Yeast preference poll

[wild]

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?

Bakers' yeast is a type of yeast used in baking and is known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This species is also used in fermentation of beer and wine. Baker's yeast comes in two forms. The first form is fresh yeast pressed into a square cake. This form perishes quickly, and must be used soon after production in order to maintain the desired effects. Dry yeast is granulated and has a longer shelf life than fresh yeast. In the production of beer or wine, sugar is converted into alcohol by yeast. Today there are several retailers of baker's yeast, one of the best-known being Fleischmann’s Yeast, which was developed in 1868. During World War II Fleischmann's developed active dry yeast, which did not require refrigeration.
Here are some links:
• Fleischmann's Yeast - http://www.breadworld.com/index.cfm
• Red Star Yeast - http://www.redstaryeast.com/products.html
• SAF Yeast - http://www.safyeast.com/
• Lallemand Yeast - http://www.lallemand.com/

Good luck,
Wild

 

[gearmonkey]

Well, this might mean that I wasn't waiting long enough. I always get worried with them because the instructions said that fermentation would begin within 5 to 12 hours. So, when I woke up this morning and it had been 12 hours since I pitched the yeast, I got worried. I think I'm going to take off and get a dry lager yeast backup just in case. However, I will wait till tomorrow morning and that will be 36 hours. I'm just always worried about waiting that long. Has anyone else's wort taken that long to start bubbling with the liquid yeasts?

Hey jhudson
I was reading your troubles with liquid yeast and I had a thought. Yeast can be very bothered by quick temperature changes. The difference between the tempurature of your yeast (either starter or the vial/packet directly) and the wort should be a little as possible or you can shock the yeast (which can kill a large portion, even all, of your yeast) this would of course result in a stuck fermentation even if your starter was going strong

 

[Turricaine]

I have had ALOT of experience in pitching yeast. My findings are as follows:

Ive only once ever KILLED the yeast. This happens when you are cooling the wort and because you didnt stir it, its cooler on the top then it is underneath, so when u pitch the yeast it sinks to the bottom of the tank where it meets the hotter water and dies.

Retarded initiation is much more common. This can happen when the temperature of your water is too low.

Ideally, the water should be luke warm to get fermentation of to a speedy start.

 

[ZAZ]

That would work out to about US$8-$9, which is a bit more then we pay here, generally us$6. But, it follows the old adage of 'you get what you pay for'. Plus, I re-use yeast for 2-3 batches, which helps reduce the cost. If you become good at harvesting, you could probably get even more batches.

I just know I have never gone back to dry yeast after trying liquid on my third batch. [/QUOTE

Rhoobarg, can you (or anyone) give me some tips on harvesting yeast to re-use it? Thanks for the help!!!

- Should I just take some of the trub and use it to make a starter?
- Should I harvest after primary or secondary?
- Do I need to start it right away?

 

[Torchiest]

I'm curious about that as well. I've gotten the impression that you just rack to secondary, and then brew up another batch and throw it on top of the trub.

 

[azmtnbiker]

I have used both Wyeast and White Labs. I have proabably 30 empty vials of White Labs to turn in for some goodies. Lately I have been using Wyeast because that is what the LHBS has in stock. Both are great and have a great selection. One thing I like about wyeast is the smack pack tells you the yeast is still viable. White labs you have to make a starter to see if an old vial is still good to go. I usually make 2-3qt starters for my ales and usually 4qt for the few lagers that I have made. Although not totally necessary for ales they do help.
Wyeast 1278(scottish ale) is an awesome yeast for scottish ales or even american pale ales or IPA's. You can make a hoppy ale and still have some malt backbone which is nice.

 

[pinevalleybrew]

Has anyone else's wort taken that long to start bubbling with the liquid yeasts?

Yes, I had one take almost 48 hrs before and it came out just fine. I have been using both dry and liquid, the liquid being from White Labs. I have noticed, in the short time I have been brewing, that the liquid White Labs takes a while to start but, as I said, it all comes out in the end.

 

[Mutine Bullfrog]

Wow! Talk about a coincidence. I was just going to bring this exact subject up this morning. My wife bought me a Bavarian Dopplebock kit and it came with White Labs German Lager yeast. Now, this is about the fifth liquid yeast that I've tried and every single one of them have never taken off in my wort. I've always had to back it up with a dry yeast. The first one I tried was a from WYeast and it was one of the smack packs. The smack pack took off and I pour it in the beer and it never did anything. The next three were vials from White Labs. I did a starter on all three. They all started fine, I pour them in my worts, nothing. Yesterday, I took the vial of German Lager yeast, followed the directions to the tee, nothing. I've given every single one of them upwards of 24 hours to take off. When they didn't take off, I pour in the dry and within a few hours, I got a bubbling bundle of joy. Any thoughts?

Also, with this recent lager that I have waiting for this White Labs to take off, I have a package of Coopers brewing dry yeast sitting in the refridgerator. Will this work with a lager? The reason I ask is because this is the first lager I've ever brewed and I know that Coopers works wonders (I think anyways) as an ale yeast.

