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[lmo506]

So I thought I would start making beer to save $ 
And I thought I would start a slant yeast bank to save $
So anyway my question is , if I'm going to use a slant and said beer recipe calls for say 400 B cells. How do I know when I got it stepped up to 400B

Thanks in advance
Leonard

[Chris Craig]

That's a tough question to answer.  Looking at Jamil's "Yeast" book on pg 143, there is a propagation table. 

To get 400B cells, you'd need to make a 4L starter using 2 smack packs.  The trick is that the correlation between the initial amount of yeast and the the amount of starter you make is not linear. 

You'll need to make a small starter of about 250ml of 1.040 wort for your slant.  Ferment that on a stir plate for 24 hours, then add that to 500ml of 1.040 wort and ferment another 24 hours.  Double like that every 24 hours until you have 4L.  You'll have in the area of the 400B (healthy) cells you're looking for.

You need to be extremely careful to keep everything sanitary though.  And ferment at about 20 - 22C.

Hope that helps.

[lmo506]

Thanks Chris,
that's a start.

[Chris Craig]

It's important to note that if you try to pitch your small slant into too much wort, it's just as bad as trying to pitch too small a starter into your precious wort.

I really recommend "Yeast".  It's a fantastic reference.

[brew]

Yeah the book is excellent...

[Waterlogged]

Is that book in the club library?  Is there a club library?

[Chris Craig]

Is that book in the club library?  Is there a club library?

We don't have a library as of yet.  In fact, I don't think we've even really talked about it.

[jamie_savoie]

I really recommend "Yeast".  It's a fantastic reference.

A must have imo.  By far the best one out of the 3 brewing elements books so far.

Leonard, have you tried saving and repitching your slurry?  It’s a great way to save a few bucks without investing in lab equipment. 
http://www.mrmalty.com/ is a good tool too

[jamie_savoie]

http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing/brewing-beer/saving-homebrew-money-with-your-yeast/

[Jake]

I remember a couple years back, Thomas (our yeast guy) did a session at Ian's house on how to properly handle/harvest yeast. A very useful session indeed.

I don't do this all that often, but want to start re-using my yeast going forward.