Pac Man Yeast

So I've stumbled across Rogue Dead Guy Ale hear in the UK on base. I've tried several different batches to propagate the Pac Man yeast that's in the bottles. I honestly want to say that they've been pasteurized..which leads me into this question. Does anyone have any Pac Man slants available that would like to trade? I have on hand in slants Wyeast 2308, Saflager S-23, Safale S-33, White Labs Cry Havoc, Wyeast 1056, and an unknown strain from a German Hefeweizen Tap (produces excellent wheat beers).

I can promise that these are pure strains and the yeasts are very happy in their slants! Any Takers?!

 

I can't trade, but I do know for certain that it is possible to harvest Pacman yeast from a bottle of Dead Guy, keep at it! :fro:

 

I know it is possible as well, but I honestly think they're pasteurizing the Dead Guy Ale before shipping out to the UK.

 

Pasterized beer doesnt have yeast in it,does it?

 

Where u at. This is my " house" strain.

 

The Dead Guy six pack is under suspicion of being filtered as there is very little to no sediment in the bottles. You will want to try with one of the Rogue 22oz bottles if possible, they are loaded with yeast on the bottom.

 

I'm in Lakenheath, UK (England), is this feasible?

yeah, i took notice of the minimal sediment. bummer...the BX on base doesn't have the 22 oz bottles here. Just the 6 racks, =(

 

You can order a Pacman smack-pak from Wyeast. I have like 4 of them in the fridge where I work, I could ship you one if you want, the date on them is not the freshest, but they have been in a walkin cooler at a constant 34-35 degrees. I grabbed 10 of them since I was not sure if it was going to be around forever, my house strain as well, killer yeast, literally eats everything! PM me if you are interested..

 

For what its worth, I recently harvested successfully from a ceramic swing top bottle of Rogue "XS Imperial Stout" that I discovered hiding in the back of my beer closet. I stepped up a nice starter and pitched most into a test batch of beer last night (which is happily bubbling already) and froze the rest with a water/glycerine in 15ml vials.

I'll check into shipping, but I suspect keeping it cold for the time it takes to get to the UK from the US may be a challenge. I had tried and failed a few times before with other Rogue beers. A couple of things that I think helped this time:

-The bottle I harvested from had sat undisturbed and upright for >6mo, so there was a nicely settled layer on the bottom.
-I poured the beer out into a pitcher (ok a pyrex measure, I'm a guy) in one pour before serving it. I've found that doing multiple pours brings more of the yeast up into suspension and leaves less to be harvested.
-I used a little boiled and cooled water to swirl around in the bottom of the bottle to get all the yeast into a slurry and pitched into a ~150ml starter on a stir plate in a warmed cooler at 70F (my diy incubator).

Cheers!

 

I am not questioning your need for this yeast, it's fun to use different yeasts, but I see that you have 1056.........I have a hard time discerning pacman from 1056/wlp001. If you have a specific recipe for the pacman yeast in mind, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use the 1056 as a perfectly fine substitute.

I have always had good luck harvesting it from shakespear stout 22 oz bombers....for what its worth.

 

I enjoy PACMAN yeast teamed with palisade hops and rye in the grain bill. Just has a clean bite and has become my house strain as well. Due to laziness I buy the smack pack from wyeast but have been able to harvest for multiple generations great yeast to have around. Sorry haven't got into slants but plan to

 

Shipping to an APO? What's the lag time these days? I was stationed in Sigonella. It might be one week or six before packages showed up. Do you think a sterile suspension might be a more durable way to ship?

Either way, choose and PM your address. I've both ready to go.

 

You can order Pacman from Rebel Brewer, they carry it year round. Rebelbrewer.com.

 

Lakenheath = planes = pilots = people that like good beer = people that are willing to bring you smack packs......

Just saying.....

 

Haha, niice! Unfortunately we don't get the Stout here from Rogue. It's rare to get craft beer in at the BX, when we do it goes quickly and the type and brand changes each time..I'm not sure why. If I come across that stout I'll be sure to get one!

