Guest Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 G'day guys. After doing a bit of online research about yeast, It got me thinking back to an industry invite I went on some years ago to Tim Knappstein's property & winery. For those who don't know who Tim Knappstein is, he is a well renowned Winemaker here in South Australia, & has been for some 40-50 years. "So what has any of this got to do with beer?" I hear you say. Well apart from being wined & dined by Tim & his family that day, our group was taken for a tour through the winery's production facility where Tim demonstrated & explained many of the procedures he goes through to make his wines. The most fascinating part of this little tour was when we arrived at his oak barrels of Pinot Noir. We all sampled Pinot from a number of different barrels with each Pinot tasting different from the previous. After tasting about 7-8, one of my colleagues said, "How are you able to grow such different tasting Pinot on the one property?". Tim replied, "I don't. They are the same grapes grown from the same area of the vineyard.". My colleague then asked, "How is it that they taste so different then?". Tim replied, "Because each batch we have tasted here today has been exposed to a different yeast culture to bring out different flavours from the grapes". The red wine Pinot Noir, is actually a blended wine made from a series of grapes exposed to different yeast cultures. Equipped with this knowledge, is it a fair assumption that you can use any recognized beer yeast with any batch of fermentables, provided you follow the correct temperature requirements of the yeast to have it activate? Are there any do's & dont's, or rules that govern the use of certain types of yeasts? Are there certain outcomes of how specific yeast strains impact on a brew? Anyone on the forum that has experience & knowledge with yeasts, I would really enjoy reading your experiences & thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 yeast can provide a lot of character to a beer, depending on which one it is. The German hefeweizen is heavily dependent on the yeast used as the majority of the flavour comes from the yeast. You have to use the right yeast to get the beer style you want, but of course there are different variants of yeast within a style. The final alcohol content will determine the type of yeast too, as alcohol is poisonous to the yeast - wine yeasts are generally capable of living in higher % alcohol than beer yeast, but it really depends which strain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 That's a really broad question. A lot of flavour is generated by the type of yeast used. As a starting point you should browse through the Wyeast or Whitelabs website to give you an idea of the huge number of yeast types available and what they do. Pitching the right amount of healthy yeast is really important. So looking after the health of your yeast is one of the most important things you can do for your beer. Yob should be able to point you in the right direction. He was just announced as our Yeast Daddy of the Year in the recent fathers day awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 he was? [surprised [unsure] [ninja] why wasnt I notified [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 If you are that interested in Yeast then I suggest you purchase "Yeast" by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff. Everything you want to know plus more is in this highly recommended book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 I've had a look at both the website links, but unfortunately they only list their yeast varieties & basically which beer styles each is produced to suite, not "why" they suite or how they impact on a brew. I'll invest in a copy of that book, as I am quite interested in where some sound knowledge of yeasts might take my home brewing. Thanks for the advice guys. [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 The variations are almost limitless.. take the "a" wort, ferment it with an american ale yeast @ 17.5'c. #1 same wort, american ale yeast @ 13.5'c. #2 same wort, american ale yeast @ 21.5'c. #3 same wort, ferment with lager yeast @ 12'c. #4 same wort, ferment with lager yeast @17.5"c #5 same wort, ferment trappist yeast [ninja] etc. mate, you can almost spend the next 10 years with the same wort getting different beers with just changing yeast and its variables. [love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 Hiya Yob. It's scary that you can read where my current thought process is at regarding yeast(s). Your read on me is spot on. I will admit though, I am more interested in how a different strain reacts to the same "a" wort than how the same yeast reacts at a different temperature. Like you stated, you could lose 10 years or more covering temperature reads inside the strain reads. Unless someone paid me, I'm not willing to venture that deep into specifics based on temperature outcomes. Most of that research has already been done anyway, so it's just a matter of finding it & adapting it to your brew wants & needs. I enjoy your posts. [happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi all, I've embarked on my own yeast experiment. I've started brewing the same kit, TC Trad Draught made to the same recipe but with different yeasts. Currently I have the TC Draught, 1.5 kg of light malt, made to 23l, yeast supplied with the kit pitched at 26 and temp brought down to 20-22 deg to ferment. I am going to bottle this by the weekend. My plan is to do the same recipe but with different yeasts, an American ale yeast, an English