Fermentis Safbrew LA-01 Recipe Testing - Low Alcohol

[staffordj]

@staffordj
Welcome, have a look at ultralowbrewing.com for some LA recipe / brew advice.
And read this thread.

Thanks, and I have. I was hoping to get some opinions on how this yeast compares to other techniques. What are the pros and cons?

 

[DuncB]

@Cool_Hand_Luke are you still providing this yeast?
I would like to make a batch, but don't have time to explore all the different techniques, so I am looking for a solid option to start. I am interested in a happy pale ale to start.

This aspect of your request made me think you just wanted a recipe and to try it as you are time poor.

Information about this style of brewing is in short supply, I have been short of time and will be away for a while so haven't brewed with it yet.

 

[kcpup]

Thanks, and I have. I was hoping to get some opinions on how this yeast compares to other techniques. What are the pros and cons?

I have been brewing for 14 years and brewing ULA beers for 8 months. Yes the yeast method works really well with high temp mash. You WILL want either lactose or maltodextrin added for body. I've used the three maltotriose negative dry yeast strains: Windsor, London and S-33. I've also used standard dry yeast like Verdant, WB06, and others. That takes the alcohol above 1%. Try the process in David's vid. I think you'll find it tasty and a good springboard for crafting your own recipes for ULA beer.

 

[Protos]

Today I ordered a sachet of LA-01 (found a brewstore that repacks it from the 500 g bricks). I hope the yeast will help me to recreate some traditional Scandinavian recipes like Hvidtøl and Skibsøl which require 20 to 40% attenuation. I've tried those recipes with Windsor, London and S-33 and even employed a successful mash at 80С/ 176F and still never went lower than 65% attenuation, even with the super hot mash! I'll need a bit more than the 15% attenuation stated by Fermentis so I think I'll mash low.

My question regards the subsequent Pasteurisation.
I have no way to force carb and keg my beers, so bottling is the only option avaiable to me. I think I'll need to pasteurise bottled and slightly carbed beer (the carbonation is low in those recipes anyway). I found a thread where guys do this successfully on bottled and partially carbed Cider, putting bottles for 10 minutes into 88C/190F water. What do you think, is it a feasible method to pasteurise the low-alcohol beers as well?

 

[DuncB]

I think it should work, 88c is above pasteurisation temperature. Best to ask on that thread about pasteurisation.
Of interest how do they manage those traditional low attenuated Scandi drinks?

 

[Protos]

Traditionally, they drank them up very fresh. Longer-stored varieties of the same beers were still low-attenuated but stronger (up to 5 ABV) and hoppier. Some were also made of Smoked Malt, which somewhat inhibited the spoilage as well.
With the weak beers, infection wasn't a concern because it just had no time to manifest.

 

[DuncB]

Thank you @Protos
keep us updated on your efforts.

 

[bigboy147]

I have been looking for good N/A beer and a dark beer recipes in 1 1/2-2 gal at a time,years back i was looking with below 1% you see a have a problem I am allergic to alcohol...safbrew LA-01 sound good...Years back i was looking at N/A but did not like the idea of boiling the

 

[Northern_Brewer]

This from Escarpment is a good overview of things to consider for no/low alcohol beer in general, seems in general there's a fear that encouraging homebrewers to make LA beer without access to pasteurisation is a health risk. They have a new yeast NAY for such beers, which is a wild Hanseniaspora uvarum they've isolated that is maltose-negative yeast, non-phenolic and non-diastatic

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0323/8825/1780/files/Non-Alc_Guide.pdf

• Use ALDC enzyme to reduce the risk of diacetyl formation
• Make a low-gravity wort with a high mash temperature to reduce fermentability
• Use yeast nutrients in the whirlpool to make up for the low-nutrient wort
• Pasteurize the finished beer (and read our other notes on the safety of NA beer)

In order to make safe low and no alcohol products at home, we suggest the following two
categories:
Non-Alcoholic Sours using heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (L. brevis)
Acidity (pH less than 3.5) ensures the product is safe as long as it is kept cold

Low Alcohol IPAs using regular yeast (ABV >1%)
Slightly higher ABV will reduce risk of contamination
High IBU or hop content will reduce risk of contamination
Ensure you acidify the final beer to below 4.2 pH
Ensure product is kept cold

Two of the recipes in this guide are compatible with homebrewing.
And they need a lot more pasteurisation than beer with alcohol to be safe.

 

[Wayek]

Hmmm... perhaps this could finally be an answer to making a good low ABV mead?
if you can send some to the mysterious land of canada I'll give it a shot!

 

[DuncB]

Hmmm... perhaps this could finally be an answer to making a good low ABV mead?
if you can send some to the mysterious land of canada I'll give it a shot!

I'm not sure that the LA-01 would be good for a low alcohol mead.
THe yeasts can't metabolise long chain sugars and honey is made from glucose and fructose. Both of which the LA-01 and the NAY yeast would cope with fine.
You would need to find a way to stop fermentation ie by pasteurising the mead early in fermentation. It would remain sweet and vulnerable to reinfection and secondary fermentation.

