I then started washing yeast and saving it in the fridge in mason jars. While this worked fine I found myself constantly messing with the yeast and having the fridge full of mason jars. I then read this thread on homebrewtalk and it looked like exactly what I was looking for. For the last couple years I have been slanting my yeast and have been able to store a large amount of different strains within a relatively small area.
I also have had good results slanting yeast from commercial dregs. I recently collected yeast from a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja 2012 that I slanted and sent one of them to Bootleg Biology for them to research and re-use if they wish. I am excited to hear their results and try some of the yeast they currently have on hand.
It then is a pretty easy process to select the strain I would like to use and propagate it up to a usable size.
Yeast Slant ready to use
Small amount of pressure canned wort added to slant. I let this sit until I see activity, usually 24 hours.
That small amount of liquid is then added to a 250ml flask with more pressure canned wort and put on the stir plate until high krausen.
High krausen, 24 hours later
I then add this to a 1000ml flask and let it rip till I am ready to brew. If necessary I will then step it up one more time to 2000ml.
Kind of like a wacky science experiment with a cool by product... I really enjoy reading about your process but enjoy sampling even more!
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