What are the chances of discovering a unique strain of yeast?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

ShootsNRoots

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
243
Reaction score
34
What are the chances of discovering a unique strain of yeast, that produces good beer, that hasn't been discovered before?

Are all yeast strains discovered and classified?
 
Well, there are yeasts everywhere in the world, without extensive testing, who can say if all strains are discovered and classified? Yeasts are also forever changing, mutating etc. I would say chances are good that one could discover a unique strain of yeast, however I would say the chances are also good that any wild yeast you find may have also already been "discovered and classified".

What is your frame of reference for the question?
 
I guess it depends on what you mean by "strain". There are only 2 main strains of brewers yeast (plus a handful of sour ones). There are about 1,500 other identified yeasts not used in brewing. The chances of you discovering a new one is pretty slim even if you devoted your life to that pursuit.

If you mean a new variation of one of the known 2 main brewing strains, then you can almost certainly do that if you are so inclined. Most of the big breweries have a "house strain" that they have grown long enough for it to mutate and have different brewing characteristics than any other yeast available commercially. Jamil's book "Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation" would be a good starting point if you want to set up a small scale yeast lab in your home.
 
I don't know the biology of yeast and different strains but there are examples of people making "new" types of yeast. Denny made a great yeast. The Alchemist made Conan yeast. And Allagash harvested a wild yeast up in Maine. Not sure if "making yeast" is the right terminology or if these are actually "new".
 
I don't know the biology of yeast and different strains but there are examples of people making "new" types of yeast. Denny made a great yeast. The Alchemist made Conan yeast. And Allagash harvested a wild yeast up in Maine. Not sure if "making yeast" is the right terminology or if these are actually "new".
Click to expand...

The yeast labeled Denny's is actually a strain call CL-50, he didn't really make it, his name is simply being used to market it. It would be interesting to know how/where Conan and Allagash yeasts were harvested.

I ran across it many years ago from a company called Brewtek, run by Maribeth Raines and now no longer in business. I wanted to get into yeast culturing, so I ordered supplies and a bunch of slants form them. When I tried one called CL-50, I found that it was as clean as my favorite yeasts, very attenuative, and very easy to work with. In addition, it left the beer with a really nice, smooth mouthfeel. I stated keeping a culture of it around and turned N8 and a bunch of other people on to it. N8 used it for a bunch of great beers. When my Rye IPA recipe started getting popular, I encouraged people to seek out this yeast and go to the trouble of building it up from a slant. Brewtek shut down, but another co. CO had samples of the yeast and kept it at least marginally available. At the same time, I started encouraging Dave Logsdon and Wyeast a few years back top make it available. They finally did.....
Click to expand...

http://www.tastybrew.com/forum/thread/134497
 
I guess it depends on what you mean by "strain". There are only 2 main strains of brewers yeast (plus a handful of sour ones). There are about 1,500 other identified yeasts not used in brewing. The chances of you discovering a new one is pretty slim even if you devoted your life to that pursuit.

If you mean a new variation of one of the known 2 main brewing strains, then you can almost certainly do that if you are so inclined. Most of the big breweries have a "house strain" that they have grown long enough for it to mutate and have different brewing characteristics than any other yeast available commercially. Jamil's book "Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation" would be a good starting point if you want to set up a small scale yeast lab in your home.
Click to expand...

Interesting info, thanks. I'll see if I can get a copy of that book.
 
Yeast strains tend to mutate through the same forces that drive mutation and natural selection in all other forms of life. If you take a random strain of brewers yeast and expose it through multiple generations to the same forces (for instance to a growth medium high in citric acid) the cells that have the ability to process in a high citric acid environment will reproduce more quickly than those that can't and over time you will get a yeast with a different characteristic.
 

Similar threads

J
Best dry yeast for a German Pils?
Replies
12
Views
1K
Dog House Brew
Dog House Brew
duelerx
Imperial Yeast I10 Mangosteeni Yeast
Replies
8
Views
1K
PizzaPapa
P
Clint Yeastwood
Making Yeast Starter in Saucepan?
Replies
9
Views
887
InspectorJon
InspectorJon
hiphoppotamuss
Scottish Ale yeast for Non-Scottish ales
Replies
2
Views
476
hiphoppotamuss
hiphoppotamuss
duelerx
Lalbrew LoNa, a new Saccharomyces Cerevisiae hybrid yeast for Low Alcohol Beer
Replies
8
Views
2K
BrewnWKopperKat
BrewnWKopperKat

Latest posts

Back
Top