Mixing different types of yeast
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carnevoodoo
Well-Known Member
There's no reason to use two different packages of yeast in one beer. I would just go ahead and pitch the one.
I agree to just pitch one yeast and, preferably, the one that isn't the Cooper's.
You actually can blend yeasts, but you have to be fairly careful about which ones you blend. If you blend the wrong ones, the best thing that can happen is that one is just subsumed by the other. The worst is that you wind up with a beer that is completely out of balance.
TL
You actually can blend yeasts, but you have to be fairly careful about which ones you blend. If you blend the wrong ones, the best thing that can happen is that one is just subsumed by the other. The worst is that you wind up with a beer that is completely out of balance.
TL
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
Dr. Michael Lewis, retired professor from UC Davis, gave a great talk at the 2008 NHC in Oakland about blending yeasts to develop your own house strain that was conducive to the way you brew. He basically said the single cell/variety trend is an industry driven phenomenon, which produces consistent beer but not always the most interesting beer. He challenged the HBing community to have fun and play around a bit more with yeast and see what we could come up with. He went so far as suggesting taking 8-12 different varieties, mixing ale and lager, dumping it in a batch and see what happens. He said brew like you always do, rack when you generally rack, store the yeast as you normally store it ferment at the temps you naturally do and let natural selection provide you with a blend of yeast that after a few brews act the way you want it to.
I am dramatically over simplifying his lecture, but it was good.
I am dramatically over simplifying his lecture, but it was good.
carnevoodoo
Well-Known Member
playing around is fun, but your experiments are totally unreproducable and you might end up with **** beer. Blending isn't a bad thing, but I wouldn't recommend it all the time.
Brewpastor
Beer, not rocket chemistry
Dr Lewis recognized the results will vary, and he presumed repitching. One of his points was that blends of yeast have been the norm in brewing for most of its history and the breweries that still maintain diverse cultures are making more interesting and complex beer.
He also pointed to some of the commercially available blends as being an interesting option to single varieties.
Note that I have not tried this, but I do find it to be an interesting idea, especially considering the source.
He also pointed to some of the commercially available blends as being an interesting option to single varieties.
Note that I have not tried this, but I do find it to be an interesting idea, especially considering the source.
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