Could wasabi kill yeast?

McKBrew · Aug 6, 2010

Wow. Now we have scientific studies about wasabi and beer.

Let's break it down like this.

The Wasabi may or may not have had an effect. Since it hasn't been done much who knows.

A Wasabi beer as a first brew is probably not a good idea.

If anyone is paying $60 for a refurbished corny, they either live in Canada or they are getting ripped off.

surreal_trip · Aug 6, 2010

Huzzah for canada... I've seen a guy secondary with wasabi before... It wasn't very good mind you but it worked...

brewitall · Aug 9, 2010

Wasabi is horseradish. Yeast is a fungus. Horseradish is a powerful anti-fungal herb.

Sorry for the bad news, I'd only try a adjunct like this if I was kegging and force carbonating, but as to your choice...hot pepper in beer is not uncommon, so I can see why you tried it.

Kaiser442 · Aug 9, 2010

Wasabier

CA-LT1 · Aug 10, 2010

As for a kegging kit, try this:
http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/kits/ehpk.shtml
about $110 will get you everything including the CO2 tank. Corny kegs run $40-$50 rebuilt. Add a piece of acrylic tubing with a #2 stopper to your party tap and you're ready to bottle.

maztec · Aug 10, 2010

brewitall said:
Wasabi is horseradish. Yeast is a fungus. Horseradish is a powerful anti-fungal herb.

Wasabi is NOT horseradish. Let's just get that straight from the start. I repeat, WASABI IS NOT HORSERADISH. Anyone who thinks wasabi is horseradish or tries to claim they are the same is full of rotted yeast cake and doesn't know what they are talking about.

Real Wasabi - Wasabia Japonica - is a brassica of family Brassicaceae. However, its genus is Wasabia and its species is Wasabia Japonica.

Horseradish is also a brassica of family Brassicaceae. However, its genus is Armoracia and its species is Armoracia Rusticana.

Now, let me tell you why you were correct in what you said.

Powdered wasabi and crystallized wasabi is usually a mixture of horseradish and mustard (both of which are related to wasabi, but are not at all the same in flavor, texture, appearance, or heat). Sometimes it will include a small percentage of real wasabi. The problem is real wasabi does not retain its heat and flavor as well as horseradish or mustard when dried out. Thus, in dried powders you usually see no more than 20% real wasabi; whereas in pastes you can see as much as 50%. However, it is extremely rare to see 100% real wasabi in anything - unless you have the actual rhizome and saw it grated. By the way, the fresh leaves are a treat to eat.

Thus, you are correct, the wasabi he used most likely was horseradish and not wasabi. Or, at least had more horseradish in it than wasabi.

Effect of wasabi on beer?

Real wasabi would kill the yeast, if you put in enough. I am not sure how much would be enough. 43g might be.

Similarly, horseradish can kill the yeast, but would require more volume than wasabi in order to kill it.

In fact, the ability to kill bacteria and eukaryotes including yeast is theorized as one of the main reasons it is used when eating sashimi; and explains why people who don't like wasabi often don't like sashimi "because it makes them sick". Furthermore, there are some alternatives to wasabi that might be interesting in beer. The top two are kinome and sansho. Note, both are anti-bacterials so could still kill the yeast.

So, the answer to the OP's question is: Yes, you could have killed your yeast with the powder you used - either because of additives or because you used enough to kill of the yeast.

Hope that helps!

:mug:

- M

PS: Sorry for lecturing on real wasabi vs fake wasabi, but it gets under my skin a bit when people mix up wasabi for horseradish. In fact, I despise fake wasabi, it is not nearly as amazing a flavor and experience.