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I have a Dead Guy Ale in the primary right now. I want to attempt my first time to yeast wash. What styles would be good for Pacman Yeast?
Styles of beer for Pacman Yeast.
- Thread starter Julohan
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As I understand it Pacman is known for very clean fermentation, and also very high attenuation. So pretty much anything you would use CA ale yeast WLP001 for is a good candidate so long as you are OK with the high attenuation and higher alcohol level. There are many many styles you could use it for. I believe many think it is a selectively mutated version of WLP001 selected for it's high attenuation.
MikeG
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I brewed an Arrogant Bastard Clone with it, just a shade under 8% ABV. 
SpanishCastleAle
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And you could do what Rogue does for some of their beers...basically make a 'lager' but use Pacman yeast and ferment cool. Is it DGA that is essentially a Maibock but with Pacman and fermented @ ~60 F? I know one of their beers fits that description. I've never had any Rogue beer...but I've made several brews with Pacman (mostly APAs and Foreign Extra Stouts).
MMW
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Yeah...it's dead guy that is a Maibock with Pacman.
Centennial Blonde is good with Pacman. I also have my Pale Rye Ale conditioning with it now (+5 more jars in fridge waiting on something...)
Centennial Blonde is good with Pacman. I also have my Pale Rye Ale conditioning with it now (+5 more jars in fridge waiting on something...)
ChshreCat
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I used it for my APA, then repitched it for an arrogant bastard clone. Both came out amazing.
I'm using my pacman cake for an IPA this week. I've used it in the past for many APAs and IPAs, with great results. It's very well attenuating, and very "clean" tasting, especially at cool temperatures.
OP
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I got mine from Austin Homebrew Supplies.
I got mine from a bottle of Rogue's Shakespeare Stout. It grew well and has fermented three batches for me thus far.
MMW
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Brewmaster's Warehouse has it too.
Couevas
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I was also very successful with bottle-harvesting Pacman from the dregs of a Shakespeare Stout and Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale (I dropped both into my starter flask).
Home Brewing Supplies, Kits from Homebrew Heaven has it in stock as we speak (I was in their storefront yesterday.
Home Brewing Supplies, Kits from Homebrew Heaven has it in stock as we speak (I was in their storefront yesterday.
Couevas
Well-Known Member
To the OP,
BTW, I am currently fermenting a batch of Pumkin Beer with Pacman as well. It is a very versitile yeast and has become my go to for a lot of styles.....
BTW, I am currently fermenting a batch of Pumkin Beer with Pacman as well. It is a very versitile yeast and has become my go to for a lot of styles.....
Mongo64
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I'm interested in using this yeast too. I've heard this is the only yeast they use at Rogue. To those of you using this yeast, are you fermenting at 60F? How is it working out? Think I may try to harvest from a bottle of Shakespeare Stout... just pour the dregs into a starter?
philrose
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I've done Cream Ale (lowered the temp), IPA, American Brown, APA all with great results. It's very similar to cal ale, but falls out at a slightly cooler temp. I think it makes a big difference if you're looking for clean flavors.
Couevas
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Yes....
When you open your Rogue and pour, be careful not to pour the sediment into your glass. Then once your glass is full, set aside and enjoy your beer (this will give the ounce or so of beer and yeast sediment to warm up to room temperature). Then just pour straight into your starter. If you are worried about contamination, you can flame the mouth of the bottle (take a lighter and run it around the mouth of the bottle). This will kill the germs. Then, just step up a starter over a few days like normal.....
ChshreCat
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Homebrew Heaven is where I got mine.
I am curious, has anyone had success using Pacman in british beers? It seems to be best suited to American styles or bigger beers from what I gather.
I ask since I am planning on brewing Hobgoblin right away and I have just harvested some Pacman.
I ask since I am planning on brewing Hobgoblin right away and I have just harvested some Pacman.
weremichael
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I find that it doesn't provide the ester profile that I think of when tasting "British Beers." I do use 90% Maris Otter and 10% Carastan habitually fermented with Pacman. I usually mash relatively warm (about 156F). The hops very from batch to batch, although using only Centennial (aiming for about 90 IBUs) is my favorite. Good luck and have fun with Pacman for your Hobgoblin.
