Yeast preference poll

[DeRoux's Broux]

try this link. it's one way to do it.
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/kegging/page2.php

i know it says kegging, but trust me!

 

[user 574]

try this link. it's one way to do it.
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/kegging/page2.php

i know it says kegging, but trust me!

The only thing I'd add to saving yeast is use a Grolsch or similar flip-top bottle if you have them. You have to burp them on occasion and these work much better than prying up your cap. If you re-use your yeast (I go 2 generations after the purchase) your $6 or £5 will net you 6-9 batches back at you.

 

[80/-]

try this link. it's one way to do it.
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/kegging/page2.php

i know it says kegging, but trust me!

Cheers DeRoux - that looks nice and simple.

I couldn't see how long the yeast would remain viable for once bottled and placed in the fridge - any ideas? Are we talking weeks or months ?

80/-

 

[wild]

I've never had the chance to use a Wyeast Smack Pack. My LHBS normally sells White Labs and a few dry. I usually buy the WL vials and can get up to 8 good batches out of each. All it takes is a bit of scheduling by splitting a starter in two then racking onto 3 primaries from each starter.

Wild

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i'd say no more than a couple months, but i could be wrong? i don't have the capacity to do back-to-back-to-back brews. to me, it's easier to spend $6 for yeast when i need it and i know it's good. i would like to do it just for the knowledge and to say that i can. but, i HATE TO CLEAN BOTTLES!!!!

 

[user 574]

I'm not sure how long it'll last either. I also think a couple months maybe? I start getting nervous about it after 6-8 weeks but I always do a starter to make sure its good.

The other problem with saving yeast slurry is then your kind of stuck with the types of brews for that strain. I guess you could use it for other types but I usually go to white labs site and look for the 4 star brew types for the strain I got. Right now I got a bottle of WL British Ale yeast slurry left. So I probably should hold off on my "Belgium batch next" and do something with this before I can't trust it anymore!

 

[The Conrad]

for starters, ive NEVER used dry yeast, and i never will (call me a snob if you must) But my experiences with White Labs and Wyeast have been very different.
1. my beers with White Labs have always been much cleaner tasting with less "yeast bite" than my beers with Wyeast (same size starters made from both sometimes, sometims just pitch both directly)
2. Odd observation, but i feel like Wyeast gets plugged more in the Hombrew community and in Homebrewing Books such as Clone Brews and Beer Captured. To remedy this, i did a little search and came up with a website that makes the WhiteLabs vs. Wyeast Comparison Chart. it gives character of strains, orgins, and which Whitelabs to use in place of a given Wyeast strain... GO WHITELABS.

*here is that site, i hope you guys get as much out of it as i did... really opened my eyes and made me a happy man:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~engla008/yeast.html

3. My all time favorite yeast is WhiteLabs 500... one DAMN FINE belgian yeast... jeez this is good stuff.

 

[BitterRat]

for starters, ive NEVER used dry yeast, and i never will (call me a snob if you must) But my experiences with White Labs and Wyeast have been very different.
1. my beers with White Labs have always been much cleaner tasting with less "yeast bite" than my beers with Wyeast (same size starters made from both sometimes, sometims just pitch both directly)
2. Odd observation, but i feel like Wyeast gets plugged more in the Hombrew community and in Homebrewing Books such as Clone Brews and Beer Captured. To remedy this, i did a little search and came up with a website that makes the WhiteLabs vs. Wyeast Comparison Chart. it gives character of strains, orgins, and which Whitelabs to use in place of a given Wyeast strain... GO WHITELABS.

*here is that site, i hope you guys get as much out of it as i did... really opened my eyes and made me a happy man:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~engla008/yeast.html

3. My all time favorite yeast is WhiteLabs 500... one DAMN FINE belgian yeast... jeez this is good stuff.

I have looked at that chart a number of times and while it's good, there is alot of info on it that just isn't so. For instance, how can WLP 002 be both Fullers and Youngs yeast? or comparable to both 1968 and 1318, these are NOT the same strain, they do not give the same result in a beer. There are other things on that chart that aren't accurate. If you use the charts, just keep in mind that these are guesses at the the source of origin of said strain, but not all are accurate and you still need to use your experience in making decisions for your brews.

 

[Marcale]

Hi
I am surprised that none of you get yeast from your local breweries. I get mine from Woodfords who make great British Ales. For £0.75 ($1) I get more fresh yeast (direct from their fermentation vat) than I need for a 25L batch. I usually get the same day as I am brewing and pitch straight away. It starts very quickly, and when it has done its job, I skim off the clean stuff into a sterile wide mouthed bottle and store in fridge. I usually share/give this with a friend, who in return, gives me his skim. After about 5 to 7 brews we discard and get new.
If I use the yeast from the fridge, I use a starter that is made from a 500ml of wort that I took from an earlier batch and froze. I add a table spoon of brown sugar and boil, cool and aerate before using. Using these processes neither of us has had a slow starter nor bad brew and we always have some on tap.
Marcale

 

[ScottT]

I For instance, how can WLP 002 be both Fullers and Youngs yeast? or comparable to both 1968 and 1318, these are NOT the same strain, they do not give the same result in a beer.

