Yeasts are micro-organisms used in brewing to produce alcohol during the process of fermentation.
5
votes
2answers
660 views
Starter Chill, Decant, Pitch - Why no problem with Temp Shock?
So an often repeated mantra for starters is to (1) make a starter, (2) let it ferment out completely, (3) chill the starter in the fridge for a day or two, then (4) pour/decant off the oxidized "beer" ...
5
votes
3answers
539 views
How do I know if I should repitch at bottling?
My strongest homebrew batch to date is now in secondary, and I'm looking ahead to bottling.
My O.G. was 1.072, and I think there's a reasonable chance that the final alcohol content will be 8% A.B.V. ...
5
votes
1answer
101 views
Preparing Yeast
I've been reading the How To Brew book, and it (amongst other sites) recommends rehydrating yeast before pitching it.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html
Some sites suggest adding a ...
5
votes
1answer
548 views
Fermenter Heating Belt
Is it worth using? I was thinking of getting one to use on my first fermenter for a german weissbier so that the yeast flavour and aroma is more present in the final result. By how many degrees does ...
5
votes
7answers
459 views
Chilling wort before pitching yeast
I know it is important to chill wort to <80 before pitching yeast, and that quality of final beer is affected by the speed with which the wort was chilled to this point, and there are various ...
5
votes
2answers
168 views
oxygen and yeast pitching rates
Many online references, such as BYO, mention that oxygen is needed by yeast to reproduce, and that a wort with low dissolved oxygen levels will have longer lag times and less attenuation.
This might ...
5
votes
3answers
735 views
What happens when you push a yeast near its alcohol tolerance?
I'm brewing with Wyeast's West Yorkshire Ale yeast, which has a documented alcohol tolerance of 9%.
I'd like to push that boundary by brewing an 8.5% ale and wonder what to expect. Common sense says ...
4
votes
4answers
476 views
First Time Brewing…am I doing it right?
So I went to my local brewing store, and got a starter kit. It came with a 7 gallon fermenter, a siphon tube, a floating thermometer, bottle caper, bottle caps, bottle scrubber, and sanitizer.
By the ...
4
votes
4answers
416 views
Yeast , dead or alive?
G'day , how long after the fermentation has finished does the yeast live ? I am curious because not only is it the cost of the yeast but if you find a particular strain and you like the taste ( ...
4
votes
2answers
662 views
Yeast for very high gravity (1.138) stout
I'm planning to brew a very high gravity stout. I'm expecting an OG between about 1.118 and 1.138 depending on how much my efficiency suffers. I've done this before with decent results, but I think I ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
Is there a technique which prevents the deposit of sediment at the bottom of bottles?
Every beer I've brewed and have seen done by others has had a sediment form at the bottom of the bottles.
Is there some common mistake that I and others are making which is causing this to happen?
...
4
votes
5answers
2k views
Can I heat a starter in an erlenmeyer flask on an electric stove?
My dad found an old Kimax (26500) 1000mL Erlenmeyer flask that has been in his attic for the last 30 or so years and gave it to me. I'd like to start using this to make starters, in conjunction with ...
4
votes
3answers
857 views
Do yeast die after bottling?
Do yeast die after bottling?
My second batch of beer have been stored in bottles over a month now without producing any co2.
I want to add some priming sugar to start the fermentation again, but I'm ...
4
votes
2answers
321 views
Yeast Starter with Corn Sugar?
Anyone try making a yeast starter with Corn Sugar instead of DME? If so what proportions of corn sugar did you use? I am planning on brewing a high gravity stout, and don't have any DME for the ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Can I use wine yeast to ferment beer?
Can I use wine yeast to ferment a beer? What sort of problems might I encounter that are unique to wine yeast trying to ferment malt sugars? What sort of flavor differences might I encounter?
4
votes
2answers
274 views
Temperature conditions for saving cropped yeast?
What is an ideal environment for saving yeast I have harvested from my fermentation vessels?
The lowest survivable temperature? Highest?
I recently found the top of my fridge to be too cold when I ...
4
votes
2answers
206 views
Looking for a relatively low attenuating yeast with distinct Belgian flavors.
