I just ordered a kit from their website that is for catching/growing wild yeast strains for home brews. I was wondering if anyone else may have used them or tried doing this their selves. It's one thing to just try and open ferment, but this actually isolates proper strains for less work and better beer. Any advice welcome!
Currently I am using EC-1118 yeast for making my wines. In the past I have also used DADY Red Star and it worked, but took forever to clear up and become even remotely drinkable. Plus my last 2 batches of mead with this yeast ended up with a sour taste as well. Is there a wine yeast out there that is NOT a Turbo yeast commercially available that can go beyond 20% ABV?
I noticed several small pink colonies on the foam of a second stage starter that I made from recovered yeast (originally Gigayeast: GY 054) that was mixed with 25% glycerin and frozen. They were not fuzzy as might be expected for a mold or mycelial species. I've done some research on the Web and PubMed in particular and have found two genera of wild yeast that might be responsible: Rhodotorula and Sporobolomyces. I didn't find any representations that these were …
I have just read an article about harvesting yeast (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/yeast-harvesting-novel-approach.html). The author talks about making a starter and taking a part of the starter and store it in the fridge for the next brewing. I was thinking about it and came up with a couple of questions: Is it worth doing? would it be better to split the yeast into multiple containers and use one at a time, keeping the others sealed to prevent contamination or should I rather make …
I have heard yeast can mutate when you re-use yeast, and when it goes through many yeast-generations. How long does it take for the yeast to mutate? Which factors have an impact on the characteristics of the yeast? Which characteristics will this mutated yeast have? Is the yeast stable and healthy after being mutated?
Reusing yeast at home is something I'm incredibly interested in, but haven't found the time to learn enough about it just yet. What are the basic steps for harvesting, cultivating, or whatever other term you want to use, in order to reuse yeast from previous batches of homebrew? What equipment is required? What equipment is helpful, but not necessary? What are some of the most important things to watch out for? What other advice can you give on the topic? …
No special instruments / meters available. Is there an approximate way to tell when the alcoholic fermentation has stopped ? I am asking so I know when to add the MLF yeasts in. Viniflora CH16 should be added to dry wine, immediately after the alcoholic fermentation. Viniflora CH16 should always be inoculated directly into the wine. No rehydration or reactivation is required.
Attenuation is the % of sugars a yeast will consume during fermentation, and is a general gauge of how much ABV will result from a specific OG solution. We all know that the attenuation of a specific yeast has a % rating on its data sheet. But how is this number calculated and given an officially accepted value for its data sheet? Yesterday I attended a private class at a White Labs San Diego. Hoping to get a clear answer …
I have a couple of yeast questions that I have not found the answer to yet. I recently washed my yeast from a batch of beer using something like this. I got 5 jars of yeast out of this, and I assume I can brew 5 batches of beer from these. So what exactly is 4 - 6 generations? Because If I take the yeast from another batch of beer, I can get another 5 jars again. Are all of …
I am considering plating up some yeast/isolating cultures and starting my own small yeast bank, I know that If I were to keep these at -80C in a lab freezer they would keep for years, but how long should I expect them to stay viable in a domestic fridge or freezer?
I am preparing to start my own small yeast bank and I was wondering what is the optimal method for scaling up to a starter from a single colony. What step sizes should I use? What strength of wort should I use? How long should it take for each step? For the sake of an example, what would be the optimal path to get from a single colony on a plate to a starter suitable for pitching into 100l of …
We washed yeast from our last beer and now it's sitting in multiple containers in the fridge. The mixture is mostly water with some yeast at the bottom. Is it acceptable practice to combine the yeast in one container and have the area left filled with the water?
Say I wanted to make an ale which has some of the banana characteristics of a Belgian yeast, but also wanted some of the citrusy flavors of an American ale yeast. Could I achieve this by making a starter which is half Belgian yeast and half American yeast (or maybe some other ratio)? What results should I expect from introducing two (or more!) strains of yeast in the same batch?
My friend and I were trying to ferment some raspberries using the WYEAST 4766 Cider yeast. Now it's 1 day after we activated the package and it is still only partially inflated. Should we buy a new one or do you think it is just a slowly growing yeast and it should be fine? Did anybody else have experiences when using this yeast for mead/wine or cider? thanks for your answer!
Recently I decided to harvest a Weihenstephaner heffe yeast from the bottle. However, I couldn't find it in the store, so I grabbed Weihenstephaner Vitus. Does it contain the same yeast strain as heffe, or not? P.S. It's nevertheless on the stirplate as we speak...
I'm a senior student, experimenting on alcohol concentration of wine using different variables. My variables are white wine yeast and brewing yeast and whilst I know the main role, I would like to delve deeper and know the chemistry behind it.
Wine making is not common in my country so it's difficult to buy wine ingredient especially Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) as yeast nutrient. After look in local shop, there's a shop selling Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP). Can we use it as yeast nutrient in wine making? Is there any journal or research that claim MAP safe to use as yeast nutrient?
I brew using NA Bud.Primary fermentation in bin then secondary in primed bottles that beer originated from.bottling is done after about 1 week then left for three weeks to clear.only slight problem is sediment in bottom of bottles.beer has to be put in glass or else drinking yeasty beer. Ihave heard of using Gelatin to solidify sediment but have never tried it. Can anyone give advice on how to use it?I.E. Preparation of Gelatin,when to add it and will it …
As I understand it, the selection of malt (and adjunct), hops and yeast all affect the flavour of a beer in important ways. However, while you can taste the malt and other grains to get a feel for what flavour they will give to the beer, and you can smell hops to get a feel for flavour and aroma (and use alpha acid level as an indicator for the bittering hops), I can't see a good way to get an …