is there any way of telling along the way if the harvested yeast/liquid has become contaminated? I'd hate to get a starter going for my next batch and throw in bad stuff to the batch. I also notice a very little amount of grains at the bottom of the jars. I don't think it's enough to worry about.
Not without a microscope and some microbio skills. You could add hops to your starter to kill any lacto that might be there but probably isn't.
Do you practice good sanitization? Have you had any infected batches? If not I wouldn't worry about it. If you are concerned just buy a new vial. $7 for piece of mind is worth it.
(Knock on wood) I've never had a batch become contaminated. I made sure to spray my bucket many times while I was transferring to secondary. I would feel comfortable in saying I use more starsan than is probably needed.
Good sanitation is paramount. Otherwise, it's not allowed to look like this In less you're going for a sour, of course. A small taste from the top won't hurt you. You'd be tasting a flat cold beer with minimal hops, (if you made a starter). It's not going to taste great, but you might be able to tell if it has lacto or acetobacter by a tangy or vinegar taste.
I've never had an infection from harvested yeast. Just make sure you sanitize everything that touches the yeast in your process. I am curious how you got grain in your yeast, though? I have never had grain get into the fermentor before.
I had some grain get into the boiling pot and didn't use a strainer when I poured into the fermenter. 1st time I've never used a strainer and the last.
Alot of folks are harvesting from their starters...with proper sanitation if the beer is good you'd think the harvested would be also...
Good point, but the only issue i have is that I'm usually pitching my harvested yeast before the mother batch is really ready. But by now I really never worry, since I've had one infected batch in ten years of brewing. I think a lot of new brewers get the infection paranoia bug.
I don't think that I'd say that I'm paranoid about my batches going bad because I've practice overkill on my sanitation and actually waste a lot of starsan since I use too much. I just didn't know if you could tell if the yeast was contaminated or not.
Beer and yeast infection are one in the same. The only easy way to find out if your yeast is infected, is to keep an eye on your beer and see if it is infected. If your beer is fine than the yeast you made it with is fine.
I have quite a bit of my us-05 that I harvested in the fridge. There is a small amount of water with a lot of yeast. The other day, I noticed that there was yeast towards the top of the mason jar on the sides and on the surface. Well, I looked at it just now and apparently there is a mini fermentation going on here because my lid has a good dent where the pressure has made it give. Do I need to put it in the freezer over night and put it back in the fridge? I don't really know what I'd like to do with this yeast anyway, I was trying to learn a new technique to save a few dollars, (not that it's much). How would I even know how much of the yeast to pour for a different batch?
Man...It's US05...don't harvest that...keep a dry pack of US05 in bottom of the fridge for the strange day when your starter tastes off...and enjoy the results...US05 ROCKS...