style (like Nottingham) and I may even have a go at cultivating yeast from a 6 pack of Coopers. Then mid-summer they should all be nicely bottle conditioned and we can have a solid tasting session. BillK, I have recently subscribed to the 'Brew Strong' podcast from the Brewing Network hosted by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. Listening to their back catalogue, I came across their episode on 'Yeast Libraries'. Really interesting info about how yeasts change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 BN Podcast - Building a Yeast Library this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Even though John Palmer has a wealth of knowledge, I back Jamil over him with regards to yeast and then would Chris White over Jamil. But this is only my personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Yob - yep I think that is the one, I have only just started listening to them and have just found Jamil's other podcast's 'The Jamil Show' and 'Can You Brew It'. BillK - ha ha I think i'd back Dr Chris White (who has a PhD in yeastology) too. Their book sounds interesting... If someone told me 5 years ago that I'd be looking out for a book about yeast I'd have said they are crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hey Yob, I followed the link you supplied of their podcast & began listening. . . After 6\xbd minutes of them dribbling on about their frat days & other useless things they finally began discussing the subject at hand. By 24 minutes I was bored senseless & stopped the podcast. I think those guys not only prescribe to a drinking way of life, but also a herbal one too! Man they can dribble on! I don't know how much longer that podcast goes for, but I reckon I would of passed out before the end of it if I had continued listening. Give 'em a bib someone! I think for quite sometime, I'll just buy my yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 yeah you sometimes have to listen to a bit of the blokes having a laugh but hay, it's free info.. and much like free info anywhere you will get a percentage of crap with it [roll] If you hung in there they talk about storage mediums and long tern storage of yeast which I found quite interesting... such as storing Yeast under Food Grade Mineral Oil. etc. etc. Ive listened to most of the shows multiple times and still find that there are things I missed previously. Im not saying it's all gospel, but they do offer insights and have a wealth of information they redily give up and cudo's to them for doing so. They (And Wolfy) have saved me easily over $100 in Yeast alone!! Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Yob. I've listened to most of the shows multiple times and still find that there are things I missed previously. That's probably because you passed out (due to excessively dribbling on their part) at various stages during your 1st attempts at listening to these podcasts. [lol] They (And Wolfy) have saved me easily over $100 in Yeast alone!! I'd pay $1000 just to avoid having to listen to that much dribbling! [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Yep sorry for that Beerlust, perhaps we should have warned you. Following on from what Yob said, they could probably cover all their content in about 30mins not the 1 hour they give each podcast. Also all the heavy metal music, ads and the voice over guy is pretty bloody cheesy. Do stick in there though, I have found the few podcasts I have listened to good once you get into them. Good to listen to while doing the dishes, gardening, walking the dog, sleeping on the couch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hiya Robbo. I have found the few podcasts I have listened to good once you get into them. Good to listen to while doing the dishes, gardening, walking the dog, sleeping on the couch. Yep, I'm betting I'd be asleep on the couch more often than not listening to those two. [lol] Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Heavy metal music? I might have to give it a listen then! [devil] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Heavy metal music? I might have to give it a listen then! [devil] "Death to all but metal" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 [lol] I'm hoping to go and see Steel Panther next month... just depends on what shifts I end up on at work[annoyed] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 You lads seen Metalocolypse? If you havnt Id suggest you have been missing out [lol] Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yep, in fact a couple of my friends actually had a ballet/metal combined stage show based on the Dethklok songs [lol] I can't watch a lot of it at a time, but it's pretty funny stuff \\m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Agreed Kelsey. As a metal freak I'm always getting asked if I like Metalocalypse. It's pretty funny to watch every now and then, but a bit of Steel Panther cracks me up more [lol] [lol] [lol] Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Having said that, I just started remembering some of the earlier episodes and laughing pretty hard to myself. May have to revisit [happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yeah, I get asked a bit myself, but my friends are always calling me Otto now because I'm a metalhead who drives buses, hence my screen name. [lol] It's funny but it's weird.. I think the weirdness overtakes it for me after about 3 or 4 episodes and I have to stop watching it. Never too much Steel Panther though[devil] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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