 

[Wayek]

I'm not sure that the LA-01 would be good for a low alcohol mead.
THe yeasts can't metabolise long chain sugars and honey is made from glucose and fructose. Both of which the LA-01 and the NAY yeast would cope with fine.
You would need to find a way to stop fermentation ie by pasteurising the mead early in fermentation. It would remain sweet and vulnerable to reinfection and secondary fermentation.

Yeah, it would be a very small batch so that wouldn't really be a problem if I kept it chilled after the stop ... I wonder if you used corn syrup cut honey as opposed to raw unprocessed I suppose that would determine it a little differently on how it would ferment?
I think at most it would go to around maybe 2%? and even then that's OK for me ..

I've done this before with wild yeast from spruce tips but it can get too unpredictable

 

[DuncB]

Corn syrup and honey are simple sugars so would be fully metabolised by the yeast.
I think all of the sugar in your mead regardless of batch size would be metabolised.

If you were just using very dilute honey to get a low potential alcohol you might as well use an ordinary yeast.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I'm not sure that the LA-01 would be good for a low alcohol mead.

I agree with the comment from @DuncB. A beer wort is something like 50% maltose and 15% more simple sugars. With different mashing techniques, you could push the simple sugars down to 10% or less. Unlike typical beer yeasts, LA-01 does not ferment maltose, so you can end up with less than 15% attenuation in a beer wort. Mead is likely near 100% simple sugars, which LA-01 can ferment.

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

I also agree with @CascadesBrewer and @DuncB. Better to do a low gravity mead and then pasteurize and backsweeten if targeting a semi-sweet mead. While I have not tried a simple sugar fermentation with this yeast, according to its properties it would fully ferment a honey/water must.

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

Has anyone who received yeast tried another batch recently? I haven’t done one in a while myself. My brother who had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that I had been trying to find a good way to brew something non-alcoholic for, ended up getting cancer in 2022 and fought hard for 15 months. He died this past summer. F*ck cancer.

I do plan to keep trying out new methods, just haven’t had the energy to try out some other strategies. Also if I missed getting yeast out to anyone, sorry about that. If you requested some last year and still want some and didn’t get any shoot me a PM. I do have lots left, but it also sounds like a few folks have been able to find home brew level quantities now.

Anyway, I hope those that did get some that it works out for you if/when you try it out!

 

[Wayek]

Has anyone who received yeast tried another batch recently? I haven’t done one in a while myself. My brother who had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that I had been trying to find a good way to brew something non-alcoholic for, ended up getting cancer in 2022 and fought hard for 15 months. He died this past summer. F*ck cancer.

I do plan to keep trying out new methods, just haven’t had the energy to try out some other strategies. Also if I missed getting yeast out to anyone, sorry about that. If you requested some last year and still want some and didn’t get any shoot me a PM. I do have lots left, but it also sounds like a few folks have been able to find home brew level quantities now.

Anyway, I hope those that did get some that it works out for you if/when you try it out!

Oh wow.. so it would fully ferment a mead then? hmmm maybe the wild spruce tip yeast might be the better option then?

Terribly sorry to hear that! and holy crap...I really hope that the low-brewing didn't attribute to it - 2 years ago I had cholangitis and ended up in the hospital which pretty much put a hard end to me drinking anything remotely alcoholic.. my liver is returning to normal size and getting better now but my gallbladder is full of stones which my specialist seems to be more concerned about

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

Oh wow.. so it would fully ferment a mead then? hmmm maybe the wild spruce tip yeast might be the better option then?

Terribly sorry to hear that! and holy crap...I really hope that the low-brewing didn't attribute to it - 2 years ago I had cholangitis and ended up in the hospital which pretty much put a hard end to me drinking anything remotely alcoholic.. my liver is returning to normal size and getting better now but my gallbladder is full of stones which my specialist seems to be more concerned about

No, it was a condition he was born with. He didn’t drink really at all. But liver disease is nothing to mess around with. Our livers do so much for the rest of our body. I’m glad you are looking for options for non-alcoholic beverages!

 

[kmarkstevens]

@Cool_Hand_Luke Condolences on your brother.

Dang, I missed this thread the first time around. Any conclusion on the yeast? I'm fine with a higher 1-2% ABV outcome.

I bet an oat stout could be fine-tuned for something decent.

 

[Wayek]

No, it was a condition he was born with. He didn’t drink really at all. But liver disease is nothing to mess around with. Our livers do so much for the rest of our body. I’m glad you are looking for options for non-alcoholic beverages!

Thanks! and you're absolutely right... unfortunately I had to dispose of a brew that got too high in the ABV once

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

@Cool_Hand_Luke Condolences on your brother.

Dang, I missed this thread the first time around. Any conclusion on the yeast? I'm fine with a higher 1-2% ABV outcome.

I bet an oat stout could be fine-tuned for something decent.

I was somewhat happy with all three [of my experiments so far], but my favorite was the rye brown ale. Recipe is in this thread. An oat stout I think would also be quite good. Did you want some yeast to try it out?

 

[pigroaster]

I live in Canada and am interested in buying some yeast since I have rumatoid arthritus (hit me in February in Costa Rica) after 53 years of brewing and now must cut back on alcohol.