Its my understanding that bells(Kalamazoo, MI) uses their own proprietary yeast. Id like to try to make a bells clone(ale) but im not up to harvesting and growing my own yeast yet. Has anyone harvested yeast from bells and willing to sell some?
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WTB: bells yeast
- Thread starter devanmc
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HHP
Well-Known Member
I dont want to be a downer, but I doubt you are going to get a product from anyone on this forum that will compare to white labs or wyeast. Those companies have years of experience culturing yeast, building up their reserves, prepping for transport, etc...
I would learn how to culture yeast (which is really quite easy), and grow your own colony.
I would learn how to culture yeast (which is really quite easy), and grow your own colony.
I've grown a few batches of Bells. It's pretty easy, actually. I don't have any on hand at the moment, as I usually pitch everything I have and toss out anything older than a month.
When are you looking to brew your beer? It takes a while to get enough pitchable yeast from the sludge on the bottom of a couple of bottles.
I'd be curious to know what beer you plan on making too. Bells uses the same yeast for nearly all of their beer, but I think there are one or two exceptions, if not more by now. I know Oberon is supposed to use their house yeast.
When are you looking to brew your beer? It takes a while to get enough pitchable yeast from the sludge on the bottom of a couple of bottles.
I'd be curious to know what beer you plan on making too. Bells uses the same yeast for nearly all of their beer, but I think there are one or two exceptions, if not more by now. I know Oberon is supposed to use their house yeast.
I was hoping to brew some amber ale(and oberon next year). Itll be atleast a month. as i only have one fermentor currently which is being put to use tomorrow.
I know whitelabs and such make good yeast but i would like exactly what bells uses.
I know whitelabs and such make good yeast but i would like exactly what bells uses.
The best way to do it is to harvest. You don't need a fermenter to do it, you need any kind of glass or plastic jar or jug, heck people grow starters in beer bottles.
You CAN do this.
All you need is Dry malt extract, water, the dregs of a few bottles of yeast, a funnel, and sanitizer.
1) Bring 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of dry malt extract to a boil, and cool it off.
2) Sanitize whatever container you want to use, a growler works great.
3) Using a sanitized funnel pour the cool wort into your vessel.
4) Open a beer (I use a spray bottle of sanitizer and spray everything down before I open it.)
5) Pour beer in glass, leaving about 1/2 inch of beer behind. Drink beer.
6a) Pour the dregs of the beer into the vessel of your wort.
b) Drink another beer and repeat step a
c) See step b and repeat as many times as you can handle drinking the beer.
(If I am harvesting yeast and want to save the yeast from bottles over a few days until I have enough to make a starter with, I just flame the bottles after I pour the beer out, spray it with a little starsan, and cap with a fresh sanitized cap. Store in the fridge and repeat the starsan and flaming process when I am going to pour the dregs into a starter vessel.
I've done that with hoegaarden yeast, I drank 2 six packs over the course of a week, and made about 4 mason jars of hoegaarden yeast from the harvest.)
7) Cap container with sanitized tinfoil and let it sit for a couple days.
8) Boil up some more wort, cool it and add it to the vessel a couple days later.
9) If you're not using a big vessel like a growler, after a couple of feedings carefully pour off some of the top liquid, then feed with more dregs until you get a lot of yeast in the bottom of the vessel.
Do it for about a week or so, and then either brew a batch with it (which will reproduce more yeast) then transfer it to sanitized mason jars.
If you make a batch of beer with it, you can then follow the instructions in the yeast washing illustrated sticky and fill a ton of mason jars with all the yeast you need.
I can't stress how damn simple this is to do.
If you can make beer, and open a beer to drink, you can harvest the yeast.
You CAN do this.
All you need is Dry malt extract, water, the dregs of a few bottles of yeast, a funnel, and sanitizer.
1) Bring 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of dry malt extract to a boil, and cool it off.
2) Sanitize whatever container you want to use, a growler works great.
3) Using a sanitized funnel pour the cool wort into your vessel.
4) Open a beer (I use a spray bottle of sanitizer and spray everything down before I open it.)
5) Pour beer in glass, leaving about 1/2 inch of beer behind. Drink beer.
6a) Pour the dregs of the beer into the vessel of your wort.
b) Drink another beer and repeat step a
c) See step b and repeat as many times as you can handle drinking the beer.
(If I am harvesting yeast and want to save the yeast from bottles over a few days until I have enough to make a starter with, I just flame the bottles after I pour the beer out, spray it with a little starsan, and cap with a fresh sanitized cap. Store in the fridge and repeat the starsan and flaming process when I am going to pour the dregs into a starter vessel.
I've done that with hoegaarden yeast, I drank 2 six packs over the course of a week, and made about 4 mason jars of hoegaarden yeast from the harvest.)
7) Cap container with sanitized tinfoil and let it sit for a couple days.
8) Boil up some more wort, cool it and add it to the vessel a couple days later.
9) If you're not using a big vessel like a growler, after a couple of feedings carefully pour off some of the top liquid, then feed with more dregs until you get a lot of yeast in the bottom of the vessel.
Do it for about a week or so, and then either brew a batch with it (which will reproduce more yeast) then transfer it to sanitized mason jars.
If you make a batch of beer with it, you can then follow the instructions in the yeast washing illustrated sticky and fill a ton of mason jars with all the yeast you need.
I can't stress how damn simple this is to do.