I'm working on a recipe for a Baltic porter but would like to ferment it with a stran that produces distinct belgian flavors. The problem is that most of your belgian strains are too high attenuating. ...
4
votes
2answers
330 views
How much yeast do i need for 1bbl batches?
We are planning on brewing 1bbl batches, but we are kind of stuck on how much yeast we need. We contacted White Labs but their 1bbl pitchable yeast is way too expensive. I want to know what would be ...
4
votes
3answers
226 views
What does high attentuation actually mean in terms of types of sugar fermented?
So, when I fermented a cider it ended up very dry. I used champagne yeast and only added pure glucose. I then added lactic sugar since I knew that wasn't fermentable by the yeast I used.
I also have ...
4
votes
3answers
354 views
What yeasts are good for summer brewing?
I decided last night that fermentation temperature control was not a priority for me (minimizing brew time and moving to kegs are ahead of it). I have a basement that stays pretty cool, and four ...
4
votes
4answers
959 views
Salvaging flat beer?
I recently brewed a Schneider Aventus clone and the end result was a flat beer. I missed a step in the instructions to add a fresh dose of yeast a few days before bottling so I'm assuming that this is ...
4
votes
2answers
176 views
Negative effects of Wyeast American Ale 1056 turning slightly slushy in fridge
I received a pack of Wyeast American Ale yesterday and popped it into the back of my fridge only to find this morning that it may have partially turned slushy from the (evidently) colder area in the ...
4
votes
2answers
344 views
Is re-pitching essential after cold crashing?
If I'm cold crashing a batch to clear it up, is it essential to re-pitch when bottling or will there be sufficient residual yeast for carbonation?
4
votes
1answer
353 views
Lager Bottling Temperature
I've got a lager that's been in my garage for the last month (generally hovering between 30 and 36F), and I saw a question relating to temperatures for bottle conditioning a lager, but I'm wondering ...
4
votes
2answers
983 views
Time It Takes Brett C to Ferment
So I have this idea where I want to thread a citra-laden Belgian IPA with a pineapple beer fermented with Brett C and Brett C only. Does anyone have any experience using Brett C and can speak to how ...
4
votes
3answers
411 views
What is the proper method of pitching a starter?
What's the proper method of pitching a starter? Do I just pour the whole thing in or do I need to "harvest" a certain portion of it?
I just started using starters (.25-.5 Gallons water + 2-4 cups ...
4
votes
2answers
163 views
Making a starter when reusing yeast
I want to reuse the washed yeast from a previous batch of beer in my next batch. Should I make a starter for it? If so, how much of it? I looked at MrMalty, and it seems to me they tell me not to make ...
4
votes
1answer
570 views
Is Mixing Yeast OK?
Say I wanted to make an ale which has some of the banana characteristics of a Belgian yeast, but also wanted some of the citrusy flavors of an American ale yeast. Could I achieve this by making a ...
4
votes
2answers
267 views
Wine yeast for beer?
Has anyone ever used wine yeast for a batch of beer or a beer yeast for a batch of wine? I brew beer and my neighbor makes wine and we have been toying with the idea of trying to make a batch of our ...
4
votes
4answers
201 views
Extract brew, sanitizing hop strainer and tap? First brew day!
Last night I made my first ever extract brew.
The brew day went pretty well. As I have a 32 litre brupak boiler with a hop strainer and tap I cooled the wort with cold bottled water straight in the ...
4
votes
1answer
566 views
Can I compensate for pitching too much yeast?
I just pitched a whole 35mls vial of White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast into a 1 gallon batch of brown ale wort. I only intended to pitch half of the vial, but my brain turned off at exactly the ...
4
votes
1answer
87 views
Why does my witbier stink?
I've searched far and wide and can't find a good answer. Seems to be a lot of talk about the sulphur smell I noticed during fermentation, but this is a bit different.
Brewed this masterpiece up and ...
4
votes
3answers
278 views
Would Lalvin's 71B-1122 make a good cyser?
From Lalvin's website:
...has the ability to metabolize high amounts (20% to 40%) of malic acid.
It also says that it produces "rounder, smoother..." wines. I'm thinking this would be a nice ...
