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So you use about 10% of the yeast created by a 2 litre starter to make fresh starters each time you brew, yes?

We experience the same thing in reverse! 😉

I could be wrong but it seems like American brewers tend to ferment English yeasts cool, as clean yeast profiles seem to be what the majority want? Whereas in the UK we look for a bit of yeast character to meld with the malts, and some relatively restrained English hops. Does that sound like...

What is KHPO4?

Ah. This I did not know. It leans me towards using them, but then I see the price. Occasional treat and lots of yeast farming, I guess! Thanks.

Sounds good, I'd be interested to hear how the Brett beer works out. Down the line! It should be good.

I guess a key factor is the choice available to us. Here in the UK we get White Labs and Wyeast, and one or two online places do Imperial. But they've flown the Atlantic and need a starter every time. Which is good practice anyway. I culture up some yeasts from local brewery beers, and from...

Do people still buy WL yeast at these prices and, if so, why? I do brews that cost less in total than the price of a WL pack. I realise that people have different resources and different priorities, but there are cheaper, better options, no?

I use brett the way that Orval uses it. Pitch it after primary fermentation with a regular sacch yeast. Also, my understanding is that in historic English brewing brett kicked in when the beer was put into wooden casks after fermentation had finished. It's possible that Brett lurked in...

For me, the most important aspect of brewing is fermentation and I try to focus on pitching yeast that is as healthy and vibrant as possible. No yeast you buy is fresh, but you can easily sort that out with a starter. If you go to the trouble of brewing beer, it's a minor addition. Dry yeast is...

Escarpment Labs did test brews on stored harvested yeasts (lager and kolsch) and found that performance really dropped off after 3 weeks, for both yeasts. My approach is to pitch slurry up to a week, make a vitality starter for 1 to 4 weeks, and make a proper starter beyond 4 weeks...

https://boakandbailey.com/2007/05/half-and-half/ https://boakandbailey.com/2015/01/proporval/

I don't find black malt harsh. I buy English black malt in England. Kernel is one of the best craft brewers in England and uses more than 5% black malt in some of its excellent dark beers, alongside significant amounts of American hops. I don't know if this is down to different malts or...

I use natural gas (in the UK) as I do stove top and on brew day two days ago I used a total of £1.74 in gas (I have a smart meter and app), which includes cooking and shower. So must have been around a pound for the brewing gas, about $1.25. $1.50 tops.

Being an Englishman who was weaned on Boddington's cask bitter in the late 70s and early 80s, i brew regular ordinary pale bitters and it's clear to me that the brewers of Boddington's perfected the art of low cost/high demand, very moreish beer. Dry, light, bitter, thirst quenching, ultimate...

30L is a lot of beer for one smack pack i think even at that OG. And we don't know what state the yeast is in when it reaches us. I suspect that with a starter the beer would have fermented more successfully. An extra job but a very worthwhile one in my opinion. Maximise your chances of a...

For me, yeast starters are a lot of reward for very little work. We put a lot of time into brewing and packaging, so why draw the line at knocking up a starter? I repitch a lot so starters are regular for me. It's a small job and I know I'm pitching good yeast, peace of mind and avoid the...

I used to know a guy who set up a commercial brewery in the UK. When he was testing yeasts for a house strain he was told by Brewlab (iirc) that neither 002 nor 1968 were the Fullers yeast. He told me cos he was surprised. Whether they meant it was not sourced from Fullers, or that it had...

Pilgrim is well worth a crack imo. Pilot and Boadicea quite hard to get hold of these days here in the UK via home brew sellers. Both still in production I think.

Admiral could be an option, I've had some orange zest from them... "Admiral Hops are a high alpha English bittering hop that has a resinous orange marmalade citrus aroma." https://www.brookhousehops.com/shop/hops/uk-hops/admiral/