Anyone used bread yeast before?

[Grimsawyer]

Has anyone used bread yeast for their beer before? What brand? What type? (quick acting, bread machine, etc..)

 

[Evets]

I used it once in a mead. The recipe specifically called for bread yeast. It worked well in that mead, but I don't think it would make good beer.

 

[the_bird]

I think makinitgood did...

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Then you will have to use your beer yeast to make bread

 

[TexLaw]

Has anyone used bread yeast for their beer before? What brand? What type? (quick acting, bread machine, etc..)

Yep, plenty of people have used it . . . back during Prohibition. I wouldn't mess with it now.


TL

 

[jeff967]

I have used bread yeast in my wild grape wines, they turn out very good.

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

I used it once in a mead. .

Same here, but not for the same reason.

Back in 1993, I was only 20, but wanted to "party". I had the great idea that I could skirt alchohol laws by making my own beer. However, there were no local homebrew shops, and I had NO CLUE what I was doing regardless.

So I looked up some online recipes (Cats Meow?). I realized that everything I needed to make Mead could be bought at the local Grocery, and hardware stores. (ie Honey, bread yeast, spices, 6-gal pale from hardware store). I used 2L soda bottles for bottling.

LOL... wasnt bad actually.

I think that Bread Yeast is the same type of yeast as Ale yeast? But it has simply been designed to benefit bread (ie less alchohol, more co2?).

nick

 

[SuperiorBrew]

When you can buy dry beer yeast for $1.00 to $1.50 why try to use a bread yeast to save 75 cents and possibly ruin a 5 gallon $25+ dollar batch of beer?

 

[DeathBrewer]

nottingham FTW

 

[z987k]

Joe's Ancient orange mead calls for it, and it works. Ferments out drier than the sweat mead yeast did, but it is a top fermenting yeast.
2 problems I have with it, is while the mead is still young, it seems a lot hotter than other young meads. Second problem is it doesn't pack well to the bottom. I read someone on here say "look at it funny and it will stir up into suspension". And it's true, I think it's impossible to get a clear mead with that stuff.

 

[Evets]

Yeah, that's the recipe I used. It took a year to get reasonably clear, but the mead was good.

 

[malkore]

my experience in previous years with bread yeast in mead is specifically why i revamped JOAM to use a yeast meant for fermentation.

does bread yeast work? yes.
is bread yeast good for brewing? not particularly.

you wouldn't want a marathon runner in a power lifting contest because that's not what he's trained to do.
bread yeast strains aren't selected for their excellent fermentation abilities, they are selected cuz they make good bread.

 

[Grimsawyer]

When you can buy dry beer yeast for $1.00 to $1.50 why try to use a bread yeast to save 75 cents and possibly ruin a 5 gallon $25+ dollar batch of beer?

well, first off it wouldn't be about saving money, kicks and grins thing. and where can you get wyeast or white labs for 1-1.50?

 

[ThebrewdawG]

Same here, but not for the same reason.

Back in 1993, I was only 20, but wanted to "party". I had the great idea that I could skirt alchohol laws by making my own beer. However, there were no local homebrew shops, and I had NO CLUE what I was doing regardless.

So I looked up some online recipes (Cats Meow?). I realized that everything I needed to make Mead could be bought at the local Grocery, and hardware stores. (ie Honey, bread yeast, spices, 6-gal pale from hardware store). I used 2L soda bottles for bottling.

LOL... wasnt bad actually.

I think that Bread Yeast is the same type of yeast as Ale yeast? But it has simply been designed to benefit bread (ie less alchohol, more co2?).

nick

I know this is off your topic but I remeber in 1983 when my older brother was thowing the partys. I think it was somthing like welch's & flyshamins! (i know)
we reached our limit and party was over for a mere $3 plus a week give or take

 

[yezzo]

They used bread yeast during prohibition apparently because of this the beer tasted like piss. I think Bud, Miller, and coors must still use bread yeast because their beer still tastes like piss .

 

[Nurmey]

I think the question should be "why would anyone use it?" I pay 79 cents for Nottingham, which IMO is fabulous dry beer yeast.

Going to the grocery store to buy inferior yeast when it's more expensive than beer yeast seems very counterproductive. The adage "Garbage in, garbage out" comes to mind on this one.

Can you make beer with it, yes. You can make beer in a toilet too but I don't want to drink either.

 

[Finn]

I think the question should be "why would anyone use it?" I pay 79 cents for Nottingham, which IMO is fabulous dry beer yeast.

Going to the grocery store to buy inferior yeast when it's more expensive than beer yeast seems very counterproductive. The adage "Garbage in, garbage out" comes to mind on this one.

Can you make beer with it, yes. You can make beer in a toilet too but I don't want to drink either.

Hodgson's Mill bread yeast is What To Use when you're mashing up corn for the still, or so a friend of mine's friend from North Carolina assures him ... ... I'd bet it doesn't flocculate and goes dormant at about 6 percent ABV, neither of which is a problem if you're dumping it green as grass 40 gallons at a time into Ol' Bessie four days after pitching it.

I'm amazed how big a diff yeast selection makes in the flavor of the final product, though. Might be worth trying in a one-gallon experiment just to see if it imparts a flavor you like. Especially for a weiss, which is half expected to be cloudy anyway.

 

[feedthebear]

I used Red Star Quick-Rise when making a sugar hooch last summer. It started fermenting immediately and four weeks later, it was still going strong.

SWMBO put an end to my hooch experiments.

 

[Fish]

Try it in a small batch. See what you think. I am doing a JAO mead with Cali. Ale yeast. I tried the bread yeast version and its really good very drinkable and yes the yeast does not want to settle. So I am trying one with beer yeast then I will try one with wine yeast.

 

[chione]

where can you get wyeast or white labs for 1-1.50?

Well I have Rogue's Pacman yeast and it was free, harvested it from a bottle conditioned 22

 

[landhoney]

Here's a tasting with Bread yeast:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr09-20-07offbeatyeast.mp3
And here's a link to the recipe/etc. :
http://madfermentationist.blogspot.com/2007/07/neo-kvass.html

I agree there's a 'why' factor, but in a low ABV beer it may be OK.