4
votes
3answers
889 views
Brewed an Oatmeal Stout and the gravity did not drop as much as predicted, should I re-pitch or add yeast nutrients/energizer?
I just brewed an oatmeal stout see recipe details here and I have a question about missing Orignal and/or Final gravities.
The OG was supposed to be 1.061 and the FG 1.016. I brewed and got an OG or ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Does Champagne yeast really dry out a beer?
If you pitch champagne yeast into your wort from the start will it attenuate further than done with an appropriate pitch of standard american ale yeast (say WLP001)?
I think people use champagne ...
4
votes
1answer
206 views
How much yeast to add back after extended lagering?
If after an extended lagering period there is fear of not having enough healthy yeast available for carbonation, how much yeast should be added back?
What is the easiest form to use, dry or liquid?
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Would you trust this starter?
I had one WLP001 vial of yeast that was only 14 days past its "best buy" date. I made a starter on a stir plate 2 full days before brewing. I got good growth as estimated by an increase in creamy ...
4
votes
2answers
544 views
Using Granular Yeast in a Lager
Will dry yeast do any good when brewing a lager or is it necessary that you use a liquid one? I am talking about making some kind of starter with the yeast, not just pitching it into the fermenter. ...
3
votes
6answers
8k views
Baking yeast for brewing?
Has anyone ever used the ubiquitous Flesichmann's baking yeast for brewing? Is there a fermented beverage style for which it works particularly well?
3
votes
4answers
4k views
Does yeast choice matter as much in ginger beer?
I'm about to brew a ginger beer and was wondering if the choice of yeast is as important in a ginger beer, where the ginger dominates the flavour.
I've got the yeast-under-the-cap packet and a US-05 ...
3
votes
5answers
683 views
Warming up a demijohn / carboy
As a continuation to my previous question about a very slow fermentation of sloe wine, I think my demijohn is just too cold where it is. I haven't taken readings - I'm still fuzzy on how - but judging ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
How long to keep in blowoff tube?
Today I learned what happens if there's too much yeast and a container too small (I have a 1 gallon batch). So according to instructions I sanitized a hose and connected the hole in the fermentor and ...
3
votes
5answers
239 views
What are the possible consequences of putting dry yeast straight into the wort?
I always put my dry yeast directly into the wort, even though the packaging says to rehydrate it first. I've never had (noticed?) any problems with fermentation.
What could this habit cause to go ...
3
votes
3answers
445 views
Wyeast pack arrived already inflated - keep in the fridge or not?
Like the question says, the pack arrived pre-smacked! I'm making a yeast starter before I brew so that'll tell me whether the yeast is ok, but what I need to know is whether to keep it in the fridge ...
3
votes
2answers
90 views
Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager for Bock - too late for diacetyl rest?
I really wasn't ready to do a lager, but I wanted to do a Bock, so I requested California Lager yeast. My supplier failed to make the substitution and sent me home with Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager. I ...
3
votes
3answers
224 views
What is the purpose of stepping up a starter
Very simply, what is the difference in pitching 100 billion cells into a 1L starter and into a 2, 3, 4L starter of, say 1.040 OG?
I understand the logic with a 5.5 gallon batch of beer: you want ...
3
votes
4answers
6k views
Can I add more yeast during primary fermentation?
I've got a brew that's been on primary fermentation for 10 days and still haven't seen any activity in the airlock (again). Gravity has dropped from 1.040 to 1.014, but I'd still like to raise the ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
Making a starter without DME?
Planning to start to use liquid yeasts and will need to do some starters.
It is hard to get hold of DME over here (I can get some hopped LME, though).
I was thinking on doing a starter from grains, ...
3
votes
2answers
881 views
Alternative/homemade yeast nutrient?
I forgot to add nutrient to my must when I put it in my carboy the other day (first time brewing mead). I fear I won't be able to get to my homebrew store before it's too late, so I'm wondering if I ...
3
votes
1answer
123 views
How well does liquid yeast travel?
I have often heard people talking about the viability of pitchable liquid yeast either in a vial or smack pack dropping over time. This effect is greatly accelerated with increased temperature, so ...