Well you are correct in pointing out discrepencies in the chart but have you consitered that they can be the same yeast. The two brewery's, Fullers and Youngs are only 6.3 miles apart by road, less (about 4 miles or so) in linear distance.

Seeing as these yeasts though now propigated, were once naturally occuring for the area, they can indeed be the same strain.

When you say that they don't give the same result, I'm very interested in the side by side comparisons you've done using the same wort and both yeasts in seperate fermentations.

 

[ScottT]

Hi
I am surprised that none of you get yeast from your local breweries. I get mine from Woodfords who make great British Ales. For £0.75 ($1) I get more fresh yeast (direct from their fermentation vat) than I need for a 25L batch. I usually get the same day as I am brewing and pitch straight away. It starts very quickly, and when it has done its job, I skim off the clean stuff into a sterile wide mouthed bottle and store in fridge. I usually share/give this with a friend, who in return, gives me his skim. After about 5 to 7 brews we discard and get new.
If I use the yeast from the fridge, I use a starter that is made from a 500ml of wort that I took from an earlier batch and froze. I add a table spoon of brown sugar and boil, cool and aerate before using. Using these processes neither of us has had a slow starter nor bad brew and we always have some on tap.
Marcale

Alas, I wish it were as simple here as there. We don't exactly have local breweries in most places. Yes, there is a Miller brewery close to me but I would not want to brew a lager similar to theirs. The same goes for the closest micro brewery to me Big Bucks, I'm not particulary fond of the beers they brew, I can do better using brewery specific ale yeasts for the styles I like. I do love Scottish Ales, Brittish Bitters (especially Green King), and German Dopple Bocks and Marzen. I'll just use the appropriate yeast and keep refinining my recipe's till I achieve perfection.

 

[voodoochild7]

I just used my first liquid yeast and was worried cuz I didn't see bubbles after 3 hours like my dry yeast on my first batch ever. But after about 18 hours it got going. Also make sure you shake up that bad boy if you are using white labs. Get all the stuff on the bottom suspended in the wort in the tube.

 

[The Happy Mug]

White labs, baby. I've got their poster on my bedroom wall, right over my fermentation space.

Marcale, you are officially my hero of the day. I never thought of checking with breweries. I'm in Colorado. I think California is the only state with more breweries. I'm less than an hour from New Belgium. To think I could brew my next batch with the same yeast that Fat Tire is brewed with.

 

[Tony]

Well, I moved over to White Labs. Ever since I began making starters, its much easier. But along with the ease comes fantastic yeast. Every single vial I have used has been a winner, and Im hooked. I tried their new Platinum WLP041 Pacific Ale yeast, and its awesome. A nice mix of fruity and malty flavors. I also picked up a vial of their WLP010 10th anniversary yeast which combines four strains — WLP001 California Ale, WLP002 English Ale, WLP004 Irish Ale, and WLP810 San Francisco Lager. Im trying to find a suitable "special" recipe to try it on. Any suggestions?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

hey tony, i'm making a wee heavy next weekend and my HBS was out of White Lab's Edinburgh Ale yeast, so i had to get Wyeast Scotch Ale. i make starters and have never used the Wyeast before? do you smack it the day before you make your starter, or just early the same day?????

 

[El Pistolero]

hey tony, i'm making a wee heavy next weekend and my HBS was out of White Lab's Edinburgh Ale yeast

Sorry man...I took the last vial.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

Sorry man...I took the last vial.

you ****tin' me???? where you at DeFalco's yesterday?????????

 

[El Pistolero]

you ****tin' me???? where you at DeFalco's yesterday?????????

No, it was the last vial when I got it a couple of months ago. They seem to be a little spotty on their reordering lately.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

Landry told me White Lab's has been screw'n 'em on their orders. don't know what's up. nothing wrong w/ Wyeast, just outta my norm.......

 

[Tony]

hey tony, i'm making a wee heavy next weekend and my HBS was out of White Lab's Edinburgh Ale yeast, so i had to get Wyeast Scotch Ale. i make starters and have never used the Wyeast before? do you smack it the day before you make your starter, or just early the same day?????

The jury is out on the ultimate way to make a Wyeast starter...

Some people will sterilize the package and scissors, snip the corner of the package, and pour the yeast into the cooled DME/yeast nutrient solution in their flask, eliminating the small nutrient pack completely.

