Yeast Cropping - Basics

Yeast Cropping (Harvesting, Repitching) Basics

When most brewers are starting out, they rely on dry yeast cultures for the bulk of production. Dry yeast is very easy to use, and affordable to the point that it does not need to be reused. However, as breweries and brewers grow, they often find themselves seeking out the wider range of flavours available through liquid yeast cultures, or the other benefits of liquid yeast slurry reuse such as faster and more reliable fermentations.

Why should I reuse my yeast? 

Reusing yeast presents possible benefits to both the brewer and the owner. The most obvious reason to reuse yeast is to reduce the cost of each brew. There are several other practical benefits to reusing yeast within the brewery - many yeast strains exhibit increased fermentation performance, flocculation, and enhanced flavour compound production when reused (repitched). Many brewers find that a yeast pitch "settles in" to the brewery and improves performance when it is repitched a few times. 

More Information 

We have a Blog Post titled A Practical Guide to Yeast Repitching covering yeast cropping and repitching step-by-step. 

Counting your yeast is the next big step up after you start repitching. Check out our Blog Post on yeast cell counting to get you off on the right track! 

Prefer video/audio? See our YouTube video from the Yeast Basics Part 2 Series: