Best yeast to use?

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barta24
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Best yeast to use?

Post by barta24 »

What's everyone out there using for yeasts for their mash? Looking to try some new types .
waffletalk
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by waffletalk »

I'm using a belgian dry yeast . Abbaye Ale 256. Doesn't flock, upwards of 85% attenuation. I like the phenolics with the wheat I use. 40$ for a 500g pack.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by rad14701 »

Most here use plain old bakers yeast... Easy to source and plenty cheap so over-pitching to beat infections from starting isn't an issue...
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by barta24 »

Is red star bakers yeast any good?
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Bushman
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Bushman »

Yes, that is what I use as it is what Costco sells and it is less than half the price bought elsewhere.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by biker geek »

the real advantage of baker's yeast is that you can do a mega pitch for the cost of a vial of White Labs or packet of Wyeast. The downside is that baking yeast is not selected or bred for taste. It's meant to produce CO2 at higher temps. Learning some yeast management can help with the cost by letting you increase the size of your pitch by using the more expensive yeast to make a starter. You won't have to buy 10 vials of yeast. Just buy one, make a starter(pitching yeast into a sacrificial pint of wort), and let them multiply.

I've played with Safale 04, Wlp002, and Wlp001.

This is from the How To Brew site

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/yea ... t-starters" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Making a Liquid Yeast Starter
Liquid yeast packets should be stored in the refrigerator to keep the yeast dormant and healthy until they are ready to be used. There are two types of liquid yeast package - Those with inner nutrient packets and those without. The packages that contain an inner bubble of yeast nutrient (i.e. a "smack pack") are intended to function as a mini-starter, but are really not adequate. They still need to be pitched to a starter wort after activation. The package must be squeezed and warmed to 80°F at least two days before brewing. The packet will begin to swell as the yeast wake up and start consuming the nutrients. When the packet has fully swelled, it is time to pitch it to a starter to increase the total cell count to ensure a good fermentation. I prefer to prepare all my liquid yeast packages yeast four days before brewday.

1. If you are going to brew on Saturday, take the yeast packet out of the refrigerator on Tuesday . Let it warm up to room temperature. If it is a smack pack, place the packet on the countertop and feel for the inner bubble of yeast nutrient. Burst this inner bubble by pressing on it with the heel of your hand. Shake it well. If you are not using a smack pack, proceed directly to step 3. You will be making two successive starters to take the place of the mini-starter smack pack.

2. Put the packet in a warm place overnight to let it swell. On top of the refrigerator is good. Some brewers, who shall remain nameless, have been known to sleep with their yeast packets to keep them at the right temperature. However, their spouse assured them in no uncertain terms that the presence of the yeast packet did not entitle them to any more of the covers. So, just put the packet somewhere that's about 80°F, like next to the water heater

Figure 36: After about 24 hours, the packet has swelled like a balloon. Time to make the yeast starter.
3. On Wednesday (or Tuesday for slants) you will make up a starter wort. Boil a pint (1/2 quart) of water and stir in 1/2 cup of DME. This will produce a starter of about 1.040 OG. Boil this for 10 minutes, adding a little bit of hops if you want to. Put the lid on the pan for the last couple minutes, turn off the stove and let it sit while you prepare for the next step. Adding a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient (vitamins, biotin, and dead yeast cells) to the starter wort is always advisable to ensure good growth. It is available from your brewshop.



4. Fill the kitchen sink with a couple inches of cold water. Take the covered pot and set it in the water, moving it around to speed the cooling. When the pot feels cool, about 80°F or less, pour the wort into a sanitized glass mason jar or something similar. Pour all of the wort in, even the sediment. This sediment consists of proteins and lipids which are actually beneficial for yeast growth at this stage.

Ideally, the starter's temperature should be the same as what you plan the fermentation temperature to be. This allows the yeast to get acclimated to working at that temperature. If the yeast is started warmer and then pitched to a cooler fermentation environment, it may be shocked or stunned by the change in temperature and may take a couple days to regain normal activity.



5. Sanitize the outside of the yeast packet before opening it by swabbing it with isopropyl alcohol. Using sanitized scissors, cut open a corner of the packet and pour the yeast into the jar. Two quart juice or cider bottles work well, and the opening is often the right size to accept an airlock and rubber stopper. Cover the top of the jar or bottle with plastic wrap and the lid.

Shake the starter vigorously to aerate it. Remove and discard the plastic wrap, insert an airlock and put it somewhere out of direct sunlight. (So it doesn't get too hot in the sun.) If you don't have an airlock that will fit, don't worry. Instead, put a clean piece of plastic wrap over the jar or bottle and secure it loosely with a rubber band. This way the escaping carbon dioxide will be able to vent without exposing the starter to the air.

6. On Thursday (or Wednesday for slants) some foaming or an increase in the white yeast layer on the bottom should be evident. These small wort starters can ferment quickly so don't be surprised if you missed the activity. When the starter has cleared and the yeast have settled to the bottom it is ready to pitch to the fermenter, although it will keep for 2-3 days without any problems. However, I recommend that you add another pint or quart of wort to the Starter to build up the yeast population even more.

The starter process may be repeated several times to provide more yeast to ensure an even stronger fermentation. In fact, a general rule is that the stronger the beer (more fermentable/higher gravity), the more yeast you should pitch. For strong beers and barleywines, at least 1 cup of yeast slurry or 1 gallon of yeast starter should be pitched to ensure that there will be enough active yeast to finish the fermentation before they are overwhelmed by the rising alcohol level. For more moderate strength beers (1.050 gravity) a 1-1.5 quart starter is sufficient. One consideration when pitching a large starter is to pour off some of the starter liquid and only pitch the yeast slurry. One recommendation when pitching a large starter is to chill the starter overnight in the refrigerator to flocculate all of the yeast. Then the unpleasant tasting starter beer can be poured off, so only the yeast slurry will be pitched.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Pikey »

Dunno - I found a recipe of my grandmother's for making Eldeberry wine when I was about 15 and tried it - "Take some yeast, spread it on toast and float it on the liquid..."

Well it worked and I got a thick sweet wine with loads of flavour from teh cloves and cinnamon and ginger - that was the start of my winemaking and 40 odd years later I can say that was the last time I used baker's yeast. :)

Hygiene will prevent "infections" and a lot of other yeasts willl ferment to higher abv's under colder conditions. To my mind "bread yeast" is used to maximise carbon dioxide for bread. I want to maximise alcohol for wine - which I either drink or cook.

Make your own choice, as has been said many use bread yeast and spend a load of money on other ingredients.

Ever heard the saying "...don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar ..." ?
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Huw jarse »

Hi there, sorry if I have missed this in the vast miriad of information available in this site. I have read as much as I can absorb. I am making a corn/sugar mash of 1lb of corn/sugar to 1 gallon of water. Could you tell me what is the ratio of. Bakers yeast that I need to use please? Thankyou and sorry if this has been explained already.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

What is the final volume of the wash?.....its bit hard to know without that information.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by rad14701 »

Huw jarse wrote:Hi there, sorry if I have missed this in the vast miriad of information available in this site. I have read as much as I can absorb. I am making a corn/sugar mash of 1lb of corn/sugar to 1 gallon of water. Could you tell me what is the ratio of. Bakers yeast that I need to use please? Thankyou and sorry if this has been explained already.
Sounds to me like you need to bone up on the theories and fundamentals because if you don't know the answers to that question then there is a whole lot more that you don't even know you don't know... We consider independent research here mandatory, not optional... If we give you this one answer you're just going to come back with yet another question and this site doesn't work that way... You need to know what you need to know before you need to know it... This goes for every new member, not just you... There is a link in my signature that you should read in its entirety, including any linked information... Just trying to set you straight before you develop a bad habit... We don't spoonfeed...

The answer you seek is on the parent site, under Calulators...
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Huw jarse »

Hi there, the wash would be 4 gals.
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still_stirrin
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by still_stirrin »

Huw jarse wrote:Could you tell me what is the ratio of. Bakers yeast that I need to use please?
Here's a guideline (from another thread I just answered):

Here is the simple math to calculate the number of cells needed. For an ale, you want to pitch around 0.75 million cells of viable yeast (0.75 million for an ale, 1.5 million for a lager), for every milliliter of wort, for every degree plato.

