What is the deal w/ all the yeasts?

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AHammer16

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I'm new to this, so can some one referr me to a yeast overview that was previously posted or answer me these questions.

What are the basic yeasts and their charicteristics?
How does one choose a yeast for a recipie?
What makes an ale yeast an ale yeast and the same for all others?
Why do lager yeasts need to be treated differently?

I understand the differance between dry yeasts and liquid yeasts, but why are there so many diffrent types?
:confused:
 
Well, dry and liquid are different types too.

The reason there are so many different types is that yeast are microorganisms that have been cultured by brewers over the course of hundreds of years. In different locations, in the hands of different brewers, in different climates, strains of yeast that behave very differently have evolved. So, the yeast used to make a Belgian abbey ale, while it is an ale yeast, and of the same species as the ale yeast Sierra Nevada uses, will make a beer with an enormously different profile.

Some yeasts are very clean. Some are very estery. Some make banana-flavor in your beer. Some take forever to ferment. Lager yeast is uniquely adapted to cold fermentation and makes a very clean beer.

It's like how there are all these different types of apples. Same species of tree, but a Granny Smith doesn't taste like a Jonathan.

The descriptions at morebeer.com are pretty good. Bottom line is there are a ton of different yeasts that create very different flavor profiles and you use them to make different kinds of beer. You'll only really be able to sample the different types with liquid yeast because manufacturers like White Labs and Wyeast go to great lengths to maintain master strains of different strains cultured from different beers around the world.

Cheers :D
 
AHammer16 said:
What are the basic yeasts and their charicteristics?
How does one choose a yeast for a recipie?
What makes an ale yeast an ale yeast and the same for all others?
Why do lager yeasts need to be treated differently?

Take a look at this chart and maybe it'll help.

Wild
 
thanks for the link "wild" that makes some sense. but how does one know what ester and other described chemicals taste like?
 
AHammer16 said:
thanks for the link "wild" that makes some sense. but how does one know what ester and other described chemicals taste like?

well, this might require some research...DRINK MORE BEER! :p

but serious now.....try to find a local homebrew club and join, and learn from fellow members and their brews. or if you can, get w/ a certified beer judge. maybe look for a sensory evaluation course through the Beer Judge Certification Program www.bjcp.org . our, just start trying different styles of beer, reading the description of the beers off their web pages/labels, and reading up on yeast profiles www.whitelabs.com. do some side by side taste comparisons.....Pilsner Urquell vs. Belhaven Saint Andrew's Ale or Oberdorfer Dunkel Weis vs. Anchor Steam (just examples). it sounds crazy, but it's kind of hard to describe unless you've tasted it in a beer. lame answer, i know........ :(
 
AHammer16 said:
thanks for the link "wild" that makes some sense. but how does one know what ester and other described chemicals taste like?
Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher has a table describing the "tastes" of various chemicals, esters, etc. in beer. I guess you could use it to know what to look for, but DeRoux's right, mainly you've just got to taste a lot of beer! :cool:
 
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