Yeast from bottles

[Gill]

Hi guys,
I've been reading a bit about yeast (starters, culturing, etc.).

The way I understand, the yeast stays alive in the bottle, even long after bottling, and can then be saved from the dregs and reused up to about 5 times (for good yeasts). Have I understood this correctly? And how long can one presume yeast will survive after bottling (I assume the yeast in the bottles from Oliver & Geoff's millennium ale will be long dead by the end).

I also understand most breweries filter the beer so people cannot steal yeasts, however coopers does not.. Is this also right?

Can one ferment a beer using the dregs of a coopers bottle (after stepping up and following the recommended procedures)? And is this a good idea, are they good yeasts?

[emnpaul]

The way I understand, the yeast stays alive in the bottle, even long after bottling, and can then be saved from the dregs and reused up to about 5 times (for good yeasts). Have I understood this correctly? And how long can one presume yeast will survive after bottling (I assume the yeast in the bottles from Oliver & Geoff's millennium ale will be long dead by the end).

If stored correctly, which includes shipping, point of sale etc, yeast should be viable for 12 months or more. I've cultured Coopers yeast from 18 month old home brew with good results. You can use it as many times as you like, until it mutates or gets infected. It depends how good your sanitation and temp control is. The preferred method is to culture up a big starter and then split it into smaller tubes or stubbies and then run them up as starters when required.

I also understand most breweries filter the beer so people cannot steal yeasts, however coopers does not.. Is this also right?

It's not stealing. Coopers sell theirs at bottle shops. It comes with free beer and re-usable bottle. (If you buy the longneck.) Most commercial beers are pastuerised, to kill bacteria and also yeast, and then artificially carnbonated.

Can one ferment a beer using the dregs of a coopers bottle (after stepping up and following the recommended procedures)? And is this a good idea, are they good yeasts?

Great Idea! Excellent yeast, Cooper's. I've made thirty odd batches with it and it's still my favourite!

This thread has become my yeast farming bible: http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... f=2&t=8705

Cheers
Paul

[Gill]

Well if that's so I'd call it a steal. Any advice on temp control? I typically drink cooper's pale ale, so that would most likely be where I would start.

Read through that thread, its simple and easy
I found a few other, more detailed and scientific, articles. They helped my understanding but were a bit beyond what I would like to achieve at this point in time (slants, plates, etc.). I don't need to store yeast for long periods of time.

[emnpaul]

As far as Pale Ale goes, it's ironic that Cooper's best selling beer is my least favourite.

I can't give you much advice on how to clone it, as I've never tried myself. I've read, and tend to believe, that they pitch a large quantity of their commercial yeast and ferment at 16 degrees to get that clean Pale Ale flavour.

Likewise, I've never had a need to look at slanting or any advance techniques like that. I was in the habit of building up a starter from a tallie or two of Sparkling Ale or Stout and reusing the yeast cake a couple of times before starting the cycle again. "Yeast purchasing" gave me an excuse (with SWMBO) to buy Coopers and also build up my bottle collection.

Cheers
Paul

[Oliver]

Hi Gilly,

You'll find that there are many, many bottle-conditioned beers out there. Many of the Australian microbreweries and quite a few British breweries bottle condition their beers. Little Creatures is so named because there is live yeast ("little creatures") in its beers.

The trick is, however, to know whether the same yeast is used to bottle-condition the beer as was used to ferment it. Some breweries will ferment the beer with one yeast, filter or pasturise it then bottle condition with a different yeast.

Here is a link that might be useful to identify beers that are bottle-conditioned: http://www.nada.kth.se/~alun/Beer/Bottle-Yeasts/

By the way, I believe that Coopers actually uses a method called kräusening, which involves adding some fermenting wort to the beer before it's bottled, rather than adding priming sugar. At least that's what they used to do in the "good old days" at Leabroook

Cheers,

Oliver