Yeast starter or pitchable slurry

[Jivaro]

We have a 25bbl system, brew once a week and make about 1000bbl a year. We maintain two yeasts 1056 and 2124. If you were in my shoes would you buy a pitchable slurry or make a starter? Please explain.

-Jimbo

[Laughing Dog]

Either way repitch after you harvest yeast off of the previous batch its the only way you will make your yeast affordable

Luaghing Dog

[fullmoonwinery]

hi, i'm not sure i understand this thread 100%. please help.

up to now, i have been making starters from dried yeast. i make up 3x 20 liter batches of exactly the same recipe i use in the main tank, about 3 days ahead of pitching the main tank. i get the fermentation going in the starter batches and let the SG fall to about half the original, then i pitch into the main tank. fermentation in the main tank really kicks in in about 24 hrs.

so far this has worked fine but its a lot of work and requires buying new dried yeast every time.

now i have continuous production running with one tank every 2 weeks, i could take off some sediment or cider or both from the currently fermenting tank and simply pitch it into the new tank. this would take minutes of work vs. hours the other way, but do you think it would produce the same results?

i read that the yeast can loose it purity over time if old product is used to repitch new. is this true? if so, how many times would you reuse yeast from the previous tank before starting over with new yeast?

thanks, steve

[mmussen]

Well you're going to hear all sorts of answers as to how many times you can re-pitch before you need to get fresh yeast. I've worked in places that have gone as long as 13 generations before getting fresh yeast. But I've also worked where 8 was the absolute max.
I think it all depends on how well your yeast does, if all the numbers are in spec and not wandering, you can keep re-pitching you just need to keep a close eye on it.

[fullmoonwinery]

thanks. i was actually thinking sometime like 3 times so if the norm is somewhere like 8 to 13 then i think 3 or even 6 should be no problem at all

thanks, steve

[schlosser]

Beer vs Cider

Steve,

I would be careful in taking what people who are making beer and applying it to a cider. Beer has plenty of yeast nutrients which allow for repitching. Not sure of your process and recipes, but you may not have enough nutrients to repitch a healthy strain from a normal cider fermentation (without adding yeast nutrients).

Anyone with more experience with Cider may have a better opinion on the matter, but I wouldn't repitch until you had someone with cider experience tell you they've done it without issues.

Cheers,

Dave

[fullmoonwinery]

we add DAP, vit B1 and other nutrients anyhow so i think not a problem, but if ferm doesn't kick off at the usual rate i can always pitch another starter the old way

by the way, is it usual to use sediment from the bottom of the tank or cleanish beer from the main takeout port or a mixture of both?

thx