
          seanterrill.com/category/brewing | twomilebrewing.com

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