Pacman Yeast Starter Video

[camiller]

I was inquiring about the Pacman yeast last month at my LHBS. The owner made a bunch of calls for me and told me that he wouldn't be able to order it until the middle of September. I'm not sure if that's when it will be made available or just the earliest orders can be taken either through his supplier or through Brewcraft. I'll be sure to ask him again in a few weeks.

I've been ordering it through BrewCraft for the store I work for since spring. Maybe they are going to do another general release?

 

[thedude123]

Is pacman only available from Rogue beers or are there others? And which Rogue beer would be best to propagate the yeast from?

 

[camiller]

Is pacman only available from Rogue beers or are there others? And which Rogue beer would be best to propagate the yeast from?

Pacman is Rogue's house strain, I don't think any other commercial brewers use it. You can culture it from just about any Rogue beer, I've heard of DeadGuy, Brutle Bitter, and Shakespeare Stout being used.

 

[Rick500]

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that it'd be nice to have some more info on Pacman. I found a snippet:

“Pacman is really great yeast; everything about it is good. Pacman attenuates well, is alcohol tolerant, and it produces beers with no diacetyl if the beer is well made. It’s very flocculent, which makes it a great choice for bottle conditioning. I ferment almost all my beers at 60° F; once in a while for certain styles I’ll ferment as high as 70° F, but never higher. Use lots of oxygen, and a high pitch rate. I never repitch past the 6th generation, and I always use Wyeast Yeast Nutrient.”
- John Maier, Brewmaster, Rogue Ales

 

[beerthirty]

Is pacman the yeast they use for bottle conditioning? I read somewhere that many companies save the house strain for fermentaion then add a different yeast for conditioning to protect their proprietary yeast.

 

[Revvy]

Is pacman the yeast they use for bottle conditioning? I read somewhere that many companies save the house strain for fermentaion then add a different yeast for conditioning to protect their proprietary yeast.

Yes...they are one of the few craft breweries that bottle condition with the same strain they ferment with, hence our mania about harvesting it. On the 22 ounce bombers it will actually say that it contains the yeast.

I've had the best results with shakespeare and chocolate stout...
and dead guy alone has been iffy...I can't fine anywhere whether they actually bottle prime the deadguy. Though IIRC , someone had good luck with several bottles of DG.


I have had the best results from using 2-3 bomber dregs. (When I pour the beer into a glass I leave and inch behind, I spray the bottle with iodophor and/or flame the lip, then re-seal with a new sanitize cap. I leave the bombers in my fridge until I usually accumulate 2-3 of them (usually within a couple days when I have planning to harvest.)

I think I programned beersmith to show pacman at between 65-75% attenuation. My rationale is that since it is bottle harvested it is not necessarily as pure a strain as a smack AND it is pretty stressed from being grown from such a small amount..but I know some people here program it at 80-85 percent...But I'd rather under calculate than over and be pleasantly surprised with my numbers.

I also try to ferment it as cool as possible, as close if not below 60% as possible!!


Have fun kids!

 

[farmbrewernw]

I'm probably going to Rogue on Saturday I think I'll take a sanitized vessel with me and see if I can snag some yeast from them.

 

[Revvy]

I'm probably going to Rogue on Saturday I think I'll take a sanitized vessel with me and see if I can snag some yeast from them.

And then you plan on slanting them and sending us each one, right?

 

[beerthirty]

Yay! but I'll take mine for Christmas. Its too hot now for shipping

 

[farmbrewernw]

If I get some I can probably manage that.

 

[brandona33]

o, not to be redundant, but...If I take the bottom 1/4 from the 2 Shakespere Stout I have, combine them (sterilizing everything in contact, of course), add a 16 oz water to 8 oz DME wort, cooled, bung and airlock...I should have pacman to repitch when? and do I have the process correct? This will be my 1st yeast harvest

 

[beerthirty]

I usually just make x- light DME wort for starters per wikki. Then step up daily until I have the quantity desired. It might work a little faster for me since I use a stirplate. Last starter I made was from 1 bottle of Three Philosophers, after 5 days I have 1 1/4 inches in the bottom of a 1/2 gallon jug.

 

[farmbrewernw]

And then you plan on slanting them and sending us each one, right?

Sorry Revvy I got to Rogue kind of late last night and as you would imagine there wasn't anyone working in the brewery on a Saturday night so no yeast for me I'll try getting some next time.

 

[brandona33]

I usually just make x- light DME wort for starters per wikki. Then step up daily until I have the quantity desired. It might work a little faster for me since I use a stirplate. Last starter I made was from 1 bottle of Three Philosophers, after 5 days I have 1 1/4 inches in the bottom of a 1/2 gallon jug.

So I am trying to create a yeast cake in a bottle to pitch, right? When I have one starting, then what? Swirl it up and put it in mason jars like the washing video until it seperates?

 

[hexmonkey]

Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast

Found a site that's selling the Activator packs as well as the Dead Guy clone kit. Kinda pricey at $8.99 + shipping, compared to ~$6 for a bomber of beer to culture from, but you are guaranteed to get 100% viable yeast.

That being said, I have a culture on my stirrer right now that I started last night from some tasty Shakespeare Stout.

