Are kit yeasts eg coopers, good for the job, or is it worth buying safale and saflager yeasts for example. I was wondering when you add extra sugars or dme etc in a kit brew, would you need to change the yeast to cope with the added stuff. Any help welcome lads :thumb:
Kit yeasts
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All of mine have coped fairly well although since my Damascus moment (adding yeast nutrient) things are considerably better.bottler said:
I've brewed with all sugar, all dme various mixtures of both and treacle and syrup and they've all done with varying success what they claim to.
I've done three coopers kits today and I noticed differences in all the yeasts contained in the packets.
The bitter was a brownish dark colour, Cerveza was a mix of half and half dark and light and the European Lager (which I'm led to believe is lager yeast) was just a light yeast.
Clearly coopers do appear to try to make each one brew appropriate.
rpt
Brewing without a hat
I think it depends on the kit. My Wherry stuck although Muntons yeasts are supposed to be pretty good. My Better Brew IPA was much better so I think it came with a better yeast. No idea about Coopers.
bobsbeer
Well-Known Member
Not sure what yeast Coopers use, but the last time I used it, it was fine. The FG on my last one was in the region of 1.008 for the Traditional Ale. I seem to remember it was a fast fermenter and was done in about a week.
rpt
Brewing without a hat
I think you would only need a different yeast if you were planning a much higher ABV.bottler said:
Some kits come with reasonable yeast, milestone come with a gervin yeast. However changing the standard 6g muntons yeast for an 11g safale on my wherry, admirals reserve and lions pride has really enhanced the kits -so much so that the admirals reserve is drinkable after 2 weeks in the barrel in the warm (just checked it was pressurised). Ferment finished in about 4 days but still left it for the 2 weeks (5 days crash cooled in that). Excellent results.
morethanworts
Landlord.
As far as I understand it, a raised OG will require a greater number of yeast cells, rather than necessarily a different brand. You can check with an online yeast calculator how many grams may be ideal.
Articles I read elsewhere suggest that up to 50% of yeast die when they are hit by the wort sugars if they are not rehydrated (15 to 30 mins earlier) first. That's obviously different from doing a yeast starter, as such. The remainder normally continue to ferment the brew OK, but just not as promptly as if the packet was rehydrated first, and might be stretched by higher OGs.
I'm just coming back to homebrew after years away, so I will be testing the different methods out for myself... I just happen to have read a bit on this in the last few days.
Articles I read elsewhere suggest that up to 50% of yeast die when they are hit by the wort sugars if they are not rehydrated (15 to 30 mins earlier) first. That's obviously different from doing a yeast starter, as such. The remainder normally continue to ferment the brew OK, but just not as promptly as if the packet was rehydrated first, and might be stretched by higher OGs.
I'm just coming back to homebrew after years away, so I will be testing the different methods out for myself... I just happen to have read a bit on this in the last few days.
Thanks, I have spent so much time absorbing information from here and putting it to practice that I feel it is right that I should put back into the community. I was thinking of creating a thread which we collectively put all our advice together and come up with a single sticky' quality post on how to get the best results from a kit brew. To any new member/less experienced person it could be invaluable. I only began brewing in september last year but have had high praise on my beer from people who have been brewing for a lot of years who were asking me how I avoided the home brew taste. And other non brewing people saying I could sell my beer in a pub and it doesn't taste like home brew. Basically - it has been from using a lot of different advice on here - not necessarily aimed at me.
