Round 'Em Up, Cowboy!

That's right, folks- cue 'Happy Trails' and saddle up! We're yeast ranching!

I'm not particularly science-minded outside of brewing subjects, so I've spent the past several weeks reading up on yeast ranching techniques to build up a bank of commonly used strains. Homebrewers are a frugal bunch when it comes to our ingredients, and liquid yeast is expensive. An excellent write-up on HBT by FlyGuy described a process of freezing yeast in a glycerin solution for maximum long-term storage. It's actually a simple affair - but you have to work under sterile conditions to keep the strains pure and away from contamination.

I've successfully frozen two strains from recent batches: WLP400 and WLP013, but I discovered a problem: my freezer's defrost cycle was keeping the samples in constant flux. Over time, this freezing/refreezing will wreak havoc on the viability of the yeast. Some have recommended placing the vials in a small styrofoam cooler packed with ice packs to buffer against swinging temps, but this solution wasn't the most practical to me. Freezer space is at a premium, so I had to investigate other options.

The solution was simple! Using petri dishes and 8-dram vials and a media of 2% agar, 1.038 wort and yeast nutrient gave me maximum space potential and a new skill to perfect - making slants/plates and handling a nichrome inoculation loop to streak them.

It's also quite easy to grow yeast from a plate or slant.

My current library of yeast strains is:
WLP400
WLP013
WY1469
WY9097
WY1728

I'm always eager to swap strains, so get in touch!

Cheers for now.