Man, depends on the weather and Rammsteins mood on lag times. lol, I've had things come in a week whereas some items take the full six weeks it's hard to say. I'm not sure what medium would be the best way to go to ship yeasts honestly.

I'll check this out, thanks a lot bro!

:rockin: You are absolutely right, however I'm at a fighter wing. I don't think the lil' yeastys are capable of handling the crazy amount of G's those planes pull. lol, worst part is I don't know any flyers here...back in Dover I did.

 

Yeah? I honestly wanted to play with Pacman with my recipes that use 1056 already. I wanted to see if there was a difference in flavor profile and attenuation primarily. I wasn't that aware that it was that close in comparison.

 

I'm about to do a comparison between Pacman and 1056 pretty soon, myself. FWIW, If you get ANY 22oz Rogue beers that specifically list Pacman on the bottle, it seems to be that you can harvest from that bottle. I recently did it with the Dad's Little Helper Black IPA and pitched the starter (grown through multiple steps) into today's American IPA. :rockin:

Now I'm just trying to decide how to get this yeast again... top crop, rinse after fermentation, or just get a bottle of a good Rogue beer and propagate up from dregs again???

 

Or spend 8 bucks and get some from wyeast. Rebel brewer has it. I get 8 beers out of one smack pack

 

This isn't really much of an option for me unless I have a bunch of other stuff to buy to help with the shipping cost. It costs $10+ to ship to where I live (so $18 total) and then I still have to make a starter immediately because I don't know how it's been handled on the way. Besides, it seems like a waste of money knowing that I can basically get a pitchable amount of healthy yeast for $6.99 for a bomber and the cost of a few ounces of DME and a little bit of yeast nutrient (plus about an hour each night over the course of a few nights). On the bright side, I like to think of it as I'm paying for the yeast and getting some (damn good) Rogue beer for free, so it works.

All that being said, I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to top crop this bad boy, if for nothing else than to gain the experience. With this batch, I think it would turn out better to top crop than wash, since there are a lot of hops in my beer and I don't want too many hop oils on the yeast, and extra hop material to rinse when washing.....

 

I did end up breaking down and buying a smack pack. I now have essentially 3 separate cultures that I'll probably plate and slant for long term storage (and to create my master strain). Thanks for pointing me in the direction to someone who carried them.

Once I get my plates and slants set up, I'd be willing to trade. I will also have some of Bell's ale yeast in plates and slants. This should hopefully not take too long; just long enough to read the directions about my pressure canner, so I don't blow anything up while I sterilize the equipment.:rockin:

If you're interested, PM me and we can try to work something out.

 

Are you still up for this?

 

I still haven't even made my plates/slants yet. Between studying for a professional exam for work, looking for a house to buy, and planning a wedding, I just haven't had the time. I haven't even brewed in about a month....

When I do finally get around to doing this, I'll send you a message. I just don't know when it will be. Sorry...

 

haha, no worries bro! I totally understand, I got finals this coming week and work has been nonstop for me as well. definitely keep me in mind when you get a chance and good luck!

 

It is hard to get Pacman from Dead Guy. It is well known that dead guy uses pacman but if you have noticed the label does not mention this. Rogue beers that specifically say "Pacman Yeast" on the box are the easiest ones to work with. I made a quick starter and poured the dregs of a Rogue Yellow Snow IPA in there and it took off as fast as most smack packs.

 

Tried...Failed

I poured the bottom ~1oz of 2 bottles into a 50ml starter and stepped to 500ml. Grew mold in 4 days.

 

Woodbury419 did you manage to get hold of any of the pacman yeast?
I`ve tried to cultivate from Rogue bottles from Beers Of Europe nr Kings Lynn, but no luck.
If you have got some, any chance of a pitch?, willing to pay.
I occasionally work on RAF Lakenheath so pick up would be easy
Thanks
Dave

 

Sorry for the delayed response. You I wasn't able to harvest any live cultures. I ended up taking 24 5ml samples in search of viable pacman yeast. I didn't come across any viable cultures.

 

Just order some from uk mail order shop. Try maltmiller.co.uk i'm sure i've seen it there, he can also get any yeast you want if you email him.