New yeast!!! Pretty damn excited for this!

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drives_a_bike

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http://www.siouxfallsdevelopment.com/viewNewsStory.cfm?newsID=368

My sister-in-law's little brother and father have started a new yeast company in south Dakota. I just spent a week on vacation with my family and Barry and I talked a lot about this. I gave him my address and he told me there is still a lot of testing to do, but as soon as they have a few strains they really like, I would be first on the list to test their strains on my own beers.

Of course I'm pumped because it's family starting this, but also excited for it to be a Midwest company and hopefully a hell of a lot easier to get super fresh yeast
 
That sounds cool. Being from sd i would love to know when they start selling so i can support them. Keep us posted kn their progress
 
My sister-in-law texted me yesterday to tell me they have a few strains ready and to expect some in the mail. I'll see what I receive and what I'm gonna brew with them
 
So I guess things must have been delayed, but I received an email the other day from union labs and they are sending me a a few samples of their American Ale yeast. He said they're selling it in Sioux Falls, SD in a few places for $4. He told me it shouldn't have a problem handling up to 10% (he thinks). My wife is in mpls for a week, so I'm gonna have her grab me Northern Brewers new SMaSH kit, and I'll try some on that. I also have a barleywine I was going to use the yeast cake off my pale ale I have in primary right now, but I think I'll use some of this yeast on it instead.

Results to come!
 
I just picked up their American Ale II strain. I'm currently cooking up a starter to use in an American Amber. I will share my results when all is said and done. I'm pretty pumped about it, tons of super fresh yeast! The bottle says 130ml, I think that is total volume, over half of which is slurry. That is quite a bit of yeast!
 
Subscribed. Keep the updates coming - a regional yeast source would be great.
 
He sent me a six pack of the American Ale II. Super fresh! Showed up on the 23rd and says it was packaged on the 21st. Going to brew NB's SMaSH kit tomorrow. I'll post results
 
I have a question. New company's selling yeast, do they use already issued yeast or do they develop new strains? Do they find a cache of yeast that are out of rotation and 'resurrect' them, like East Coast Yeast did with ballentines? I guess the bottom line is...Are they offering new/different styles of yeasts?
 
The yeast I got was described as performing very similarly to the Chico strain but with higher flocculation. I'm not sure where it came from, maybe it is the Chico strain with the most flocculant portion reserved over several generations or maybe it is from somewhere else. They do have a facebook page up but that was all I could find on them. My first starter was a volcano! I will brew with it tomorrow.
 
They need something other than a facebook page, I don't have an account nor will I sing up for one so I cannot get a hold of them. I would pass this along to them for those of us who don't want to have social media logs of their lives
 
I'll pass along the word, however, I talked to Barry a few weeks ago and he said that a website is in the works. They're only selling locally right now, but if I were them, I'd want to have a few more strains and make sure they all perform the way they should before I dump money into a website.

Wyatt is a biochemist, I'm sure the way all things have been going and how long this has taken to get this going, that he has developed this American Ale II strain himself.
 
I kegged my first batch with this yeast last night. The attenuation was solid, malt really came through and I could taste the hops shining through as well. Very clean fermentation profile. It's still early to give a full report as it was just a hydrometer sample but things look good. I was also able to harvest .5L of thick slurry.
 
I've been crazy busy at work and haven't had a chance to brew with this yeast until last night. Made my pumpkin porter, and it seems to be bubbling along just fine (pitched it about 9 hours ago).

The starter I made blew the top off of my flask! Never had that happen before. Making another starter today and going to finally get around to making NB's SMaSH kit
 
My starter did the same. I thought it would require a major blowoff hose during primary but it didn't seem quite as crazy. I'm drinking from my first batch of this yeast now. It is very clean and attenuates well.
 
Transfered my pumpkin porter to the keg and tasted. Went from 1.072 to 1.018, boom! I guess we'll see how it tastes soon.

Also racked my pale ale to secondary and dry hopped, didn't taste that one. Kegging it in 5 days...

I brewed a barley wine last night and poured it on top of the yeast cake from my pale ale, went downstairs 3 hours later to make sure the temps were good and the sob had a 2 inch krausen on it already!! First time pitching onto a yeast cake. Can't wait to see how all these turn out, all though we'll all have to, I don't plan on getting into that barley wine till next September.

