We have obviously spent a TON of time talking about yeast in brewing school. In Chicago we spent an entire week only talking about yeast. 

Today we actually did some hands on propagation techniques. I had always thought that a stir plate was the best way to propagate yeast at home, but they were saying their research showed a shaker plate was actually more effective and less vulnerable to infection.

We also got to see Doemens' yeast database that stores over a hundred yeast strains. Pretty impressive. There are a couple I am thinking about trying to bring back with me.