As of May 31, 2023, we have updated our Code of Conduct.

Hot answers tagged

11 votes
Accepted

How can I get more consistent carbonation in bottles?

weigh your priming sugar, don't measure the volume boil it in just enough water to dissolve it for a few minutes pour that sugar syrup into your bottling bucket rack the beer onto the sugar mixture ...
Denny Conn's user avatar
  • 33.4k
10 votes
Accepted

Dead yeast is good yeast?

I am calling bullshit on the first article. Does this make any sense to you? "Brewer's yeast is used to brew homemade wines and beers, while baker's yeast makes bread rise. You can't brew alcohol ...
farmersteve's user avatar
  • 3,012
9 votes
Accepted

Can I mix two yeasts to add different flavours when I make beer?

This can work very nicely from my experience, I often use S-04 and US-05. The S-04 gives esters as you suspect and the US-05 gives a higher attenuation and a thinner body. The majority of esters are ...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993
9 votes

Tips for brewing at high temperatures

I advise looking at HotHead from Omega Labs: http://www.omegayeast.com/portfolio/14158-2/ Flocculation: Medium-High Attenuation: 75-85% Temperature Range: 62-98° F (16-37° C) Alcohol Tolerance: 11%...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993
8 votes

Can I dry my own yeast to make it relatively shelf stable? How?

How did Monks and farmers do it? Farmers in Norway apparently do it with even less fanfare. http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/342.html Terje took some wort in a plastic bucket. Then he brought out ...
FastEddie's user avatar
  • 111
8 votes
Accepted

Will reused yeast change beer taste?

we can get away with re-using yeast, because Mutation isn't instantaneous, it take multiple generations to change a whole batches properties. Also bigger brewers use a "mother culture" to grow more ...
jsolarski's user avatar
  • 1,769
7 votes

no brew shop here. use some warm beer as yeast?

Yes (sort of... You can't just warm the bottle up and chuck it in there... It's a little more complicated than that...) but you will need to buy a good quality, bottle conditioned beer (look for ...
The All Powerful's user avatar
7 votes

how do you add yeast during bottling stage and ensure it won't burst?

I can't imagine anyone suggesting bottling at a FG of 1.042 I would return them to the fermenter and allow fermintation to complete. Those are bottle bombs. Be careful. Many yeasts don't survive at ...
Evil Zymurgist's user avatar
7 votes
Accepted

What is the max time it would take yeast to "clean up"?

According to info I got from John Palmer for an upcoming article I wrote for BYO magazine, the cleanup happens concurrently with fermentation. Here's the quote..."Yeast have 3 phases in their life ...
Denny Conn's user avatar
  • 33.4k
7 votes
Accepted

Are hops fermentable by beer yeast?

Interestingly, I found a presentation by Thomas H. Shellhammer, professor of fermentation science at OSU, that shows the composition of a typical hop cone: Cellulose and Lignin: 40-50% Protein: 15% ...
Ryan's user avatar
  • 383
7 votes
Accepted

My re-hydrated yeast has lost a lot of his foam, is it alive?

No, you don't have a problem. Yeast does not die that fast. You can still use the rehydrated yeast, it will get active back again when you pitch it in your wort. If you did not cover it, then just ...
chthon's user avatar
  • 3,655
7 votes
Accepted

Starsan in double bubble airlock keeps getting sucked into fermenter - why and how to prevent?

This is caused by a drop in temp before co2 is being produced. Just cap the fermenter in sanitized foil until you're past the lag phase, or cooled to fermentaion temp. Though a little bit of starsan ...
Evil Zymurgist's user avatar
7 votes

How long does it take for yeast to mutate into having other characteristics?

Yeast follow the laws of natural selection. As a cell is budding the new mass may have some minor defects / mutations. If those changes give the yeast an advantage to survive it will get passed on. ...
Evil Zymurgist's user avatar
7 votes

Reducing the taste of yeast

There are good answers about removing yeast cells from existing homebrew. But your question asks about "yeast taste" - this is not just particulates. So I wanted to add an answer covering some of ...
Kingsley's user avatar
  • 2,060
7 votes
Accepted

Can theatre buttered and salted popcorn be used for brewing brewing at home?