I'm new to this but I just use a Wyeast smack pack which came with a Northern kit. The directions on the yeast pack were not as clear as the directions from Northern. Northern states that the yeast needs to be activated 6 to 8 hours prior to using for every week of its age and/or 24 hours prior for every month of its age. the yeast I got was 3 weeks old so I smacked it 18 hours prior to pitching. fermentation started with in 8 hours and going strong at 12 hours.

 

[lefteye]

I've used both and find them same
You really must make a starter.
I brew dbl batches with one pouch ( recommend wyeast 1338 low yst flavor)
last batch I poured the starter ( about 1 qt) "equally" - by eye. One took off big time one lagged behind by about 11 hrs. One blew foam one just cruised along. Both from the same boil. Lesson in pitching rate.
Next brew gets two quarts of strter - not all of the liquid, just the yeast.
If you make a starter you'll know in advance, maybe, if you should make other plans for pitching.
I make two to three quarts of extra wert and then can it. If you can it you can squeeze the hops and not waste beer. (adjust recipe accly.) Can be used to prime 11/2 jars per.
One month one day rule: if your yst is two months old smack the pack two days b4 brewing.
Euro Ale 1338 for IPA great.
Anybody got a favorite wyeast (all I can get) for IPA ? and maybe for a Porter?

 

[alemonkey]

I have used both Wyeast and White Labs. I have proabably 30 empty vials of White Labs to turn in for some goodies.

WTF????? How did I never hear of this before? I could have had all kinds of free stuff!

I probably have 5 vials sitting around because I think they're cool and I'm a pack rat.

 

[billhauser]

I used White Labs San Francisco Lager Yaest in my last batch. I pitched the yeast at 78 degrees F, it started reacting 56 hours later and after four weeks its still fermenting. I have my fermenter in the coolest room in my house the temp is about 65 degrees F. I will just let this one go till it shows no reaction then go to secondary.

 

[bobida]

My attempt at a steam beer...I did nearly the exact procedure as billhauser---I used WLP810(san fran lager yeast) -pitch at 77, and it took a good 24-30 hours before it got a steady bubble. I have never aerated my wort when using dry yeast and have had good fermentations. The advice from my supplier said it would be a "vigorous" fermentation. If I had to put a WOW factor on the activity I would say low. Might not have been blowing the airlock off, but it just keeps on going. So far, ten days in the jug and it is just a slow but steady bubble. I am holding at 60-62 degrees. Updates to follow on how long it takes to bottom out gravity. I think it will be worth the wait


.

 

[joshpooh]

How long should you wait before you can be almost certain that there is a problem with your yeast. I had a problem with liquid yeast not fermenting, and I'm pretty sure it was at least 48 hours before I backed it up with dry yeast. Is that long enough to wait? I know there is no exact amount of time, but can anyone give me a ballpark figure?

 

[Eye8oneu812]

Wyeast is the way to go. I've had beers made with the dry yeast that comes with kits, and let me tell you, using Wyeast really makes a big difference. It's worth that extra few bucks to make a beer that, in my opinion, is head and shoulders above what a dry yeast can produce. I've used these so far:

Wyeast Northwest Ale
Wyeast London Ale
Wyeast Bavarian Wheat
Wyeast American Wheat
Wyeast Belgian Abbey II

and I am really happy with them. Go Wyeast!

 

[revrand65]

your not alone brother,i used used a wyeast on an ale i just brewed and followed the instructions to the letter..and i had the same exact results that you did..i pitched at 70 degrees..i waited a full 36 hours and nothing..i decided to use some nottingham dry that i allways have on hand..and bam it's going nuts in about 10 hours..i must be doing something wrong because i had the same problem with a white labs...your not alone...time to do some more research i guess.

 

[benwhite22]

So far I have only used liquid yeast once (white labs american hefe) and pitched it directly into the wort at something below 70 degrees. (I left the wort in the ice water bath a little too long.) It took about 36 hours to really get going but it's bubbling away now. If turns out, I'll probably be sticking with liquid yeast.

 

[madscutter]

I voted other/no preference but so far I've only used liquid yeast and it works great for me. I've used both White Labs and Wyeast (smack packs) and the only difference that I noticed was that I made more of a mess with the White Labs.

I think I'll save some of the yeast from my current batch and try to recycle. Just to see how it works (Wyeast Brittish Ale -1098). Guess I'll have to try making a starter next batch.

 

[stale]

most of mine have taken at least 2 days before they get going but so far seem to very well after tht

 

[cheezydemon]

I have only used white labs liquid yeast in the 12 or so batches I have made and I have not had 1 stuck fermentation. I used one vial to brew 6 different batches in the same fermenter. It never let me down

 

[cheezydemon]

I voted other/no preference but so far I've only used liquid yeast and it works great for me. I've used both White Labs and Wyeast (smack packs) and the only difference that I noticed was that I made more of a mess with the White Labs.

I think I'll save some of the yeast from my current batch and try to recycle. Just to see how it works (Wyeast Brittish Ale -1098). Guess I'll have to try making a starter next batch.

THE BEST STARTER IS WHAT IS LEFT IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR PRIMARY IF YOU ARE DOING A SIMILAR STYLE OF BEER. GOOD LUCK!