would lalvin d47 work

[mrwooten]

Quick question would using lalvin d47 i have for wine and cider work
if used for fermenting a beer. I ordered everything to brew an extract
light ale but forgot to get an ale yeast. the closest hbs is 2 hours
away and i wont be able to make the trip this week and ive already
waited a week to get the order for the brew iam really eager to start
with the d47 but if it would ruin the beer ill just have to wait.
Thanks in advance...

 

[Pappers_]

I wouldn't take the chance on ruining a beer batch by using a wine yeast. You can order yeast and have it shipped overnight. Or, you could use the wine yeast and look at this as an experiment!

Jim

 

[LaurieGator]

I wouldn't use it for beer.

I am going to try some D-47 in EdWort's Apfelwein and see how that turns out... I have a couple of package calling to me right now and I know I won't make that much mead this summer...

 

[blakey971]

Do it and let us know how she turns out!

 

[FullDraw]

I'd think that it will really dry out your beer. Wine yeast can handle a much higher alcohol content than most beer yeast. It might finish out below 1.000. I'm sure it's been done, but wonder if the maltiness would disappear.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Probably will produce a thin bodied, alcohol hot, and relatively flavorless beer, but most of us haven't tried so we are talking out of our @$$es anyway.

 

[JLem]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to just add here that the above info is incorrect. The reason wines and ciders finish so low (1.000 or lower) is because of the type of sugars present in the wort/must - not because of the yeast used. If you use an ale yeast for cider you'll also end up with zero residual sugars. Most wine yeast strains are the same species as beer yeast - Saccharomyces cerevisiae - and just as with beer strains different wine yeast strains are used because of different flavor characteristics (in addition to being more tolerant of higher alcohol) .

In general, wine yeast is not able to ferment maltotriose, which beer yeasts can, so I would imagine using wine yeast in a beer could result in a HIGHER final gravity than when using a beer yeast. I have not used a wine yeast in a beer, but am planning on it soon. If you want more info I suggest listening to the Brewing Network podcast with Shea Comfort (aka "The Yeast Whisperer")