Yes, yes it can. Have done so before with Pumpkin Popcorn IPA. It was really good! Salted will pump up your chloride ion count, so be aware of that, and the buttered aspect makes no real difference ...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993
6 votes

Brewing with Saccharomyces boulardii

I have ordered some Saccharomyces boulardii and plan to do a test brew this weekend. Going to do 5l/1gallon brew with only pale malt ~1040 OG. Will add a small amount of Perle or saaz depending what ...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993
6 votes
Accepted

Homebrewing Soda, Safety Concerns

I think what you made is safe, but there's no way to not produce alcohol with that method.
Denny Conn's user avatar
  • 33.4k
6 votes
Accepted

Can I overyeast by adding one pack of Wyeast for brewing 2.5 gallons

No. In fact, depending on the gravity, a smack pack might be just the "right" amount of yeast for 2.5 gallons. The Wyeast Smack packs have a "minimum of 100 billion cells in a yeast slurry", but by ...
jsled's user avatar
  • 10.1k
6 votes

Can I use local yeast to brew beer?

You can use any yeast and it will make "beer". Whether this beer is tasty is a whole different issue. If it's your only option, try it! I'll be curious to see how it turns out! You should definitely ...
daniella's user avatar
  • 350
6 votes

Safale S05 when is it safe to increase temperature

You want to keep the temp lower for the first 4-5 days. That's when the majority of esters are formed. After that, it's not only OK but preferable, to let the temp rise. If you need to keep it ...
Denny Conn's user avatar
  • 33.4k
6 votes
Accepted

Using Extract kit yeast vs some external commercial dry yeast

Usually the quality is not greatly different but the quantity is usually too low in my experience. Over here in the UK a 25l or 5Gal kit tends to come with 6g of yeast, where as I would often pitch 11-...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993
6 votes
Accepted

Coopers Hefe Wheat yeast failed.. Can I pitch safale-05?

Clove/banana flavours are coming not from yeast per se - they are coming from esters that yeast produce while fermenting beer. So, either you actually do have yeast activity in the fermenter, or you'...
Roman's user avatar
  • 1,498
6 votes
Accepted

What is necessary to keep yeast happy and healthy?

Yes you can use yeast indefinitely. However doing so takes some work. Keeping a strain unmutated requires a lab. A specific generation is usually only good for 2-3 fermentations. This is the ...
Evil Zymurgist's user avatar
6 votes

Culture yeast from bottles

Sure, there's no reason you can't do this. Realistically, though, since you're talking about a beer you've brewed yourself, there are other times in the process where it is much easier to collect ...
Franklin P Combs's user avatar
6 votes

Production of yeast

Almost certainly the starter yeast is yeast slurry that's been stored frozen in liquid nitrogen. Interestingly, one of the most common methods is to store it inside sealed-off portions of plastic ...
Franklin P Combs's user avatar
5 votes

Why doesn't the Brulosopher Quick Lager Method produce esters and other off flavors?

As a long-time practitioner of this method, I'd recommend waiting longer than this article suggests. For me, the real benefit of the technique is an accelerated reduction of diacetyl at the end of ...
Franklin P Combs's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

Kegging - Is it necessary to filter yeast?

It it not a necessary step. (Neither is "secondary", usually.) [EDIT: I missed a potential misconception you have about transfering the yeast when kegging:] Usually, you will attempt to minimize how ...
jsled's user avatar
  • 10.1k
5 votes

Yeast Problems!

There's no reason to dump a beer that isn't contaminated. After 1.5 weeks and a trip to 80F, the beer should be done fermenting. And warm temps late in fermentation have little impact on flavor. You ...
Pepi's user avatar
  • 3,020
5 votes
Accepted

Brewing - forgot to stir in yeast

No. There was no need to stir, however; once the yeast become active, they'll start moving throughout the wort (and getting it to move quite a lot) all by themselves. As well, stirring the wort could ...
jsled's user avatar
  • 10.1k
5 votes
Accepted

Brewing with rainwater / tank water

You probably want to get the water tested to ensure it is fit for human consumption. The rain itself should be fine, but the roof surface and storage vessels may not made of food grade/food safe ...
Mr_road's user avatar
  • 6,993

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible