Please help me win a bet! :)

dfohio · Dec 6, 2009

78kombi said:
Thinkin' - Sam Adams Boston Lager as an ale.

you know they make boston ale also.which im willing to bet is the same recipe as the lager, just a different yeast. I think yer ol' mans gonna beat you on this one.

I'll take that bet because it definitely isn't the same recipe.

z987k · Dec 6, 2009

Revvy said:
I would go with two packs to mimic the overpitching of commercial beers

Kind of off topic, but...
You know I've seen this line said a lot recently, and I think thats a big misnomer of homebrewers. Commercial breweries don't overpitch so much as homebrewers massively underpitch.

Revvy · Dec 6, 2009

z987k said:
Kind of off topic, but...
You know I've seen this line said a lot recently, and I think thats a big misnomer of homebrewers. Commercial breweries don't overpitch so much as homebrewers massively underpitch.

Semantics, semantics

......the point is that commercial breweries pitch a huge amount of yeast, and that's why they have fast and often very clean fermentations. And that's all that matters, and all that I was going for.

jangelj · Apr 22, 2010

how did this bet end? Did you brew the SA ale/lager? What yeast did you use?

reinbrew · Apr 23, 2010

Revvy said:
Semantics, semantics ......the point is that commercial breweries pitch a huge amount of yeast, and that's why they have fast and often very clean fermentations. And that's all that matters, and all that I was going for.

If you look at the Weast website, they recommend that each activator pack is for up to 1.060! I think half my brews were at or above the 1.055-1.060+ mark. I have never used more than one pack of dry/liquid yeast....

Now begs the question, if your OG is 1.055, use two packs?

Also very interested in the results of the brew. Any updates?

Boerderij_Kabouter · Apr 23, 2010

z987k said:
Kind of off topic, but...
You know I've seen this line said a lot recently, and I think thats a big misnomer of homebrewers. Commercial breweries don't overpitch so much as homebrewers massively underpitch.

Bit of a zombie thread, but this is correct. Pitching a correct number of healthy yeast will drastically improve your beer and reduce to to the glass. I have found liquid yeasts with a proper starter to be superior to dry yeasts. Yes, I treat the dry yeast right and rehydrate it. They turn out fine, but I have longer lag times, less vigorous fermentations, and the beer does not have the same pop as beer pitched with a proper amount of active yeast from a liquid starter culture.

You don't have to make a starter. The choice is up to you. You can do kit and kilo kits too, it all comes down to choices.