 

[Mustangj]

Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast

Found a site that's selling the Activator packs as well as the Dead Guy clone kit. Kinda pricey at $8.99 + shipping, compared to ~$6 for a bomber of beer to culture from, but you are guaranteed to get 100% viable yeast.

That being said, I have a culture on my stirrer right now that I started last night from some tasty Shakespeare Stout.

Thanks. Just ordered it.

 

[Loup]

decided for my (sort of) 4th brew, to try pacman yeast. I started from a bottle of Shakespeare Stout, I was thinking it would probably go a bit slow because of how cold it is in my house, but it seems to be showing signs of life after just a couple of hours (not a lot of life, but I might be worried if it was.)

*fingers crossed*

 

[truckmann]

Rogue PacMan Yeast from Wyeast
Here is another place that has it for $7.96+shipping may or may not be cheaper depending on the shipping.

 

[undallas]

The next brew that I want to try is Dead Man Ale.
Like many others, I do not have Pacman at my LHBS.
This thread is very informative for me.
When can I know it is a good? the thickness of flocctuate at the bottle of glass jar?

Do I just leave the harvesting jar at room temp with something to cover to prevent contamination? I guess I can put a big stopper with airlock.

After I harvest it, can I just wash with sanitized water and store it in the fridge before my brewing day?



Thanks

 

[Revvy]

The next brew that I want to try is Dead Man Ale.
Like many others, I do not have Pacman at my LHBS.
This thread is very informative for me.
When can I know it is a good? the thickness of flocctuate at the bottle of glass jar?

Do I just leave the harvesting jar at room temp with something to cover to prevent contamination? I guess I can put a big stopper with airlock.

After I harvest it, can I just wash with sanitized water and store it in the fridge before my brewing day?



Thanks

1) yes

2) A stopper or just some sanitized tinfoil

3) Yes...I use preboiled and cooled water.

 

[undallas]

Thanks Revvy...
I'll tell my wife that I need some beers tonight.. although I told her that I would "only" drink my brew from now on... I guess I can tell her that I need to buy a 22oz of liquid yeast rom local grocery store.

 

[Revvy]

Thanks Revvy...
I'll tell my wife that I need some beers tonight.. although I told her that I would "only" drink my brew from now on... I guess I can tell her that I need to buy a 22oz of liquid yeast rom local grocery store.

Let me clue you in on something n00b drinking only your own beer is a myth...You will find that you will actually buy MORE and BETTER (read more expensive) beers....consider it "research." You're going to want to try new and different beers, you are going to want to expand your brewing by brewing new and different styles....and in order to do that You'll need to TRY THE NEW STYLE FIRST, and in multiple commercial versions....

Plus you will want to capture yeast.

AND you will read something here by one of us raving about a beer we just tried and will find yourself drooling on your keyboard and will of course have to stop off on the way home for some of it....

Sorry....better break it to wifey, it's just the nature of the hob...er, Obsession.

 

[undallas]

Well... that's what I tell her when I started the hobby... but when we go travel, I usually go crazy with local brews... I missed Trader Joe's when I was working at Tucson... They had deal with $1 per bottle beer from different breweries... I think I used to get about 24 bottles home without her complaining too much...Dallas is the mid of bible belt... so many restrictions on alcohol...fortunately, we still have LHBS...

Obsession, it is... wifey is obsess with baking and baking equipments... (kitchneaide, breadmachine... you name it)..

I'm more fascinated with beer manufacturing now...

Time to cultivate some pacman with malta goya tonight... thanks to all the great posts and I have to say that we have a great search engine in the forum. I don't know why some of us gets lazy on using the "search" function.

 

[Skipstr21]

I bought a couple of sixers (12 oz bottles) of Dead Guy but there doesn't appear to be any yeast at the bottom. Are the 22oz bottles the only ones that are bottle conditioned?

 

[Milhouse]

I have had yeast in all my 6'ers. Not as much as my own brews, but its there. Could of been a rough ride home from the store and the yeast mixed in. I bought some Dead Guy Ale last night and the cashier flopped my sixer hard on its side to get a price off the bottom. That can rouse the yeast. I'm gonna try culturing this yeast tonight. It should have settled by now.

 

[humann_brewing]

harvest the yeast off into freezable containers as shown in Yuris vids.

Where is this video you speak of?

 

[humann_brewing]

I got a 22er of the hazelnut brown nectar because, well I wanted to try it out to see if I want to do the BYO clone, but I also wanted to try and harvest the yeast from the bottle.

Well I looked at all the bottles they had and couldn't find a single one with a slurry at the bottom.

Has anyone harvested Pacman from the hazelnut brown nectar?

 

[HoppyDaze]

what an awesome thread. I just thought you guys should know that:rockin:

 

[BullF-16]

I know deadguy doesnt work. very small dusting of something on the bottoms. Its only visible with a high intensity flashlight.

Anyway, i poured the last bit of a couple of deadguys into my flask with a starter of DME. Place on stir plate for 3 days and nothing.

thankfully brewmasterswarehouse.com has pacman. I have a DFH 60 clone(thanks Yooper) and a deadguy clone (thanks again yooper) in fermenters. plan on trying my hand at washing the cakes and having pacman always on hand.

 

[hopsoda]

Has anyone got deadguy to work? I'm reading mixed answers on here.