February 2025

Trivia can be a fun way to learn about new topics, and also show off your knowledge of random facts. It seems as though almost every brewery now offers a weekly trivia night, and I’m all for it! It might even be the best excuse to go drink with friends, because you’re also learning. If you ever need some trivia partners, ask around the club. I’m sure there are others who would be more than happy to join in on a trivia night at a local brewery.

Monthly Meeting

• Date: February 15th

• Time: 11 am – 12 pm

• Location: Old 121 Brewhouse

• Address: 1057 S Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood, CO 80226

February’s meeting will focus on fermentation trivia! Everyone will be randomly assigned to a team, and teams will compete in a fun and educational fermentation trivia contest. For each question, we’ll take a moment to discuss its educational aspects, ensuring we’re growing and learning together as a group.

Each member of the winning team will receive a special prize!

Can’t wait to see you all there!

White Elephant Quarterly Challenge

If you were unable to attend our December meeting and would like to participate, email lakewoodfermentationclub@gmail.com, we will randomly assign you an ingredient that you have to incorporate into your fermentation.

Education Corner

Re-using Yeast Slurries

As a brewing Ethos, I try to make the best beer, in the simplest, least expensive way possible. I started re-using my yeast years ago. Back then I would “wash” my yeast (which really isn’t washing yeast but is often called this), where I’d mix distilled water into a yeast slurry, let the water/yeast and trub separate, and save off the separated yeast for further use.  The problem for me is that it required work and the separating process was a potential additional contamination point. 

Since then, I’ve simplified my process, to match my brewing Ethos. I’ll pour a yeast slurry into Nalgene bottles (that are cleaned and sanitized) and just place this into my frig. A few tips and tricks and rules of thumb:

• Over a couple days, the finished beer that made it into the slurry will float to the top of the container. When I pitch the yeast into my next brew, I decant this.

• You don’t have to use Nalgene containers. Use something that has measurements (mason jars, for example). 

• One ML of yeast slurry is approx 2 billion yeast cells.  So when pitching, I just estimate my yeast needed.

• Date the container and look up yeast vitality over time use in your calculations (and I generally over pitch a bit, for insurance, by 20-25%).

• Don’t worry about SRM (you can use darker SRM slurry into a lighter SRM and vice versa).

• Don’t do hoppy into non-hoppy (unless you just don’t care that you’ll pick up some bitterness). Probably best not to re-use yeast if the beer was dry hopped.

• Generally, don’t reuse yeast where the gravity is over 1.070.

• Try to use the yeast sooner than later. For example, don’t go 6 months without using it, because the yeast won’t have good vitality.