Others will smack the pack a two days prior to brewing, allow it to swell a day, then the next day, whether it swelled or not, sterilize the package and scissors, snip the corner of the package, and pour the yeast into the cooled DME/yeast nutrient solution.

Myself, I did the second method, just to see how fresh the package really was. The Wyeast XL packs are said to have more yeast, around 120 billion cells, than the White Labs tubes, but actually they are about the same, around 100 billion cells. The smaller Wyeast packs have only about 15-20 billion active yeast cells.

 

[The Happy Mug]

I've never used Wyeast before, and I don't think I can.

Altitude is too high (mile high city). I asked the HB guy, and he said the altitude tends to make them pop, so they don't carry Wyeast.

I can relate it to the gunshot-like noise in your car when driving up the mountains when a bag of chips goes supernova and bursts, spreading dorito dust everywhere.

 

[cgravier]

i use white labs yeast with great results, but i would like to use wyeast. my hbs doesnt carry wyeast cuz according to them "about 1 out of ten dont activate" which i think is b.s. myself. the reason i want to use wyeast is that they rate there fermentation temps lower than white labs, and since my closet is on the cool side (61-64) i think i could get better results from thier yeast.

some of my favs are:
east coast ale yeast
s.f. lager
california ale
london ale

ive never used dy yeast but i heard they are good,if not consistant.im thinking of buying some for emegency backup (in case i get a stuck ferm.) what are some good ones out there?

 

[pigpen]

Can anyone tell me what this whitelabs east coast ale yeast is like.Any commercial beers that might use a strain like this? I just used a simple pale ale recipe.Should be an :cross: interesting batch!

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i think it's close to a Sam Adams Ale from what i've seen posted on here?

 

[pigpen]

Thats cool!Sam Adams,always a good decision!

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i think the Sam Adam's Boston Ale to be exact, not the Boston Lager.

 

[boo boo]

Wyeast is good for me. Actually it is the only liquid I can get locally. I have used dry with great results also, like nottingham and saflager. I might order some WL and try it out.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I can relate it to the gunshot-like noise in your car when driving up the mountains when a bag of chips goes supernova and bursts, spreading dorito dust everywhere.

That's hilarious. Anybody remember sniglets...those made up words? I always remember 'snackmosphere', the puff of air you smell when you open a bag of snacks, and 'Cheetle', the orange residue left on your fingers after eating Cheetos!

ahh, but to stay on-topic I go with Wyeast 'cause that's what my HBS stocks. I've used WL once and the beer still tasted fine!

 

[Alx Rains]

Well I put down two brews yesterday, one Cider and one American Pale Ale, Both using Whitelabs starters, after 18hrs the Cider is Bubbling away merrily but the ale is sitting there just sulking, I'm not terribly concerned yet, Some others of mine have taken a bit to get going but none have failed. When I used to do dry yeast I found that rehydrating it made it go a fair bit quicker,

 

[RichBrewer]

I've never used Wyeast before, and I don't think I can.

Altitude is too high (mile high city). I asked the HB guy, and he said the altitude tends to make them pop, so they don't carry Wyeast.

I can relate it to the gunshot-like noise in your car when driving up the mountains when a bag of chips goes supernova and bursts, spreading dorito dust everywhere.

I live in the Denver area and I've always used Wyeast with no problems. My LHBS http://www.thebrewhut.com/ stocks a wide variety of Wyeast. I don't know where your HB guy gets his information but it isn't accurate.

 

[Slappy5555]

I've made a few batches so far, used both types of liquid yeast with excellent results. I just hate spending the money on it. I know, I know...I shouldn't be concerned. The problem is that I'm looking to start brewing some 50 gallon batches, so with that, I'd hate to add an extra $30 to the cost of my brew just for 5 packets of or vials of yeast.

We all know that the liquid yeast has better results than the dry, but I can buy packets of dry yeast for 55 cents for each 5 gallon batch. Is there a method where we can use dry yeast and have equilivent results as the liquid?

Thanks!

 

[Bopper]

I never make starters (unless I'm making something with a very high grav.) and use Whitelabs or a smack pack. I pitch around 70 degrees or so. My batches have always been rip roaring within 24 hours

 

[DeNovo]

... I'm in Colorado. I think California is the only state with more breweries...

I'm thinking you've never visited Portland, OR, my friend. Something like 60 brewpubs, microbreweries and craft brewers in one widely grinning town! It's not hard to visit a new one every time I pass through, and I'm just across the Columbia. They don't call it Beervana for nothing!

Just to keep this thread on-topic, the Mocha Porter I pitched last night at midnight with White Labs WLP 023 Burton Ale Yeast (I did make a 1 pint starter) was working merrily by 7 AM, and now (nearly 4 pm) the cake looks ready for harvest.