If you can make beer, and open a beer to drink, you can harvest the yeast.
sounds pretty easy. maybe we will give that a try. got a 6 pack or amber ale and oberon downstairs. i guess we could try harvesting from them.
anything to worry about for airlock, temperature to keep the yeast at(during culturing) ect?
anything to worry about for airlock, temperature to keep the yeast at(during culturing) ect?
I *could* grow some up for you, as I don't see the need for my stirplate to be doing anything for a little while. But honestly, it's not hard at all. Follow Revvy's advice and make some up for yourself. There is a thread on washing yeast too.
And actually, I *could* just buy some Oberon and start a batch up for the fun on it. I need to buy that pressure cooker weight and get my canner up to sterlizing. Then I could really make some good starter wort and even freeze some vials.
Of course, I'll have to drink a few bottles of Oberon to do it... Life is hard. :cross:
I usually spritz some starsan around the cap of the bottle before opening, and wipe the rim of the bottle with starsan before pouring. Some people flame the lip of the bottle.
The usual sanitation rules apply.
Make your wort from some dry malt extract, and shake the hell out of it to infuse with O2.
I would put some foil on the jar, and be sure to shake/stir it up a few times a day, in lieu of using a stirplate.
You may not see anything happening for a couple of days. If you can, drink some more Bells and add some more yeast. The extra cells won't hurt anything.
Once it gets going, step up to larger jars and more wort.
Afterwards, place in fridge and the yeast will settle out. a few hours before pitching time, remove from the fridge and let it warm up. Then pour out the clear stuff on top, leaving just enough to swirl the yeast with off the bottom. Then toss into the fermenter.
There's a few ways to do this, but that's it in a nutshell, and should work fine. If you're sanitary, then the only think I'd be concerned with is shocking the yeast with sudden, severe temp changes.
The usual sanitation rules apply.
Make your wort from some dry malt extract, and shake the hell out of it to infuse with O2.
I would put some foil on the jar, and be sure to shake/stir it up a few times a day, in lieu of using a stirplate.
You may not see anything happening for a couple of days. If you can, drink some more Bells and add some more yeast. The extra cells won't hurt anything.
Once it gets going, step up to larger jars and more wort.
Afterwards, place in fridge and the yeast will settle out. a few hours before pitching time, remove from the fridge and let it warm up. Then pour out the clear stuff on top, leaving just enough to swirl the yeast with off the bottom. Then toss into the fermenter.
There's a few ways to do this, but that's it in a nutshell, and should work fine. If you're sanitary, then the only think I'd be concerned with is shocking the yeast with sudden, severe temp changes.
Wow thanks for the help guys. when i get some extra cash ill try to find the simple stuff for this. Mainly the mason jars and such for the yeast.
This sounds a whole lot easier then i thought. I may not be able to cook very well but i can brew beer.
This sounds a whole lot easier then i thought. I may not be able to cook very well but i can brew beer.
Got a 22 ounce beer bottle? or a growler?
You are only going to put foil on the top. ANY glass container will work...
You are only going to put foil on the top. ANY glass container will work...
Now i doubt it but, do you think bells would sell their house strain of yeast to a home brewer? Ill be at western in the fall, so it would be very easy for me to drive down to the store to buy some of it. lol
Do you have spaghetti jars. Basically anything can work to make a starter in. Plastic or glass. I've seen folks use milk jugs, gatorade bottles, pint glasses with tinfoil. Anything that can hold liquid can be used to harvest east in. And any glass jar with a lid or beer bottle with a crown cap can be used to store your harvested yeast in.
Any dme you would use to make your beer will be fine.
thats the problem, im doing all grain brews. So i dont use any DME to brew.
would rice DME work best as it has little flavor?
Im also curious about the tin foil. How do i secure it, id assume with a rubber band but then how to gasses escape as the yeast produce co2
I'd use plain light DME, whatever is cheap. (actually, I'm working on canning a bunch of AG wort just for starter wort, but that's a whole brewday of work to save time each time you want to make a starter).
I doubt very much Bells will sell there yeast, at least in the store. But it won't hurt to ask them if you can get some from the brewery. It's not unheard of for breweries to give out a small amount of their yeast. Bell's may not, but it has happened before at other places.
Don't secure the foil. Just sanitize it with a spritz of starsan, then cover the top and fold it down and press against the sides of the jar. There will be a tiny gap, and the gas will escape. Chances are fruit flies won't be able to get in... if you use a rubber band, the foil will burst.
I doubt very much Bells will sell there yeast, at least in the store. But it won't hurt to ask them if you can get some from the brewery. It's not unheard of for breweries to give out a small amount of their yeast. Bell's may not, but it has happened before at other places.
Don't secure the foil. Just sanitize it with a spritz of starsan, then cover the top and fold it down and press against the sides of the jar. There will be a tiny gap, and the gas will escape. Chances are fruit flies won't be able to get in... if you use a rubber band, the foil will burst.
BrewThruYou
Well-Known Member
I have some Bells on hand (harvested from Two-Hearted bottles, stepped up, fermented a 5.5G Two-Hearted clone and then washed into mason jars), but I wouldn't know how to ship it safely (it's hot this time of year). Plus, as someone else said, getting some from one of us will clearly not be as sanitary as a real yeast producer.
Not to throw a wrench or anything, but I've heard that most breweries (a few exceptions talked about on the BN) ferment with a proprietary strain and then bottle condition with a different strain.... if I'm off here feel free to correct me. I'm working from a foggy beer laden memory...