Still have 3 jars of yeast left...what to brew next?!?!?!? I have a winter ale I was going to use burton ale on, now I'm reconsidering. I don't want to get over loaded though. I have 30 gallons (6 different batches) going right now, and only so many kegs...I never thought too much beer would be a problem. Haha
 
I have a question. New company's selling yeast, do they use already issued yeast or do they develop new strains? Do they find a cache of yeast that are out of rotation and 'resurrect' them, like East Coast Yeast did with ballentines? I guess the bottom line is...Are they offering new/different styles of yeasts?

At one point, it was easy to start a new yeast company with clones of existing strains. However, that horse left the barn well over a decade ago. The only way that a startup yeast company is going to survive is by identifying and filling a niche that is too small for the major players.

Many of us have yeast strains in our banks that neither of the "Big Two" American yeast producers offer. In fact, every culture that I currently have in my bank is not available from either of the major American yeast producers.
 
Hey guys - looks like the conversation on this yeast trailed off? A coworker and I were able to get our hands on the American Ale II strain at a local home brew shop here in Omaha Nebraska. Planning to brew a barleywine this weekend. With what I've seen so far - pretty excited to give this a try!
 
I ended up using this yeast for my pumpkin porter which turned out amazingly! I then used another one on my session smash, which in turn used that yeast cake for my barleywine. The session ale was wonderful! The hops (Simcoe) came through very well, and very clean.

I'm not sure what the alcohol tolerance is on the American Ale II, but I hit all my marks on the barleywine and ended up perfectly at 9.2%

I still have 2 jars of this yeast to use...I'm planning on ordering my black IPA and my hoppy cereal amber ingredients tomorrow that I will use the other 2 on. I'll update later
 
Which shop in Omaha is carrying it?


Cornhusker Beverage and Bridal is carrying the American Ale II yeast and I believe a British ale yeast. A couple bucks cheaper than the wyeast strains they carry, so we figured what the heck.

threw the yeast in a 5L starter Wednesday night, and the yeast took off over night; seems to be pretty active.

As our recipe stands, we're shooting for 7 gallons - anticipated SG is at 1.083, with intent on adding 24oz of cane sugar a few days into fermentation to give the yeast a little bit of time to get to work. If anyone's interested, we'll be happy to provide updates as we go!
 
Cornhusker Beverage and Bridal is carrying the American Ale II yeast and I believe a British ale yeast. A couple bucks cheaper than the wyeast strains they carry, so we figured what the heck.

I just saw that Patriot Homebrew in West Omaha (Elkhorn) is also now carrying the Union Labs' American Ale, British Ale and Renegade yeasts. Not sure what the renegade yeast is, and they don't seem to have a website to tell me what it is. Anyone know anything about the Renegade yeast?
 
Let us know when they get ramped up to sell nationally. I'm always interested in trying new things... heck, I'm such a n00bie, EVERYTHING is new to me. :D
 
I used the Union Labs British Ale 1 yeast in an Ordinary Bitter I brewed back in October. I pitched the entire warmed bottle of yeast into my fermenter (no starter). Fermented in the upper 50s or low 60s for 2 weeks and let condition for 2 weeks after bottling. Had a very nice aroma -- less the overbearing fruitiness of some English yeasts, more a delicate pear or peach ester. Attenuated about 69% by my calculations.

The beer starting gravity was 1.037, and the batch size was around 3.25 gallons.

Recipe:
80% Maris Otter
10% flaked barley
8% Caramunich
2% biscuit

I'd recommend this yeast, and will be using it again. Nice to have a quality yeast made so close to home. Sioux Falls is just 4 hours north of here.
 
Any idea where I can get this in Sioux Falls? I'll be back there next weekend to visit my parents and I'd love to pick some up.
 
I just brought some of this yeast back from the brink. I had it in my beer fridge for 5 months. I made a starter yesterday afternoon, put it on the stir plate and this morning it is going to town. I will make another starter to be sure I have enough yeast for Friday. This stuff is very tasty. It smells a lot like sour dough when handling the yeast, nice and clean when its done.
 
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