Hello. I want to start growing own brewers yeast for supplement since it has amazing nutritional value. Brewers yeast earned a lot of attention for it’s high complete protein content up to 48%, vitamin B and mineral content. In particular it is interesting in my opinion for it’s high amounts of choline which is cognitive enhancer, as well niacin and other precursors for production of NAD+ - most promising antiaging compound and energizer. Although there are different kinds yeasts even. So I wanted to ask what brewers yeast and medium I should use just to produce as much as possible biomass? Alcohol isn't priority. What equipment I may need? I want process to be as low maintenance as possible.
Growing brewers or nutritional yeast
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I used to buy 4oz jars of yeast for $7
until I found it in 2 pound bags for $4.99.
Turns out it's a miracle cure-all . . .
until I found it in 2 pound bags for $4.99.
Turns out it's a miracle cure-all . . .
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
So you're telling me that on top of whole grains and green fruit, beer has a rich protein, vitamin B and mineral component? All this time, I've been on a health-food diet? Can you send that info to my wife please!
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
Seriously, asking on a homebrew forum is probably not the best source of information for what your're after. Our priorities are quite different and, presumably, you wouldn't be fermenting malt or fruit juice to produce your yeast (that's an expensive way to make yeast). As per the previous replies, it's cheaper to buy yeast than to use our processes to produce it.
Yes, it is except for high amounts of alcohol. Brewers yeast supplements and flakes are more popular in western European countries such as Norway. Too bad in Lithuania not sold by few pounds at good price. Only few companies sell in big amounts them and then I would have to buy 25kg bag costing 63,5 Euro.
Are there better places to ask? I can buy cheaply sugar, molasses and grain, I do have lots of rye.
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RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
Dubious health benefits aside, seems like a good price to me.
Good luck growing large quantities of yeast yourself for less money. My stir plate cost about that much.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
I can't see you possibly producing yeast cheaper than you can buy it. Cheap yeast is sold as a byproduct of alcohol production. It's waste! The price is to offset costs incurred after it's produced. Maybe your best bet is to go to local brewers and ask for their waste yeast?
Going to buy magnetic stir plate for professional use anyway and it would be great if it will be useful for yeast production. Maybe there are ways stimulate yeast to multiply faster?
Already did ask brewing companies, they don't sell to individuals. But this waste is used as fodder food supplemental additive.
Already did ask brewing companies, they don't sell to individuals. But this waste is used as fodder food supplemental additive.
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
So you can get a dried kg of brewer's yeast for about 2.5 Euro.
Instead, if you buy a 25kg sack of sugar, mix it with 200L of water and ferment it, you'd have a pretty good amount of yeast slurry left at the end. But then you'd have to dry it out. I've never tried to dry out yeast slurry and you would have to go through the process to see what your yield is.
I suppose you could use the brewers yeast without drying it.
So how much would a sack of sugar cost?
The rye would only be useful if it has been malted.
If you want to get into making and drinking homebrew, you can probably generate all the brewers yeast you need with only moderate beer consumption. But if you don't want to brew or don't enjoy drinking, its probably better to just buy the dried yeast by the sack.
Wouldn't kombucha be good enough source of yeast nutrients? It's pretty simple to maintain but SCOBY still needs sugar.
Malt, sugar or molasses are still pretty cheaper, buying at wholesale prices probably is even cheaper. Other advantage of growing own yeast is that you can use best yeast and even probiotic bacteria culture to increase nutritional value. Also some nutrient degrade over time such B vitamins so buying 25kg bag is not so good idea when you can consume own grown brewers yeast that is very fresh.
Malt, sugar or molasses are still pretty cheaper, buying at wholesale prices probably is even cheaper. Other advantage of growing own yeast is that you can use best yeast and even probiotic bacteria culture to increase nutritional value. Also some nutrient degrade over time such B vitamins so buying 25kg bag is not so good idea when you can consume own grown brewers yeast that is very fresh.
Just found out that oxygen plays big role in yeast metabolism and growth. For raising bread and brewery is used anaerobic yeast growth which is less efficient way to produce energy from sugar and allowing less cellular production but produces more alcohol and CO2. However addition of oxygen makes yeast replicate at faster rate although sugar or other nutrients must be limited to not contaminate them with alcohol.
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/yeast-cells-can-carry-out-both-fermentation-336231
I plan to use electrolysis based oxygen generator and see how well that could work out with yeast growth.
