Newbie here - Yeast question

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chrros7

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Hello all, boy am I thirsty!!!

I just started with the Mr Beer Kit (I know, I know). I think it'll suffice for my needs for the first 3 or 4 batched anyway. My question is about the yeast that comes included with the HME's. I've heard that they are of low quality. So, how can I tell if the yeast is 'bad'? or what are the benefits of using a 'good or better' yeast? I assume it is a matter of the taste of the brew, but is it going to drastically effect the entire brewing process (i.e....fermenting, alcohol content, carbonation, etc)?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

(also, I may be asking a LOT of questions as I get started here so I apologize in advance)
 
Take the yeast, rehydrate it and give it some sugar to chew on. Within 30 min you can tell if it is viable.

I typically will mix some water and DME or LME, and boil. Let cool to 105 degrees or less and toss in your yeast. If you see any action, bubbles, foam etc. pitch it.
 
So think about the yeast you choose making the beer. This is like hiring a contractor to do house work, do you want someone who doesn't know how to cut wood at 90 degree angles to build a deck and then steals your money.... Basically the yeast is the most important thing you do to get beer, the type of yeast defines the style and almost every single aspect (body, head, taste, flavor profile, alcohol level... etc).

I will tell you, dry yeast is really cheap compared with the kit you got. I would basically say that if you are using yeast from the bottom of a can (I have never used Mr. Beer before) you will get poor results. Get Saflager dry to match what style you want, pitch two packets to get awesome fermentation and don't worry about a starter. If you want sweeter malty beer, get the london dry, if you want dry clean beer use the American. Basically look for the different strains of yeast, talk with your LHBS and buy reputable yeast.
 
The yeast may not necessarily be of bad quality, but you don't really have any idea what type of yeast it is, and worse yet you have no idea how old it is. So the general recommendation is to stop by your LHBS and get some fresh dry yeast packets. It'll only cost ya a few bucks.

As to what happens if you don't... well, it would probably be fine. But you just don't know. The yeast could be dead and fermentation could not start, or could start slowly. If the yeast are unhealthy and fermentation takes a long time to get going, that can stress the yeast and potentially cause off-flavors. And of course if it does happen to be a crappy strain of yeast, that will mess up your beer too.

Honestly, for your first beer, odds are you are going to screw up something or other that will negatively affect your beer WAY worse than any off-flavors you are going to get from stressed yeast... but it would also really suck if you pitched the yeast and then nothing happened because the packet was expired, eh? So if your LHBS is not too far a drive, I'd pick up a few packets of Safale US-05 or something comparable, just to be on the safe side. Your call though; I'm sure many people have used the packets that come with the kits and had no problem.
 
So think about the yeast you choose making the beer. This is like hiring a contractor to do house work, do you want someone who doesn't know how to cut wood at 90 degree angles to build a deck and then steals your money.... Basically the yeast is the most important thing you do to get beer, the type of yeast defines the style and almost every single aspect (body, head, taste, flavor profile, alcohol level... etc).

I will tell you, dry yeast is really cheap compared with the kit you got. I would basically say that if you are using yeast from the bottom of a can (I have never used Mr. Beer before) you will get poor results. Get Saflager dry to match what style you want, pitch two packets to get awesome fermentation and don't worry about a starter. If you want sweeter malty beer, get the london dry, if you want dry clean beer use the American. Basically look for the different strains of yeast, talk with your LHBS and buy reputable yeast.

He is using a Mr. Beer. Pitching 2 packets of Safbrew yeast will be overkill for almost any recipe if the batch size is that small (~2.13 gallons). One packet should be fine.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I figured the stuff they gave me would be 'foolproof' enough but of lesser quality. I just found a local supplier online in the next town over. The next batches will used with the higher quality yeast. Thanks!

Also, what are the downfalls of too MUCH yeast? and how much is TOO much?
 
Also, what are the downfalls of too MUCH yeast? and how much is TOO much?