De Novo
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/smilies/occasion14.gif

 

[alemonkey]

I've made a few batches so far, used both types of liquid yeast with excellent results. I just hate spending the money on it. I know, I know...I shouldn't be concerned. The problem is that I'm looking to start brewing some 50 gallon batches, so with that, I'd hate to add an extra $30 to the cost of my brew just for 5 packets of or vials of yeast.

We all know that the liquid yeast has better results than the dry, but I can buy packets of dry yeast for 55 cents for each 5 gallon batch. Is there a method where we can use dry yeast and have equilivent results as the liquid?

Thanks!

Just reuse your yeast - you can harvest it from the bottom of the primary fermenter. There are several threads on it if you do a search.

If you need a lot of yeast you can make a starter to step up the number of cells you're pitching.

You must have a lot of mooching friends if you're going to do 50 gallon batches.

 

[Slappy5555]

Just reuse your yeast - you can harvest it from the bottom of the primary fermenter. There are several threads on it if you do a search.

If you need a lot of yeast you can make a starter to step up the number of cells you're pitching.

You must have a lot of mooching friends if you're going to do 50 gallon batches.

My future father in law is big into hard apple cider. They own an apple orchard here in Michigan, so with all that he does selling his hard cider, he'd love me to create a excellent apple beer. I made an Amber beer and added a gallon of apple cider to the last minute or so of the boil. I'll be trying my first Apple Amber beer tonight. If all goes well, the father in law wants to get his beer permit and start selling it. He has his wine license, sells alot of cider, so branching out to beer is the next step. Check out http://www.almarorchards.com/index_files/Page677.htm for information.

Almar Orchards

Oh, yes....my friends are a bunch of mooches.

 

[Glibbidy]

I usually get mine for free from the brewery down the street

 

[Mykel Obvious]

I'm a White Labs guy myself... I've used WYeast in the mid-90's but I hate to wait for the pack to swell... I've just started using a magnetic stirrer and doing 1-2 liter starters, and this (along with an aeration pump) has brought my lag time down to 1 hour!!! I tend to have positive pressure in the airlock within 30 minutes and the first bubble before the hour is up... can I say I LOVE MY STIRRER!!!

Some of you are VERY lucky... Alabama is still in the dark ages for homebrew and is Beer Hell (TM) for sure... the State Statutes have never allowed that homebrew is legal... though the last prosecution was in the early 80's, ya never know... We are also in the ABV dark ages... max ABV is 6% at this time... there is a grass roots movement to try and get this changed... see Free The Hops: http://www.freethehops.org/index.php

Due to the same laws, I don't have a LHBS persay... there is a lady that has a few things, and one guy (and a member of one of the local clubs) who does sell stuff out of his warehouse http://www.kegkits.com/ and carries White Labs products... but as often as not, I order through morebeer or homebrew.com... I haven't had a REAL LHBS since I was living in Phoenix... where you can get Belgian Triples at the local grocery store!!! GOD I miss Phoenix LOL

I have to drive 1 1/2 hrs just to get a GOOD beer (above 6% ABV) and about the same for good yeast, etc... so I tend to do the online thing... and as to the only brewery in town, Olde Towne Brewing Co. (The FIRST one since prohibition was repealed... and if you read the reviews, he IS getting better at it!!!) the brewer/owner is a member of my local homebrew club, so I know what yeast he uses, and I like the fruitier stuff (I'm into English and Belgian brews right now) so I don't want what he uses very much... though he does a good Bock and his Porter, Pumpkin and Hefe are very nice if you get them fresh (over 1/2 of the recipes come from the guys in my club LOL)

Anyway, I'm gonna hit Janx up for a few more polls on things like Starters, Aeration and the like...

Beers to ya,
mikey

should I continue to post drunk??? LOL

 

[Tigerfan]

I like the wyeasts best because that is what is in the -80. Before I brew I take a frozen glycerol stock out, inoculate a 5ml culture and then the next day I start a few 1 liter cultures in the 30 degree shaker. When those guys are ready they go in the centrifuge and spun down. Next I resuspend in 50ml of sterile water and take home and pitch. Oh yeah, I use the standard YEPD media.

 

[vloraditch]

I'm just getting started in this, so if any one could point me inthe right direction I would sure appreciate it. Is there a difference between brewers yeast & regular yeast? Are they interchangeable?

 

[Walker]

I'm just getting started in this, so if any one could point me inthe right direction I would sure appreciate it. Is there a difference between brewers yeast & regular yeast? Are they interchangeable?

there is a huge difference between brewer's yeast and baker's yeast. the latter will leave some strange flavors in your beer.

as a beginner, I would suggest you use fairly generic dry ale yeast. It's cheaper and easier to use. when you get a few batches done, you can move on up to liquid yeasts. There are more varieties of liquid yeast available, and the yeast can make a huge difference in the flavor of your beer.

-walker