Harvest & Crop Yeast from Batches to Save Money
The Problem
You're buying fresh yeast for every single batch. At $50-100 per pitch for liquid yeast, your yeast costs are adding up fast. Meanwhile, you're dumping perfectly good yeast after every fermentation that could be reused for 5-10 more batches. You're literally pouring money down the drain because you don't have a system to track harvested yeast.
The Solution
BarSight's Harvest Yeast feature lets you collect yeast after batch completion and track it like inventory. Record which batch it came from, what generation it is, how much you harvested, and how much remains as you use it. Reuse house yeast strains for months, track generation numbers for quality control, and dramatically reduce yeast costs.
How to Use It
- Open a completed or fermenting batch
- Click Operations in the toolbar
- Select Harvest Yeast
- Enter harvest details:
- Yeast Strain: What strain you're harvesting (e.g., "WLP001 California Ale")
- Quantity: How much you collected (e.g., 500ml, 1L)
- Generation: Which generation this is (starts at 1, increments with each reuse)
- Harvest Date: When you collected it
- Notes: Storage location, viability observations, etc.
- Click Save Harvest
The harvested yeast appears in your Yeast Library. When you brew your next batch, assign harvested yeast instead of buying new. BarSight tracks remaining quantity and generation numbers automatically.
[SCREENSHOT: Harvest Yeast form showing strain, quantity, generation, date, and notes fields]
Pro Tip
Most brewers safely reuse yeast for 5-10 generations if handled properly. Track generation numbers carefully and watch for off-flavors or slow fermentation—signs it's time to start fresh. Your wallet and your beer quality will both thank you.
Learn More
Once you've harvested yeast, learn how to view your Harvested Yeast Library to see all available strains and generations. You can also discover how to track batch costs to calculate your savings from yeast reuse.