Building up harvested VOSS

[Craigerrr]

I hastily harvested some VOSS, there was so much hop debris it was hard to get much.
Could I do a big starter to grow this, and then get it back into a mason jar for future use? I have a 5000ml flask, so I could do a pretty big starter.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I'm guessing here, but I'm assuming it's about 150-200 mL of yeast/trub. If you assume the yeast makes up 20% (another guess) that would mean you had about 30 mL of yeast on the low end. Yeast density varies with strain, but a good number to use is @ 3-4 billion cells per mL. That would mean on the low end you have about 90 billion cells.

If you use a 2 liter starter at 1.036, you could end up potentially with @ 350 billion cells. With Voss yeast that's enough for two to three 21 liter (5 gallon) batches. You could do a larger starter, but it may need more than 24 hours to complete. You could then decant and store it in the mason jar for future use. The disadvantage of a larger starter is that the yeast may be in the jar too long, the fresher the yeast the better. You could propagate that yeast quite a while with just starters. Obviously sanitation is very important, but you knew that already. Good luck!

 

[AGbrewer]

I hastily harvested some VOSS, there was so much hop debris it was hard to get much.
Could I do a big starter to grow this, and then get it back into a mason jar for future use? I have a 5000ml flask, so I could do a pretty big starter.
View attachment 11696 View attachment 11697

I would probably go with @HighVoltageMan! and do a 2 liter starter. That sounds like reasonable advice.

I would say that with Voss (as I understand it), it is a very quick fermenting strain, so I wouldn't worry too much about it sitting in the starter too long.

Another thing to keep in mind is that without measuring yeast count, you really don't know what you have. It's kinda like relying on the airlock during a fermentation, just because it isn't bubbling, doesn't mean it's not working.

Either way, I suspect you will be just fine if you build it up. Good luck.

 

[Craigerrr]

Thanks guys
I think I might follow what some others do and start with a fresh package for my next brew, over build a starter from that, and save some from that for future use. It will end up cleaner, more predictable that way.

 

[thunderwagn]

Voss? You've got plenty there. Pitch some into your next batch and collect again. Kveik plays by a different set of rules and imo, if you're concerned about hop debris (i'm not) next time, run it through something to catch the debris for a cleaner yeast. Kveik takes off much quicker and chances of infection are slim. Go hit up some sites on the strains and brewers are not overly cautious about handling it. Good cleaning and sanitation are always a good thing, but you have to think differently when it comes to kveik. Just my opinion, but in that jar alone you've got enough for a couple batches. Kveik is usually way overpitched. Just my o2 and what I've found using it. Great stuff on Milk the Funk about kveik.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I've got a little for you if you'd like! haha!
Cheers!

 

[Craigerrr]

View attachment 11723
I've got a little for you if you'd like! haha!
Cheers!

 

[Hawkbox]

That's like 3 years worth of pitches.

 

[Craigerrr]

I decanted most of the beer, mixed it up good and pitched close to half of it into todays brew. I honestly would have normally used US-05 for the batch I brewed today, but I am getting low, need to get the pipeline filled up again. Planning to brew the next two weekends as well.

 

[Hawkbox]

So just as an aside regarding Voss, I somehow left my jar for 10 months in the fridge and when I built a new starter for it no problems at all.
It might not be the same culture as when I started but it took right off like nobodies business.