Yeast Brink vs. Yeast Propagation: What's the Difference?

Running a brewery means understanding the ins and outs of harvesting and re-pitching yeast for reuse in later batches. Trying to use new yeast every single time you brew isn’t just bad from a financial standpoint; it also means you won’t get a consistent product, and you waste a lot of perfectly good yeast. Propagating yeast and storing it properly for later use is crucial to breweries of all sizes. We’ll explore the difference between yeast brinks and yeast propagation to better understand how to use yeast effectively.

What Does a Yeast Brink Do?

A yeast brink is a storage tank that brewers use to keep yeast safe before use in the next fermentation process. More specifically, yeast brinks are designed to allow the brewer to fully control the temperature and environment for the yeast until it’s time to brew again. Keeping the yeast at the right temperature aids in propagation, as well. Most yeast brinks use a cooling agent like glycol to enable precise temperature control.

What Is Yeast Propagation?

When we think about yeast, we may think of it in terms of fermentation processes. Unlike the fermentation process where yeast creates ethanol, propagation focuses on increasing the yeast’s biomass volume. A brewer can use a dedicated yeast propagator to help develop healthy yeast. Using a propagator like this allows the brewer to reuse yeast, making it far more cost effective in the long term.

When Do You Need One Over the Other?

Now that we better understand yeast brinks and yeast propagators let’s learn their differences. As we mentioned, yeast brinks carefully maintain an internal environment so that the yeast will not activate. This equipment essentially puts yeast in stasis. Propagators, on the other hand, give the yeast the right environment to reproduce and create more biomass. Dedicated propagators can be very useful for brewers who can’t re-pitch yeast due to extended time in between batches. Propagators also give brewers the ability to experiment with multiple different yeast strains.

No matter what size brewery you run, a yeast brink tank can lower your expenses significantly. Craftmaster Stainless specializes in creating yeast brink tanks that will allow you to have exact control over the storage of your yeast.