SamuraiSquirrel
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Pacman is excellent for IPA's and pale ales. I've always fermented it around 60 and the beers I have used it on came out super clean tasting.
This was back when I was on my liquid yeast and starter kick. I pretty much use US-05 for just about everything now. Just because of ease of use and no need to plan ahead when I am goingt to brew or trying to squeeze the brew day in if something comes up just because my starter is ready. I can't really taste too much difference between the two.
This was back when I was on my liquid yeast and starter kick. I pretty much use US-05 for just about everything now. Just because of ease of use and no need to plan ahead when I am goingt to brew or trying to squeeze the brew day in if something comes up just because my starter is ready. I can't really taste too much difference between the two.
Ok thanks for the feedback guys. I do have some Notty in the fridge I will try to use and keep I will the pacman in a cold sleep for a backup. I do want to try and make my British beer taste authentic as possible as I have some British friends just waiting to "test" my beer out. I am probably gonna need to brew two batches...
I am still pretty new to home brewing and haven't used dry yeast yet. Hopefully I don't have those Notty issues everyone is talking about here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/bad-nottingham-experiment-pics-193622/ or https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/new-bad-lot-nottingham-yeast-189787/
I am still pretty new to home brewing and haven't used dry yeast yet. Hopefully I don't have those Notty issues everyone is talking about here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/bad-nottingham-experiment-pics-193622/ or https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/new-bad-lot-nottingham-yeast-189787/
kwantam
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Maybe I'm paranoid, but I spray the bottle opener and bottle cap area with ethanol, open the bottle and immediately flame the mouth, decant the beer, flame again, then cover with sterilized foil until I'm ready to pitch it. When you're working with small amounts of yeast, infection is more of a risk.
Would this benefit from stepping up? I have a 500 ml flask and a 2000 ml flask. I would be a little nervous about putting the dregs from a bottle into a 1000ml or larger starter and getting it to ramp up fast enough. Seems like it would be better to make a 250-300ml starter in my small flask and then pitch that into the larger flask.
Either that or maybe sanitize the mouth of the Rogue bottle then pour starter wort into it. Then step that up to the big flask.
It would be next to impossible to effectively calculate the size of starter needed though. mrmalty.com needs to have a setting for re-pitching from dregs of "insert name of beer here" :fro:
kwantam
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By stepping it up, you're adding another stage where you have the opportunity to screw things up; as long as you're conscientious about sanitation, this should be OK. I've done it both ways without a problem.
I made a 16 oz starter for the dregs of one bottle and stepped it up to about 70 oz after it got going. Seemed to work well. I put a zip-lock over the bottle with a elastic when it was warming up and flamed the mouth before pouring it into my starter container. Seems to be working great but I haven't tasted the starter yet.
I made a super big starter just so I can put a few mason jars in the fridge for later, and give some to other local brewers too.
I made a super big starter just so I can put a few mason jars in the fridge for later, and give some to other local brewers too.
Wolfy
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Bacteria, wild yeast and other sources of infection have the ability to out grow and out compete 'good' yeast by several orders of magnitude. If you pitch a small amount of yeast into a large amount of wort (bottle dregs into 1L starter for example) you risk a high chance of infection. If you were in a lab-situation and your equipment and wort were actually sterile it may not be so much of an issue, but that does not happen in a home-brew situation.
In addition the yeast pitched into a large volume can easily become 'lazy' since it has an abundance of nutrients it does not really bother to adapt as well as it could. By using a smaller starter and 'stepping up' a few times (usually in 4 to 10x steps) you vastly reduce the risk of infection, keep the yeast growing at a healthy rate and in general you'll produce more healthy and viable yeast.
So it appears, as with most things homebrewing, that there are differences of opinion.
I would tend to think stepping up to a healthy yeast colony by using progressively larger starter worts would be preferable as it would give each volume of yeast the opportunity to grow and compete in an appropriately sized environment.
While I agree that there is a risk of infection with each transfer, I can also see the risk of pitching a small colony from the dregs into a 1l or larger starter. It makes sense to me that you run the same risk of stressing the yeast here that you would run stressing the yeast by pitching too small a starter into a 5 gallon batch.
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