Which yeast is which?

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Ó Flannagáin

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Hi all, need some help here. I finally got my supplies I ordered. I'm making an AG hefeweizen, caramel cream ale and a barley wine.

I have 3 types of yeast they sent me, and I'm not sure which to use with which. I can't have liquid yeast shipped to Europe, so I had to substitute dry yeast and I just went with the LHBS guy's recommendation... I can't get in touch with him today, but I want to brew so anybody know which of these should go with which?

I have

2 packs of Saflager-23
2 packs of Safale-56
1 pack of Safale-04
picture: http://www.anotherprofile.com/yeasties.jpg

Also, he mixed my aroma hops together (the tet and saaz) But they were supposed to go in at different times in the boil. WIll this affect my brew that much? Can I just split the mixed hops in half and throw some in at 15 mins and some at 0?

Lastly, he shorted me 3 lbs of light DME :mad: So, I guess my barley wine's just gonna be weak. Think it will still taste alright? Here's the recipe before:

8lbs light dry malt( I only have 6.75lb)
3 lbs caramel 20
1.5lb munich 10
8 oz dextrine
1.5oz chocolate

2oz nugget (bittering)
3 oz cascade (dryhop)

3/4 corn sugar priming
 
OK, I just found a hefeweizen kit online that comes with safale 56 yeast, so I'm guessing that's what I should use. WHy would I have 2 packs though? Do I need both?

I'm guessing since I have 2 packs of saflager 23 it should go with the barley wine and that would leave 04 for my cream ale? That sound like it'll work?
 
You are not going to make a German style hefe weizen with an American ale yeast are you?

You won't get the German flavor if that's what you're after. You'll only be making an American Wheat beer.

You'll need to get a German yeast for it.:D
 
I used a 56 for the Carmel Creme Ale. Just tasted it for the first time a few minutes ago, and even early, IT ROCKS!
 
Acording to the Fermentis site the Saflager 23 is a lager yeast. The other 2 are American Ale S-56 and English Ale S-04. I don't know why he would include a lager yeast in your batches.
3 pounds of Crystal 20 sure seems like a lot in one brew.
 
The barley wine recipe is straight out of the book "Brewing Quality Beers - The Home Brewers Essential Guidebook" by Byron Burch. I just double checked and it definitely is 3 lbs of crystal 20. Do you think that its going to make the malt flavor too intense?

Also, I'm not gonna screw around on my first AG. I went ahead and ordered a vial of Germany Hefeweizen Yeast. It's a little risky having it shipped over seas, but if it doesn't make it, I'll just try again.
 
seefresh said:
I went ahead and ordered a vial of Germany Hefeweizen Yeast. It's a little risky having it shipped over seas, but if it doesn't make it, I'll just try again.

Make a starter to get it growing first, and pitch the whole she-bang into the brew. That'll make sure you have viable yeast before you get started.
 
For the starter boil a qt of water. Add 8oz of DME and let it boil for 15 mins. Let it cool to pitching temp and pitch the yeast into it. Put an airlock on it and let it get going for a day or 2 and then as TexasGeorge said pitch the entire starter into the wort.
 
Thanks for the reply JohnnyK. I'm guessing it would probably say this on its label once I get it or easy to find in these forums., but so anxious to do my first AG can't help but ask questions.
 
seefresh said:
Also, I'm not gonna screw around on my first AG. I went ahead and ordered a vial of Germany Hefeweizen Yeast. It's a little risky having it shipped over seas, but if it doesn't make it, I'll just try again.

Just wanted to show you my correspondence with White Labs on my first vial of yeast, I was worried about it:

I wrote:
"Hi,

I recently purchased a bottle of Belgian Ale yeast (WLP550). The
homebrew supply shop shipped it out on a Monday, with a small ice pack,
and the package arrived on a Thursday (I wasn't home to recieve the
order so it sat on my front porch until the late afternoon). It is
currently November, but the temperatures have been slighlty higher than
normal (mid 50's to 60's). The yeast had come to ambient temperature in
the shipping time frame. I immediately put it into the refridgerator,
and will be pitching the yeast in about a week. My question is, how
probable is it that the yeast is still perfectly capable of doing the
job? In other words, do you think the day or two at higher temps have
seriously impaired the yeast? Thanks so much!"

They responded:

"Thank you for your inquiry. The yeast is fine to use. We ship
internationally and it can sometimes take upward to a week to arrive.

Cheers!

JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson
Sales & Marketing Manager
White Labs, Inc. Pure Yeast & Fermentation
[email protected]
888-5-YEAST-5 phone
888-693-1026 fax
www.whitelabs.com"

And in your case, definitely make a starter as Texas George suggests.
 
seefresh said:
Thanks for the reply JohnnyK. I'm guessing it would probably say this on its label once I get it or easy to find in these forums., but so anxious to do my first AG can't help but ask questions.

It won't say anything on the vial, but there is a TON of info on this site about starters. I think just about everyone uses them for their liquid yeasts. Do a little looking around - I know there are threads that have good pictures and such. Your main needs are a 1000 mL erlenmeyer flask, a stopper and airlock for said flask, and ~1 oz DME per 1 cup of water. If you can make a 3-4 cup starter, you're in business.
 
Why the need for the airlock? That will mean the yeasties are trappped in a CO2 environment. At this point its not about fermentation its all about geting them to multiply. My understanding is that O2 is required for this process. I just put some tin foil over the top of the flask to stop air borne baddies floating in, boil up the starter , cool add yeast and stick it on a stir plate.
The people in the yeast lab across the way when growing/propagating yeast do the same only they also have some cotton wool in the neck (put in before autoclaving) to make it bulletproof. This obviously allows gas transfer (which the yeasties need to multiply) to occur.
 
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