How to regrow yeast from stubbies...

[MagooMan]

Hey fellas.....just wondering if someone can either guive me a quick step by step guide ( or point me to a relevant thread ) on how to reuse the dregs of stubbies to make a yeast for homebrew? And also If they can tell me which brands are suitable for doing this...i am wary of buying some weird arse foreign beer only to discover that the yeast is totally dead. I would like to use a german or belgian yeast....

[Mackers]

Morning Magoo, my technique with Coopers is this:

1) Carefully poor out Coopers Sparkiling Ale into glass, leaving dregs in stubby. Replace cap. Drink beer.

2) Carefully poor out Coopers Sparkiling Ale into glass, pour dregs into the first stubby. Replace cap. Drink beer.

3) Carefully poor out Coopers Sparkiling Ale into glass, pour dregs into the first stubby. Replace cap. Drink beer.

4) ...as above as many times as you wish.

5) Add one tablespoon of dry malt to one cup of water, boil for 3 minutes, allow to cool to under 30C. I judge this with my hand. If it feels warm it's too hot.

6) Add to stubby, replace cap, shake like mad to aerate the "wort".

7) Shake occassionally over the next day or so. Keep stubby in war place (on top of my fridge in the house works for me).

The Coopers yeast will develop a head when it takes off. I recently did a Little Creatures one which didn't develop a head but really frothed up when shaken. Release cap occasionally to release pressure.

9) Add to brew. Let it alone for a day or so, don't be too tempted to check it because it will probably take a bit longer to fire up than a packet yeast.

10) After bottling brew, take a couple of Vegemite jars of the sediment, store in fridge, and throw in next brew. They'll fire up quicker because there is more of it.

Enjoy!

[gregb]

4) ...as above as many times as you wish.

Or as you can...

Cheers,
Greg

[chris.]

http://www.whitelabs.com/search.asp

[shane_vor]

I've also successfully 'cultured' (if that's the word), yeast from Chimay Blue and, after ordering and using the Whitelabs Abbey Yeast, can say they are the very same (probably) yeast. I did it from only one stubbie at a time, using the above method but also with an air lock and stepping it up as the yeasties grew.

It's nice to grow your own but crikey it's easier to buy it!

[chris.]

It's nice to grow your own but crikey it's easier to buy it!

& safer too sometimes IMO

[da_damage_done]

10) After bottling brew, take a couple of Vegemite jars of the sediment, store in fridge, and throw in next brew. They'll fire up quicker because there is more of it.

Hi Mackers

Couple of questions
1) Will one full vegimite glass be enough?
2) Should a starter be prepared with the sediment or do you just chuck it in?
3) What sort of fridge life has the yeast got?
4) Can this method have any adverse effects on the beer?

Thanks

[Mackers]

ddd,

1) I normally take a couple of vegemite jar fulls from the first sediment. Don't screw the lid on tightly, I've been advised, in case there is still some fermentation going on.

2) I just bring the jar up to room temperature prior to making the beer, then throw it in.

3) I've kept it for several months without problems. It seems to last in the bottom of a beer bottle for at least a year so I don't expect there would be any problems.

4) Not that I'm aware of. You are throwing some dead yeast in your new brew, too, with the live. The yeast slowly changes (towards its wild forebears) with each brew so I've never taken any from subsequent brews.

[da_damage_done]

thanks!

[Oliver]

Check out this: http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/howtobrew.html#STARTER

Cheers,

Oliver