I've been thinking for awhile about starting to propagate & store yeast strains to be able to have whatever strain I want to use on hand & to be able to try some different ones that aren't commercially available. Is anyone propagating their own yeast & storing it long term?
I'm thinking of starting with a few commercial yeasts & isolating the single yeast cell & growing it out on a petri dish to then store it long term in the freezer. I've stored dried yeast this way but unsure if the yeast will survive in viable numbers if they are on a petri dish with agar. Or is there a better way to store the yeast? (Eg test tube with gelatin or similar?)
Then one they have been isolated I'll need to work out the best way to grow them out into a usable size without getting infection etc. This will be done by taking a small amount of the yeast from storage & growing it up in a low gravity, sterilised wort (say 20ml @ 1.01 gravity) & gradually building it up in size & strength until I have a useful starter.
Anyone got any advice or thoughts on this whole process? The main part will be making sure I can store the yeast long term & keep it viable without it dieing & keeping everything sterile while growing the yeast as when using a low number of cells it is too easy to get it infected or taken over by another strain.
Cheers guys