A Simple 7 BBL Yeast Brink

We have a lot of videos on Youtube that are so poorly made, but still have a lot of good information. One I think about in particular, is on yeast harvesting and re-pitching into a fermenter using a bucket and ladle. Man, talk about opening up the floodgates with folks telling me about possible infection exposure, etc. I will say however doing it this simple way, we have never had that problem.

That being said, let me explain the other method we use. We have made our own yeast brink so that yeast harvest and re-pitching can be done in a closed system. All you need is a Corny keg, and someone who can do a little sanitary stainless welding.

First, with the Corny keg, simply remove the spear from inside the keg. It comes right out. Next buy a butt-weld tri-clamp ferrule and have someone weld it on to the bottom side of the keg. Then, add a sanitary ball valve to the tri-clamp. That’s it.

To harvest your yeast, clean and sanitize the keg. Also use about a five-foot length of clear transfer hose that has also been sanitized. After pulling off the first yeast from your conical fermenter, attach your transfer hose to your yeast brink, and open the top pressure relief valve on top of the keg to allow air to escape. Set the keg on a scale, so as you fill the keg with yeast, you know about how much is in there. I like to leave at least 30% head space in the keg so the yeast can expand.

I make up a clear gas line hose that attaches to the gas inlet of the keg. It has a male quick connect on the other end. When I harvest the yeast, I store the brink in the beer cooler with the gas line attached to the keg, and the other end sitting in a small bucket of water. This is my blow-off tube, just like in my fermenters to allow co2 to escape but lock out any air from getting back into the keg.

When it’s time to pitch the yeast into another brew, after determining how much to add, I simply set the keg on a scale and have the transfer hose going from the brink to a tee on the outlet of the heat exchanger. The gas tube to the brink is now used to connect to a co2 line to pressurize the brink.

When transferring wort to the fermenter, I can now slowly open the valve from the brink, and allow the yeast to flow into the line from the heat exchanger to the fermenter. I know how much yeast I am pitching because I am watching the scale that the brink is sitting on.

The yeast has never seen the light of day! I always do a yeast cell count and viability as well to know how much yeast I need to add to a brew, but that explanation is for another day. This may not be as easy as a stainless bucket and a ladle, but it will make the microbiologist part of your brain happier.

If you have any questions let me know.