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/yeast-cells-can-carry-out-both-fermentation-336231
I plan to use electrolysis based oxygen generator and see how well that could work out with yeast growth.
lump42
The Lajestic Vantrashell of Lob
Have you looked into buying dried bread yeast. It's the same species as brewers yeast, but tends to be cheaper.
lump42
The Lajestic Vantrashell of Lob
If you can't buy brewers yeast, bakers yeast won't work for you, breweries won't sell/ give extra yeast, then you're stuck making it. I would imagine the big difference nutritionally between bakers and brewers yeast will be what they are grown in. If your to get the same nutritional content of brewers yeast, you'll have to make beer. I'd stick with a very small beer (under 3.5%ABV). Depending on local law, you could also try selling the beer to neighbors.
dgrabstein
Well-Known Member
Sorry to bring an old post back but I thought I'd add a few clarifications for future visitors. To answer the question, if you have access to an active strain of specialized nutritional yeast (very hard to obtain and very valuable) then you should use that, as opposed to brewers or bakers yeast. This is assuming that nutrition for yourself is the concern.
Nutritional yeast, bakers yeast, and brewers yeast are all technically the same strain of yeast, HOWEVER, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is very diverse in its ability to produce things (they're like a tiny army of handymen, or handywomen if you prefer). You wouldn't get a very good wine using bakers yeast or active nutritional yeast. Bakers yeast is bred (no pun intended) for being very fast, and very high co2 production for quickly raising a loaf of bread. Brewers yeast is bred and selected for excellent flavor and clean alcohol production. Nutritional yeast is bred for its production of a vast array of vitamins, of which would make most beers taste pretty funky (its taste is characteristically "cheesy" not a common flavor that beer drinkers want).
As for growing the nutritional yeast for optimal nutrition, this is a closely guarded intellectual property secret of most manufacturers, just as how exactly to make coca cola. This is a very advanced scientific question that homebrewers don't really have much access to. I've never grown nutritional yeast, but I would imagine that the substrate for growing it would resemble a fertilizer like, mineral rich environment with lots of air exposure. Once you have the stir plate, I would also suggest you try making homemade probiotic cultures (ie lactobacillus, think yogurt) or even adding them together for a symbiotic bacteria-yeast concoction like kombucha.
Cheers to the scientists out there, keep innovating and trying new things,
Danny G
Nutritional yeast, bakers yeast, and brewers yeast are all technically the same strain of yeast, HOWEVER, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is very diverse in its ability to produce things (they're like a tiny army of handymen, or handywomen if you prefer). You wouldn't get a very good wine using bakers yeast or active nutritional yeast. Bakers yeast is bred (no pun intended) for being very fast, and very high co2 production for quickly raising a loaf of bread. Brewers yeast is bred and selected for excellent flavor and clean alcohol production. Nutritional yeast is bred for its production of a vast array of vitamins, of which would make most beers taste pretty funky (its taste is characteristically "cheesy" not a common flavor that beer drinkers want).
As for growing the nutritional yeast for optimal nutrition, this is a closely guarded intellectual property secret of most manufacturers, just as how exactly to make coca cola. This is a very advanced scientific question that homebrewers don't really have much access to. I've never grown nutritional yeast, but I would imagine that the substrate for growing it would resemble a fertilizer like, mineral rich environment with lots of air exposure. Once you have the stir plate, I would also suggest you try making homemade probiotic cultures (ie lactobacillus, think yogurt) or even adding them together for a symbiotic bacteria-yeast concoction like kombucha.
Cheers to the scientists out there, keep innovating and trying new things,
Danny G
It's hardly a secret.
There's a ton of scientific and technical literature on fed-batch culturing, the real issue at the hobby level is the prohibitive cost of the required gear.
To keep things simple, just make beer. It has the wonderful side effect of having beer as a by-product of the yeast generation!
Awesome!
Awesome!
Scottmm
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Nutritional yeast is a good choice. Vegans use it a lot instead of cheese, and I am one of these people too. It's very healthy and nutritious. I also added to my diet custom protein blends, as they have essential vitamins for my body. However, vitamin supplements are not so good without having been diagnosed with a deficiency. If the body has sufficient deposits with that vitamin, taking more of it is not good, you can even overdose on it. It would be best if you got informed about that. But, adding protein blends to your food is never too much.