(0.75 million) X (milliliters of wort) X (degrees Plato of the wort)

There is about 3785 milliliters in a gallon. There are about 20,000 milliliters in 5.25 gallons

A degree Plato is about 1.004 of original gravity. Just divide the OG by 4 to get Plato (e.g., 1.048 is 12 degrees Plato).

So, for a 1.048 wort pitching into 5.25 gallons you need about 180 billion cells.

(750,000) X (20,000) X (12) = 180,000,000,000

As an easy to remember rough estimate, you need about 15 billion cells for each degree Plato or about 4 billion cells for each point of OG when pitching into a little over 5 gallons of wort. If you want a quick way of doing a back of the envelope estimate, that is really close to 0.75 billion cells for each point of gravity per gallon of wort. Double that to 1.5 billion for a lager.

Now, each packet of dry yeast (11 g) holds about 18-20 billion cells per gram, so a single packet would give you approximately 200-220 billion cells...enough for a 5.25 gallon ferment at 1.048 OG. With a higher OG, you need more cells (calculate what you'd need).
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Huw jarse »

'Rad14701' There's no need to patronise. I have read your many many links and sifted through information. I don't need to be spoon fed, I was merely asking a question which I don't feel was clearly answered for me in the aforementioned texts. This attitude of yours does nothing to help aspiring distillers to learn. It is a daunting task and there is so much information surely a little 'friendly' help wouldnt be too much to ask? I'm sorry I asked!
Last edited by Huw jarse on Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Huw jarse »

Thankyou very much 'still stirring'. Very helpful.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by rad14701 »

Huw jarse wrote:'Rad14701' There's no need to patronise. I have read your many many links and sifted through information. I don't need to be spoon fed, I was merely asking a question which I don't feel was clearly answered for me in the aforementioned texts. This attitude of yours does nothing to help aspiring distillers to learn. It is a daunting task and there is so much information surely a little 'friendly' help wouldnt be too much to ask? I'm sorry I asked!
I'll consider the novice source as far as your comments... We do expect you to do the research, not just make mistakes and ask continuous questions... Just because you think you've done enough research, because you're in a hurry, doesn't mean you have... You should consider yourself lucky that a site like this, filled with thousands of years of combined experience and information, even exists... Many of us had no resource when we started so we had no choice but to make mistakes... You don't have to because you can learn enough to avoid those mistakes, but only if you expend the time and energy... Otherwise, forget this site exists and just make enough mistakes on your own until things go right - or potentially go terribly wrong... You novices can use the terms "patronizing", "condescending", and whatever else all you want but my advice is in "your" best interest... You don't get a choice in the delivery and perhaps you're just interpreting it wrong... The underlying message remains the same...
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by Huw jarse »

I appreciate what you are saying but you really need to lighten up a touch. I'm in no hurry, I just wanted some friendly advice. I'm clearly in the wrong place. This is a site that is unsuitable for people who expect a friendly source of guidance from some extremely experienced and talented distillers. I had no idea that I would be met with such pomposity! ( from you anyway) I will learn through trial, error and hard work, as I have done all my life. If you don't want to guide aspiring distillers, why have a forum. Why not just sit up high and look down at us all learning like you used to. Good day sir.
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by rad14701 »

Huw jarse wrote:I appreciate what you are saying but you really need to lighten up a touch. I'm in no hurry, I just wanted some friendly advice. I'm clearly in the wrong place. This is a site that is unsuitable for people who expect a friendly source of guidance from some extremely experienced and talented distillers. I had no idea that I would be met with such pomposity! ( from you anyway) I will learn through trial, error and hard work, as I have done all my life. If you don't want to guide aspiring distillers, why have a forum. Why not just sit up high and look down at us all learning like you used to. Good day sir.
Just remember, it's your choice where you glean your information... This site isn't going to coddle you... This is a serious hobby and requires you to be serious about safety and becoming knowledgeable... You aren't the first nor will be the last to falsely think that we need to change to fit your expectations... Stick around and you'll learn something... Just don't expect us to bend to your whims...
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Re: Best yeast to use?

Post by cob »

same post 10/9/13. you sure had plenty of oppertunity to find the answer on your own.

Postby barta24 » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:55 pm

Would just like to know what kind of yeast you guys are using ? Thanks for any info

edit; 2013 seams to be a common theme today
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