Saving/Reusing wild yeast

[mickgall]

Hi all, I'm just about to rack off a batch of strawberry wine, which I let do a wild yeast ferment. If it's ok I'm hoping to reuse the yeast, any ideas how best to store the yeast until I'm ready to use it.

 

[Redbird1]

I started as a homebrewer and I've saved yeast in the past since liquid yeast can be fairly pricey. All I really do is rinse a portion of the yeast using boiled/cooled water, let it separate, decant most of the liquid portion, and store the remainder in a mason jar which goes in the fridge. I then create a starter using the yeast prior to pitching it in a new batch. Lots of articles and videos out there on how to rinse it. Take a gander and see which method you think would work best for you.

Others use more sophisticated processes, but I've had luck just rinsing and reusing within a couple months.

 

[mickgall]

Thanks for that Redbird

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi all, I'm just about to rack off a batch of strawberry wine, which I let do a wild yeast ferment. If it's ok I'm hoping to reuse the yeast, any ideas how best to store the yeast until I'm ready to use it.

Apologies, mickgall, if this appears to be hijacking your post. Not my intention. I am curious. The wild yeast you used - was this from the strawberries you fermented or from some other source and how did you grow the culture? In other words, did you harvest the yeast from strawberries (or some other fruit or flowers) and then grow that culture before pitching the culture to ferment your berries or did you simply allow the strawberries to ferment with the yeast on the fruit - and so allowed the fermentation to take as long as it might? Did the wild yeast ferment the wine dry or did they give up the ghost with much residual sugar remaining?
I ask because I am currently trying to capture wild yeast from plums, figs (dried), raspberries, peaches, raw honey to see what they do for honey wine (mead) and cider

 

[mickgall]

Hello Bernard
I haven't harvested the yeast yet, it's still in the must at the bottom of the second ferment. If its any good, I was just going to pitch it into the next batch of wine I make which will be in about one weeks time but was wondering how to store it for a while in case I don't use it, was thinking of putting some of the must into a jug, covering it with cling film and putting into the fridge.

 

[mickgall]

I'm also going to try a wild yeast made from sloe's which will be ready here in my part of the UK in a few weeks, I've also planted some junipers in the garden and I'm hoping to use the berries from them when they are ready, although that might be a while yet.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hello Bernard
I haven't harvested the yeast yet, it's still in the must at the bottom of the second ferment. If its any good, I was just going to pitch it into the next batch of wine I make which will be in about one weeks time but was wondering how to store it for a while in case I don't use it, was thinking of putting some of the must into a jug, covering it with cling film and putting into the fridge.

I would use mason jars and use both cling film and their sealing caps. If the solution the yeast is in is free of sugar I suspect that at fridge temperatures the yeast will go dormant and they can be safely stored for a few months, although I suspect that you will need to create a new starter to revive them to full viability before you use them to inoculate a fresh batch of wine or mead..

 

[mickgall]

Thanks for that Bernard