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Only use a full cake if you're doing a very high gravity beer. For a normal beer it's too much.

The calculators say around 100g (or ml) of trub is enough for a typical 20L brew, so just put that amount in a sterilised jar and put it in the fridge ready for your next brew. When it's time to use it it will have well settled so just pour the surplus beer in the jar down the sink before pitching.

Keep trub from light beers for light beers, and the trub from stout etc for dark beers. This is for colour mainly, but also for flavour.

I don't wash yeast as I don't see the benefit, and it risks infection.

Don't mix cakes, as there's no need, and it also risks infection. As well as that it mixes the light beer/dark beer thing up.

Hey Shane (thanks for dropping down the cornies - pity I didn't get a chance to meet you in person !)

thanks for that - I guess sterilizing a jar & keeping a little for future brews is not too bad - as an aside If I was intending on doing a high grav beer - how long could I just leave the unwashed cake in the fv before it would spoil

You're welcome!

I don't really know how long to leave in it the fermenter but I wouldn't leave it longer than a day or two at room temperature with no beer on top of it.

It's probably a better idea to leave the beer sitting on it for a few extra days and move it to secondary when you're ready to use the cake.

You find this site[/url:114u6psp] helpful,Damien.
It is recommended to make up a starter from slurry that has been in the fridge for more than a couple of weeks, although I've used stuff almost 2 months old and got away with it (no harm in knowing best practice though)
If I was leaving a yeast cake in a FV for re use I'd leave a little beer on top and seal the FV as well as I could, in fact I dont think I'd do it at all.
I still think a full yeast cake is over pitching by a good bit.
Mr. malty recommends only 215ml of slurry (medium thickness)for a 5 Imperial gallon batch with an OG of 1.110.
It is beneficial to allow for a growth phase with the yeast.

"Spud 395":1sxzy97o wrote: I still think a full yeast cake is over pitching by a good bit.
Mr. malty recommends only 215ml of slurry (medium thickness)for a 5 Imperial gallon batch with an OG of 1.110.
It is beneficial to allow for a growth phase with the yeast.[/quote:1sxzy97o]
US-05 doesn't leave a very big cake, unlike S-04. I don't think I'd get much more than 200ml for an average pale ale.

thanks guys - something to keep in mind for my next brew !!
yeah the 05 seemed to have a thin layer alright, think I may have used 04 on a previous brew - I seem to recall a thicker cake on that one