I started using and storing yeast slants about a years or so ago but it's only now that I'm going back and using some of the first ones that I made. They are such a great way to store yeast in the medium to long term.
I'm brewing a beer using the Brewlabs Sussex strain, reputedly from Harvey's Brewery. The yeast slant was first used about 11 months ago when I washed the slant out with wort to make a starter. I didn't immediately bin the slant and noticed that the yeast quickly recolonised the slant so I put it back in the fridge where it sat for 11 months. This is by no means standard practice but shows how well they work as a means of storing yeast.
I dug it out yesterday and made a small 250ml starter with 1.020 wort. From this faint smear of yeast cells I now have a distinct layer of yeast at the bottom of the starter. I'm about to step up to 600ml of 1.040 wort and for safety's sake due to the long dormant period I'm going to step up again to 1.5L in a few days time.
OK the aren't quite as convenient as a fresh vial of yeast from the homebrew shop but as a way of storing fresh yeast they are superb. They allow me to store half a dozen strains without worrying about them dying on me.
Preparing the slants was straightforward if a little fiddly and an hour or so's work which I won't have to repeat for a couple of years.
I thoroughly recommend slanting yeast for anyone who likes to keep multiple strains of fresh yeast but doesn't brew every week.
I'm brewing a beer using the Brewlabs Sussex strain, reputedly from Harvey's Brewery. The yeast slant was first used about 11 months ago when I washed the slant out with wort to make a starter. I didn't immediately bin the slant and noticed that the yeast quickly recolonised the slant so I put it back in the fridge where it sat for 11 months. This is by no means standard practice but shows how well they work as a means of storing yeast.
I dug it out yesterday and made a small 250ml starter with 1.020 wort. From this faint smear of yeast cells I now have a distinct layer of yeast at the bottom of the starter. I'm about to step up to 600ml of 1.040 wort and for safety's sake due to the long dormant period I'm going to step up again to 1.5L in a few days time.
OK the aren't quite as convenient as a fresh vial of yeast from the homebrew shop but as a way of storing fresh yeast they are superb. They allow me to store half a dozen strains without worrying about them dying on me.
Preparing the slants was straightforward if a little fiddly and an hour or so's work which I won't have to repeat for a couple of years.
I thoroughly recommend slanting yeast for anyone who likes to keep multiple strains of fresh yeast but doesn't brew every week.
