where to find pacman yeast

[sorefingers23]

does anyone know where i can find pacman yeast? im in canada and am having a hard time finding it. i would like to buy some online if possibe, or even try to harvest some, but not sure from which beers..

 

[Mcsuck]

Not sure if Rebel Brewer ships to Canada but it is available there, just picked some up this weekend.

 

[rawlus]

To harvest look for bomber bottles from Rogue brewery.

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

It's Wyeast 1764, if that helps. And almost every rogue ale uses pacman.

 

[Brewskii]

AHS had it last I checked (wyeast 1764)

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10839

 

[sorefingers23]

I was looking into getting it from dead guy ale, but was reading that they use a different yeast for bottling, does anyone know anything about that?

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

Dead Guy is fine. It's all pacman.

 

[LakewoodHomeBrew]

I harvested mine from a bottle of Single Malt Ale
http://www.rogue.com/beers/single-malt-ale.php

 

[periwinkle1239]

I harvested fro their yellow snow IPA. I've heard people have had problems with getting pacman directly from dead guy ale. The other one people recommend is their Shakespeare stout. Good luck!

 

[kskiles]

I am in the middle of doing some from Dead Guy Ale. I started off with 10 grams of DME in 100ml of wort. Let it go for 2 days. I used the dregs from a single bomber.

Tonight I did 50g in 500ml. Decanted the 100ml, pitched in the 500ml wort and put it on the stir plate.

Will update the thread this weekend. Possibly with pix if I can find the camera.

 

[Montanaandy]

I don't know why Wyeast doesn't make PacMan part of their regular rotation. It is available year round through one of the bigger beer distribution groups (name escapes me) which is how I get it. However, it is hit or miss as to whether they will actually put in on an order so it is not "readily available". Why lose revenue and make brewers go through the hassle of bottle culturing Rogue beer?

 

[thisoneguy]

+1 for Austin Homebrew Supply. I ordered some from them with a cold pack, and it was super fresh and in great condition when I got it.

Are you in/near Windsor? If so, PM me and we might be able to work out some kind of trade for some.

 

[Piratwolf]

+1 for Austin Homebrew Supply.

this.

 

[sorefingers23]

+1 for Austin Homebrew Supply. I ordered some from them with a cold pack, and it was super fresh and in great condition when I got it.

Are you in/near Windsor? If so, PM me and we might be able to work out some kind of trade for some.

Not in Windsor, I'm in Montreal it would be awesome if we could work something out, what did you have in mind?

 

[thisoneguy]

I work in Detroit, so I was going to suggest that you just cross the border and pick up if you were near Windsor. By the time I would be able to take time to package and arrange shipping, you could probably just get it from Austin Homebrew Supply. I just made a big enough starter from my smack pack that I could split it into mason jars. Sorry I can't be more help.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

just harvest it. a 6 pack of rogue will cost about the same as a smack pack (at least here in the states). with the yeast, you get a tasty package of 6 craft beers.

 

[Piratwolf]

just harvest it. a 6 pack of rogue will cost about the same as a smack pack (at least here in the states). with the yeast, you get a tasty package of 6 craft beers.

I like the way you think, sir.

 

[neko]

just harvest it. a 6 pack of rogue will cost about the same as a smack pack (at least here in the states). with the yeast, you get a tasty package of 6 craft beers.

Hmmm. Either your 6 packs are really cheap or the smack packs are expensive. $6-7 for a smack pack, but I can't find Rogue for that cheap.

Seems like all the homebrew stores around here have Pacman on a regular basis, but online is probably your best bet outside this area.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Hmmm. Either your 6 packs are really cheap or the smack packs are expensive. $6-7 for a smack pack, but I can't find Rogue for that cheap.

Seems like all the homebrew stores around here have Pacman on a regular basis, but online is probably your best bet outside this area.

$6-7 bucks a smack pack here too. rogue brews are around $9-10 a sixer here, so i figure i'm spending an extra couple bucks to get some beer. plus, it's fun to culture yeast. makes me feel like a new father every time i do it.

 

[periwinkle1239]

Harvest it, you'll feel like a crazy scientist!!

 

[Zorin]

Try this...

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Pacman-Yeast-from-Rogue-%252d-Wyeast-1764.html

 

[BBKing]

Harvested some PacMan from Shakespeare stout last weekend. Stepped it up 4 times and pitched today into a 1.050 American Amber Ale.

Make small starts (in terms of fermentables). PacMan eats, so you shouldnt have too much of a problem. Good luck!

 

[kskiles]

I have not been overly happy with my results thus far. After a 100ml and 500ml steps, I only have a very thin sampling on the bottom of the flask. It is not a healthy crop by any stretch. I am going to decant this 500ml and redo another 500ml.

Patience is not one of my virtues normally, but when it comes to brewing, I am very. I do not have a bunch of $$$ in this effort which make failure a bit easier to swallow. There may be enough growing in there to make it worth while but I am going to need to see some notable progress in the next couple of days to continue.

 

[rogueales]

You can find the yeast in our Brewcraft homebrew kits at http://rogue.com/store/categories/Fun-Stuff/Homebrew-Kits/

 

[LakewoodHomeBrew]

For what it's worth: I haven't been overly happy with my harvest. I seem to be able to get a colony built up, but it has under-performed on both beers I've used it on. In both cases, the fermentation started off nicely and chugged along, but it just doesn't to want to finish up and I'm left with a FG that's 5-10 points higher than it should be. My best guess is I'm over-estimating the vitality of the yeast, and as a result I'm under-pitching.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

For what it's worth: I haven't been overly happy with my harvest. I seem to be able to get a colony built up, but it has under-performed on both beers I've used it on. In both cases, the fermentation started off nicely and chugged along, but it just doesn't to want to finish up and I'm left with a FG that's 5-10 points higher than it should be. My best guess is I'm over-estimating the vitality of the yeast, and as a result I'm under-pitching.

how slowly are you stepping it up? you want to start of with not just a small vol of wort, but low gravity as well. i start with ~250ml of ~1.02 wort, step to 500 ml of the same gravity, then 500 ml of ~1.04 wort. that's always gotten me enough yeast to make a starter for brew day.
also, how's your aeration in the batch of beer. i find with liquid yeast, especially cultured yeast that good aeration is key. without it, your yeasties may tire and poop out before FG is reached.

 

[LakewoodHomeBrew]

For both batches, the aeration was done using a venturi, and also sloshing. The latest batch had alot of bubbles before pitching.

As far as stepping up, I've stepped up the starter sizes (250mL, 500mL, etc.) but kept them all around 1.045 - 1.050. Perhaps using some lower gravity wort in my initial starters will help. One thing I have noticed is that my starters tend to have very little krausen. When I first harvested the yeast, I seem to recall it had a pretty good krausen...

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

For both batches, the aeration was done using a venturi, and also sloshing. The latest batch had alot of bubbles before pitching.

As far as stepping up, I've stepped up the starter sizes (250mL, 500mL, etc.) but kept them all around 1.045 - 1.050. Perhaps using some lower gravity wort in my initial starters will help. One thing I have noticed is that my starters tend to have very little krausen. When I first harvested the yeast, I seem to recall it had a pretty good krausen...

ah, yes, you should make those first couple steps low grav, ~1.020. everything else sounds good, proper aeration, proper starters, etc.
you won't get much krausen with most starters unless you shake, then they foam up nicely when they're working.
i answered your PM, couple questions in there for ya. maybe we can figure out why these yeasts are pooping out on you early.

 

[durban]

I tried at harvesting yeast from the Hazelnut brown, but I don't think that I was sucessful. Stupid question, but how can you tell that you are actually stepping up the yeast instead of the trub from the DME? From what I've heard, the starters don't usually have a typical krausen, is that correct?
Also, does anyone have the Wyeast Pacman in stock?

 

[pabloj13]

I tried at harvesting yeast from the Hazelnut brown, but I don't think that I was sucessful. Stupid question, but how can you tell that you are actually stepping up the yeast instead of the trub from the DME? From what I've heard, the starters don't usually have a typical krausen, is that correct?
Also, does anyone have the Wyeast Pacman in stock?

Trub is normally darker. If your creamy white yeast layer is getting thicker, you are getting more yeast. The first couple of steps are the hardest to tell.