Instant Dry Yeast

Hello there,

Does anyone else use IDY to make their beer? I made an extract batch last week with the stuff and it turned out really well. I think it might have been in the saison style. lol, one of the best beers I ever drank, I can't wait to make more and maybe pin down a recipe.

The beer was extremely cloudy however, perhaps because I only left it in the fermentor for a week, the IDY was beginning to flocculate but I wanted to get drinking! IDY definitely looks like a bottom fermentor but I'm not really sure I know about that.

Also I used half a cup of priming sugar for a 2.5 gallon batch and the beers were definitely overcarbonated, after a few days in the bottle they became gushers after opening. The amount of priming sugar doesn't seem like too much though so I'm not sure what was going on.

The IDY was pitched dry of course and had been stored in my freezer for the last two years.

Giggliato said:

Hello there,
Does anyone else use IDY to make their beer?
.

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I think you will find most brewers here like to know what strain of yeast they are using and match the yeast to the style of beer.
Correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression this IDY is the yeast(unknown strain) you buy in bulk and can use in baking.

el_caro said:

I think you will find most brewers here like to know what strain of yeast they are using and match the yeast to the style of beer.
Correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression this IDY is the yeast(unknown strain) you buy in bulk and can use in baking.

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Yes, actually I began my beer making process before I realized I didn't have any brewers yeast. So I just tossed in 15 grams of bakers IDY. The beer ended up being pretty strong, 22 ounces (actually around 18 since some was gushed out) got me pretty buzzed on an empty stomach so I assume it's around 8%.

Although I have thought about buying dry brewers yeast in bulk and storing that in the freezer.

IDY and Brewer's Yeast (sold for baking and as dietary supplements) are not going to give you any real decent results if you are looking to make beer.

Lots of info on this forum as far as yeasts, recipes and methods. You could learn a lot and maybe ask a few questions before possibly making mistakes.

bosco

But.........


Use a dry brewing yeast!

Safale 04 & 05, 0r s33 are all good

Can't go wrong with Nottingham, or with my new favorite, BRY-97!

hmm, my results were great with the IDY, as stated before, one of the best beers I ever drank. Anyway, I am going to make a few batches of beer over the weekend, and use IDY and some dry belgian yeast to compare. It is my belief that temperature is more important than yeast strain.

It is my belief that temperature is important and that yeast strain REALLY matters....without gravity readings you have no idea if your priming sugar is correct because you don't know if fermentation is complete yet...the yeast starting to floc does not mean the beer is finished. IDY is an amalgamation of at least two yeast strains...and I would bet it varies from brand to brand.

Giggliato said:

hmm, my results were great with the IDY, as stated before, one of the best beers I ever drank. Anyway, I am going to make a few batches of beer over the weekend...

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So you should have plenty of great beer by next weekend!

jma99 said:

But.........


Use a dry brewing yeast!

Safale 04 & 05, 0r s33 are all good

Can't go wrong with Nottingham, or with my new favorite, BRY-97!

Click to expand...

Well the company that makes those safale dry yeasts is the same one that makes the saf-instant yeast I use for baking. It would be nice to know the differences between the yeasts, at the genome level, but that is probably asking too much.