Extreme overpitching is said to cause off-flavors. You have to REALLY overdo it though. I've heard of it mostly in the context of people racking onto an existing yeast cake -- that's when you brew a beer, then siphon it off leaving the layer of yeast and trub in the bottom, and then siphon your freshly brewed beer on to that yeast. That's a helluva lot of freakin' yeast, because it's been reproducing in the previous beer. It's a legitimate technique for doing some very high gravity beers (you brew a pre-planned smaller beer, then rack the bigger beer onto the yeast cake) but apparently it can also cause overpitching flavors. (I've never done it, so don't ask me)

I agree that you only need one packet for a Mr.Beer-sized batch. If you did pitch two packets for some reason, it would probably not make a damn bit of difference. If you pitched like ten packets.... heh :D Actually, I dunno where the threshold would be, but I wouldn't worry too much about overpitching.
 
very useful info guys. thank you. And while am at it, jsweet, is there a danger of too LITTLE yeast? or will it just reproduce anyway until it 'maxes' out (obviously, non-technical term :))
 
very useful info guys. thank you. And while am at it, jsweet, is there a danger of too LITTLE yeast? or will it just reproduce anyway until it 'maxes' out (obviously, non-technical term :))

Yes, absolutely. Underpitching can cause stressed yeast, off flavors, or even a stuck fermentation. Most people recommend MrMalty's pitch rate calculator: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

On my 3rd brew, I underpitched, and had a real hard time getting fermentation to complete. It was a pretty high gravity beer, though; most average gravity beers you won't have as much of a problem (mostly because it's harder to significantly underpitch).

So make sure you are pitching enough yeast. That's really important.
 
in the 21st century there is no such thing as "lower quality" yeast. Even the stuff that is going to come with a mr beer or other kit is going to come from a very professional yeast lab. And since there's very few, even the ones from those kits are going to originate from Munton's or Coopers, or Fermentis, even if it's in an unlabled pouch.

The idea of that ANY yeast is "bad" is really a holdover from the bad old days of homebrew prohibition (prior to 1978 in america) when yeast came over in hot ship cargo holds, was of indeterminant pedigree and may have sat on the shelves under those cans of blue ribbon malt extract in the grocery store for god knows how long. That is simply not the case in the 21st century- all yeasts, liquid or dry ave excellent and can be used, EVEN the stuff that comes with kits.

The only thing that is going to matter is the age of the yeast. Usually there's a date on the kit or on the packet, and even then people have used yeast years past the expiration date with no issues.

Most of the things that folks "blame" on this or that being "bad" or "better" than something else, usually has nothing to do with what they blame it on. Most of the time when someone has beer they think is "crappy" tasting, when you get to specifics about what they're doing you'll find that time is often the real culprit, too soon off the yeast, not long enough to condition, not long enough in the bottle.
 
Yes, 2 packets is for 5-6g of beer, I would only do 1 packet for 2.5g. Do not ever worry about over pitching. There might be problems pouring wort directly onto the yeast cake, maybe. This, much like autolysis, is something that could happen in a commercial setting but won't happen in a home brew setting.

I will be able to tell you in about 3 or 4 weeks where the threshold is but only after reading some very technical books. Basically, don't worry about it, just pitch good quality yeast and throw out the packet on the bottom of the malt can.
 
To the OP: the only issue with underpitching that I can think of is: the unfermented wart is a breeding ground for many types of bacteria as well as yeast. IF you had poor sanitary practices AND IF you didn't seal the fermenter properly AND IF you underpitched AND IF that resulted in a slow starting fermentation, wild yeast or bacteria COULD cause an infection. Infections seem to be the boogy man of the forums: lurking around at the edges of everyone's postings. I've used dry yeast from kits twice and liquid yeast from LHBW 3 times, always used 1 packet or 1 tube per 5 gallon batch with no stuck fermentations, no fermentations that were slow to start, and no infections. Of course I'm still a NOOb, so what do I know?
 
It's the sanitation that would cause the infections. You can under pitch significantly and it won't cause an infection, you could pitch properly into an unclean vessel and it will cause an infection in under a day, it's all about sanitation.

Stuck fermentations come from a fairly complicated problem but from having experienced one I can tell you that if you are doing all extract or specialty grain steeping with extract, you will never come across a stuck fermentation. So really, I am going to go out on a limb and say that Mr. Beer will produce beer if you follow the instructions and use good yeast. Once you get into this as a hobby, I would pick up either "How to Brew" by Palmer or "The Joy of Brewing" by Papizan. Both are great books and will tell you why you are doing what the instructions say. There are arguments about which one is better for beginners, I started with the the book by Papizan, others have started with Palmer, they are both standard books.
 
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