Bear Republic Racer 5

I posted this elsewhere.. but, feel this might be a better place..

Bear Republic is here in my town. I love it and have a 12 pack in the refrig.. After tonight's bottle, I was soaking the label off it and actually took the time to read it.

It says that it is a "bottle conditioned ale"... "real ale is alive, yeast is good"...

So, does this mean that there is yeast in the bottle? Sounds like it. I've never seen any sediment in any of the bottles. If I wanted to use some if this to create a starter.. how would I do it? Does it make sense? I guess I could go to the brewery and hope they might give me some yeast.

If you're close to the brewery, yes, you'll get a much better pitch by asking them for yeast. Hell, just ask them outright what yeast they use. You may find that it's a rather common strain sold by either of the Ws.

its like in the middle of wlp001 or wlp051 (or clean ferment wlp051)..

its going to be a "proprietary" yeast they wont voluntarily give it to you lol.

But yea all bear republic beer is unfiltered..thank god

boss429 said:

its like in the middle of wlp001 or wlp051 (or clean ferment wlp051)..

its going to be a "proprietary" yeast they wont voluntarily give it to you lol.

But yea all bear republic beer is unfiltered..thank god

Click to expand...

Are you saying they won't give it to you because you've asked or you know someone who has? Many breweries happily give yeast to homebrewers. Just because it's a 'proprietary' house strain doesn't mean AT ALL that they won't share.

Yea no harm in trying..your probably right

No sediment? That's weird. I've even found hop bits in there. I thoght that was cool that they don't want to filter out any goodness.

I don't think you necessarily will see a yeast layer with bottle conditioning. You would with bottle carbonation.

As long as there is yeast present and there are things for the yeast to metabolize, it is conditioning.

Some beers just dont have as much sediment, might want to try crash cooling the bottles then make a small starter from the bottom few oz of a few bottles. If the starter works youre good to go

Asking at the brewery may be easier though...

I've seen sediment in Racer5, but never as much as SNPA.
Most beer is sold young, and I think if you fully condition a bottle, and cold crash it in the fridge for a few weeks, you'll see the yeast.

I know someone that gets grain from them for racer 5 clone. They will most likely sell to you if not PM me and I will talk to my buddy and use his contact there to get yu what you need.

Had an opportunity to talk with one of the guys at the BeerFest at Wells Fargo last weekend. He said no problem with the yeast. I don't yet know if they have a recipe they share.. similar to what Vinny did with PtE. No harm in asking.