Yeasts are micro-organisms used in brewing to produce alcohol during the process of fermentation.

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[WIKI] Fermentation Temperature Control Methods

What different methods do people use to maintain or control fermentation temps? This includes maintaining temps for both Ales and Lagers. For most climates, active control is necessary for doing ...
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Using trub directly vs. yeast rinsing.

Sometimes referred to as "yeast washing," the process of yeast rinsing separates the yeast from the hops and break material in the trub. Most brewers who reuse yeast — and store it for long ...
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Long cooling before pitching

Summer brewing means warmer tap water, which means that my immersion chiller can only cool the wort to about 75 degrees. I typically cool the wort to 68 degrees before pitching. I have a ...
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5answers
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How do I keep yeast from a strain that I've bought?

I'd like to stop buying yeast all the time, especially when I use the same strain repeatedly. This is especially a problem when it comes to seasonal strains. I'd like to brew with WLP351 Bavarian ...
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3answers
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Should I ferment a new batch directly on the yeast cake generated by the previous batch?

I'm going to re-use the yeast cake from a low-gravity batch to ferment a high-gravity batch. Can I just put the wort directly on it? Does it then need to be agitated? Is it worth the risk of ...
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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?
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How many times can yeast be reused?

A good yeast sample can be retrieved, stored & reused regularly across brews. Is there a limit to the number of generations a sample can last? I've heard that after so many generations a strain ...
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1answer
296 views

Day 2 of Primary Fermentation of beer

Is this what my primary fermentation should look like after a day??? It looks like my yeast has been sitting on top of foam..
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Reusing yeast at home

Reusing yeast at home is something I'm incredibly interested in, but haven't found the time to learn enough about it just yet. What are the basic steps for harvesting, cultivating, or whatever other ...
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How do I make a Yeast Starter?

I know I should be using a Yeast Starter so that I can make sure I have enough, healthy yeast, but I've never managed to go around to it. How would I start a yeast starter? How long before brewday ...
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1answer
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When is it necessary to pitch fresh yeast for bottle conditioning?

I've read that you can leave an ale to secondary for months and enough yeast will remain in suspension that you won't need to pitch additional yeast when bottling. But are there times when you do ...
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1answer
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How do you pitch additional yeast for bottling?

This is a follow on to my other question about when you would need to pitch additional yeast for bottle conditioning. Assuming you know that you need to pitch more yeast before bottling to ensure ...
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1answer
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Why is it bad to pitch too much yeast?

What are the effects of over-pitching? Where is the line for, say, a 1.050 beer? There is also a question for to under-pitching.
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When bottle conditioning, when should I re-yeast, and how much yeast should I add

I have a Chocolate Cherry Stout that is currently in secondary on fresh Cherries. It has been sitting on the cherries for 2 months now. As I prepare to bottle I want to be sure I have enough, healthy ...
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3answers
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Why do you aerate wort at first and try to keep oxygen out later?

Why should you aerate the wort before pitching yeast but then try to avoid allowing oxygen into it later in the process? What is going on with the yeast that makes oxygen good at first but bad later?
9
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1answer
547 views

Making a Yeast Starter

It seems that there are varying opinions about the size your starter should be. What is the basic rule-of-thumb for 5 and 10 gallon batches? How much water should be used? How much malt/malt ...
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2answers
813 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 ...
11
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1answer
184 views

Always making a starter vs. following package description

I have noticed that the smackpacks say on the package that the package is meant for a 5 gal. batch and that you should pour the pack directly into the wort. On the otherhand - nearly everyone tells ...
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5answers
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No bubbles in the airlock - should I still bottle the brew?

I'm attempting my first brew using a kit with all the provided ingredients (it's a lager). My brew is still in the big tub and has been there for about 2 weeks now. Initial SG was 1.040 and it's now ...
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4answers
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Dry Hop Filtering and bottling

This is my first attempt at dry hopping. I added hop pellets directly into the secondary fermenter. They have been in for 1 week and many have settled to the bottom, however there is quite a bit ...
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5answers
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Shaking vs not shaking

I'm playing with a yeast starter right now and I've noticed when I shake the mix the yeast gets more active. I'm wondering how this applies to my actual fermentation. So I was thinking I'd let my ...
7
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2answers
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Starter and smack-packs

Is making a starter a good idea when using a larger activator pack from Wyeast? Should you smack the packet and add it to the starter, or add it after it swells?
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2answers
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What effect do different types of yeast have when creating a recipe?

What happens when you use different types of yeast? Does it change the flavor? I'm not talking about mixing different types of yeast in the same recipe.
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Is oxidation of yeast starters a concern?

We all know oxidation is bad, and cooling hot wort is particularly susceptible to this off-flavor-producing problem. the question is; does oxidation matter for starters? I use a stirplate to aerate ...
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1answer
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does starsan kill yeast

Is Starsan effective against yeast? After resuming homebrewing again after a 2 year break, I started having pellicle appearing on my starters (after fermentation had completed), which has now spread ...
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4answers
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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 ( ...
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4answers
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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
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3answers
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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
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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 ...
3
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2answers
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Why re-pitch light to dark?

It is often said that, when re-pitching yeast, you should generally go from low- to high-gravity, and dark to light beers. When I repitch, I use trub directly. I understand why using a yeast from a ...