Servomyces.....

[Tophe]

I picked up some servomyces capsules made by White Labs at the HBS the other day. He said he had just got them in and that they are suppose to work awesome......Its suppose to give the wert tons of nutrients for the yeast to help get a good fermentation going fast and strong. He said that the commercial brewers use the same stuff. Im kind of excited to try it this weekend and see how it works...Anyone else used these? BTW, they were 9.50 for 6 of them.

 

[Janx]

I find that my ferments are fast and vigorous with no need for nutrients. I always added nutrients to mead, but never have needed it in beer. YMMV.

And maybe some commercial brewers use nutrients, but a great many take pride in the fact and advertise that their beer is malt, hops, water, yeast.

Let us know if you see a difference in your ferment. Cheers!

 

[Janx]

I just googled that stuff and people do seem to like it quite a lot. I'm really curious to see what you think...be sure to keep us updated

 

[Tophe]

Well, the 3 batches ive made so far I have had pretty short fermentation, One of them I never saw any action in the airlock so it must have done it over night or something because it fermented....I'll let ya know how it goes.

 

[Janx]

OK, sorry for the multiple posts...last one. I also found this:

The nutrient, which is patented, is unique because it is a biological substance without chemicals or additives. Because it is natural, it falls within the Rienheitsgebot, or German brewing laws.

So, I'm totally wrong what I said above. You can add this stuff and still claim Rienheitsgebot compliance. Very cool.

 

[Tophe]

Sweetness....you had me worried a little, but thats comforting.

 

[seven77]

Hey... I've never heard of this "Reinheitsgebot" thing before so I googled it. However, it says:

"Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail."

...erm... so not to sound too much like a lawyer, if you add anything but barley, hops, or water to a beer it violates the reinheitsgebot. Or somebody slap me, because I probably don't know what I'm talking about again.

 

[uglygoat]

it was an old german brewing law, enacted by the guilds back in the 1500's, helped to keep the german beer unique, and helped to corner the market as the guilds did so well... i think it was made optional by the European Union in more recent times, so anhiesur bush can sell it's slop

 

[Janx]

The name "servomyces" makes me think of yeast. It sounds a lot like the name of beer yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Maybe it's just dead yeast cells or something? If that were the case, it would still comply.

 

[Tophe]

Well I brewed sunday and have excellent fermentation going. It took off within 10-12 hours and is goin strong. My buddy used it too and his fermentation started within a few hours!! We pitched the yeast at like 90 deg which assisted i think. I think this stuff works great.

 

[San Jose State University]

it's dead yeast cells + zinc. Zinc, apparently, is needed for strong cell walls that reproduce better and withstand ethanol's effects. Dead yeast cells are a much more efficient way of transferring them to the active ones.

Hope that helps!

 

[Glibbidy]

I recently picked some up and plan to do some experiments with it. Anyone aware of any differences in using it between Ale and Lager yeast?
I'm wondering if I can speed up my lager fermentations this way?

 

[Bobby_M]

It just sounds like a 5% increase in batch cost to me. Properly oxygenated wort with a reasonable cell count pitch is really all you need.

 

[camiller]

The name "servomyces" makes me think of yeast. It sounds a lot like the name of beer yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Maybe it's just dead yeast cells or something? If that were the case, it would still comply.

My LHBS gives me packets of old dry yeast that are out of date for free. I throw them in the last few min of the boil to make sure they are dead and to burst the cell walls. The yeast I later pitch ferments more vigorously than if I don't. Presumably the dead yeast is providing a lot of nutrients. Yeast are great cannibals.

 

[Glibbidy]

It just sounds like a 5% increase in batch cost to me. Properly oxygenated wort with a reasonable cell count pitch is really all you need.

Actually I got the Servomyces at no cost to me. Thank you for citing a well executed, intelligent, common sense response. Truth be told I'm already pitching an adequate cell count of healthy viable yeast into my well aerated wort. Don't we all?

I'm wondering if I can speed up my lager fermentations this way? The research I have found indicates that it does speed up fermentation, however it doesn't indicate if it's Ale or Lager yeast or both.

 

[RoaringBrewer]

I would consider using it with a high-gravity brew - BW, Olde Ale, etc.

Otherwise, I usually get my ferments started within 3-8 hours just by aerating well and pitching enough yeast... My ferments usually are vigorous for 2-3 days, then done. So, works for me!

I'll be interested to hear the experiences with this though.

 

[Glibbidy]

I would consider using it with a high-gravity brew - BW, Olde Ale, etc.

Now we are onto something! I think I'll consider this and experiment a Doubblebock.

 

[odinraven]

Hey... I've never heard of this "Reinheitsgebot" thing before so I googled it. However, it says:

"Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail."

...erm... so not to sound too much like a lawyer, if you add anything but barley, hops, or water to a beer it violates the reinheitsgebot. Or somebody slap me, because I probably don't know what I'm talking about again.

I know this was posted a while ago but the reason servo still complies is that it is made entirely of specially conditioned yeast cells, ergo falls under the "yeast" category of ingredient.

 

[Thehopguy]

Ive been using Wyeast Yeast Nutrient for awhile now. I had gotten some Servomyces and tried it but the capsule never really dissolved in my wort like it was supposed to. After that its been back to diluting the Wyeast Nutrient in some warm water and tossing it in the wort.

 

[Lauritsen]

I read: 1 g Servomyces D50 is used for 100 litres of wort for fermentation
sooo, its cant be that much more expensive when using it.