What to do with my Champagne yeast

Hello, new to brewing just reading and trying to learn.

I just ordered a 33 ltr fermenter and want to make some beer or lager from a kit. I haven't bought the beer kit yet i also ordered 2 x 5g of Champagne yeast as i read somewhere that it has a higher alcohol tolerence i now read that it is not a good idea using it for beer. So i guess unless i make wine or cider (which i may well do) then just leave it, well it is only 10g after all, not breaking the bank.

Also is it unwise to try for a higher strenth beer such as 6-10% abv as it would just be too hard to drink, i suppose i am thinking more bang for buck, but again it would be pretty nasty to drink?

Finally if i wear to make say 30 lts of beer, well the kits i see say up to 22 litres maybe i haven't looked hard enough, do you get kits that go up to 30-33litres?

ax89 said:

Hello, new to brewing just reading and trying to learn.

I just ordered a 33 ltr fermenter and want to make some beer or lager from a kit. I haven't bought the beer kit yet i also ordered 2 x 5g of Champagne yeast as i read somewhere that it has a higher alcohol tolerence i now read that it is not a good idea using it for beer. So i guess unless i make wine or cider (which i may well do) then just leave it, well it is only 10g after all, not breaking the bank.

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Unless you're going for a very strong beer (in the mid-teens of ABV) it seems that champagne yeast is not called for. Typically you'll want to use a yeast that complements the style of beer you are making.

ax89 said:

Also is it unwise to try for a higher strenth beer such as 6-10% abv as it would just be too hard to drink, i suppose i am thinking more bang for buck, but again it would be pretty nasty to drink?

Click to expand...

Most of the beers I drink are in this range, the double IPA I've got in my fermenter looks like it will be about 7.5 and the sample I took yesterday was fantastic! Depends on what you actually like to drink.

ax89 said:

Finally if i wear to make say 30 lts of beer, well the kits i see say up to 22 litres maybe i haven't looked hard enough, do you get kits that go up to 30-33litres?

Click to expand...

Most of the kits in the states are for 5 gallons, about 18.5 liters IIRC. You could find a recipe that you like (there are many on the site) and adjust the ingredients to get your desired volume. Keep in mind that you want space in your fermenter to allow the krausen to foam up without blowing the top off. So if you have a 33 liter fermenter try a batch of 25 liters.

Lastly, you mentioned a lager. These require fermentation at a pretty low temp (low 50's) in order to get the desired product which typically means you'll need refrigeration for your fermenter.

Hope you enjoy the hobby!

Fill your fermenter with apple juice, corn sugar, and your champagne yeast. Great stuff will follow:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/

I have made this recipe with champagne yeast and an extra pound of sugar and it was GREAT!!

I like to keep an extra packet of champagne yeast (L1118) around as an emergency backup. Wine, beer, whatever- if I'm about to lose 5G of something and none of my preferred yeast will work, I believe the L1118 will do it.

make a Chimay clone