White Labs Yeast

[Rincon]

Up till now ive always used packets of dried yeast for my AG brews but had wondered about giving White Labs liquid yeasts ago.

Has anyone tried these? Are they worth the extra cost?

Is this a better way to go rather than trying to reclaim yeast from bottle beers?

Thanks

 

[clibit]

White Labs and Wyeast are both good sources of good yeast. They cost £6-7 a pack, but you can then harvest yeast and get lots of beers from one pack. Bottle culturing is another way of obtaining good yeasts, cheaper, but it's a bit more work and doesn't always work.

 

[mike77]

You get a much bigger choice with the liquid yeasts and as mentioned you can reclaim it and get multiple brews which drives the cost down.

Unfortunately the only time I reclaimed yeast was from some Coopers Sparkling Ale and I ended up chucking it as something went badly wrong. May try it again though as I like that beer

 

[Rincon]

White Labs and Wyeast are both good sources of good yeast. They cost �£6-7 a pack, but you can then harvest yeast and get lots of beers from one pack. Bottle culturing is another way of obtaining good yeasts, cheaper, but it's a bit more work and doesn't always work.

thats helpful, maybe a silly question but how do you harvest the yeast and then how long would it last?

thanks

 

[MyQul]

There are two main ways of harvesting yeast:

Top Cropping

This is basically collecting the krausen. Technically you ca top crop any strain of yeast but 'true' top cropping strains are best with large krausens. You can do this in two ways 1) Open the lid of the FV and scoop it out. This runs the risk of infecting your brew as you have to open the FV so... 2) Connect a blow off tube to yeast collection vessel.
Top cropped yeast has to be used within a few days but you can just put it in some starter wort ferment it out the put it in the fridge and it will be good for about 3 weeks more than that and you need to make a starter. You can top crop a strain almost indefinately

Bottom Cropping

This is when you harvest the yeast form the trub. You can just pitch trub directly into the next brew but the problem with doing this is you won't know how much yeast you've pitched. Also your pitching a lot of '****'(dead yeast cells, hop debris, break material etc) along with your yeast. So ideally you need to rinse the yeast out. You'll see a lot of information/guides on the web about rinsing with water. This is bad practice as water isn't sterile (even if you boil it) plus even yeast in the fridge need some nutrients which water wont provide. So it better to rinse with beer/starter wort

Again harvested/rinsed yeast from the bottom of the FV will last about 3 weeks in the fridge before you need to make a starter. You can repitch bottom cropped yeast to about 6 generations before selective pressure may start to have an effect on the perfomance of the yeast. However there are ways to go to 13 generations and possibly beyond

 

[clibit]

You can also grow the yeast before you use it by putting it into a few litres of wort, fermenting it, then splitting the result into several jars or bottles and using these to make starters each time you brew.

 

[trueblue]

It's not just the better choice with liquid yeast it's the quality, think the difference between a burger and steak.

 

[Rincon]

oh man looks like im about to start a whole new phase of homebrew!

 

[MyQul]

oh man looks like im about to start a whole new phase of homebrew!

Just one more HB rabbit hole to fall down. Just wait to you start dabbling with water treatment...You may never find your way back out again :lol:

 

[clibit]

Just one more HB rabbit hole to fall down. Just wait to you start dabbling with water treatment...You may never find your way back out again :lol:

Yeah, anyone seen mirsultankhan today? :lol:

 

[MyQul]

Yeah, anyone seen mirsultankhan today? :lol:

Thats exactly who I had in mind. I reckon he must have found a small bottle of beer with a label on it saying 'Drink Me' :lol:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0[/ame]

 

[Covrich]

oh man looks like im about to start a whole new phase of homebrew!

Yup, just dipped my toes in myself... So far from the voice of great expereince but my initial impressions of the liquid yeast route are very good. THis could be fortified by the fact I have a great solid base recipes I have been using, however I have actually sampled the spent wort from the starter to give me some idea about its flavour and I know it isn't just the recipe as I can taste it in the vanilla (not literally) beer.

I have used an English Ale yeast (Wyeast London III (Boddingtons) which I actually don't think there is a WL version) to me it has added a rich almost creamy smooth finish with some subtle esters.. I am really pleased it has put the icing on the cake.. Like I say though there is no dry yeast equivalent for a side by side comparison but I dont think I have had a dry yeast that has been able to produce a finish like this for this given style.. and If I were to make a saison again I would without a doubt go for liquid.

However for many neutral styles I will at least for now stick with using the likes of US05.. I wonder if anyone has actually tried a US05 vs WLP001 to see if they thought there was any benefit.

 

[clibit]

US05 v Wyeast 1056 v WLP001...

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26295.

Not everyone agrees..

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=168695

 

[Covrich]

US05 v Wyeast 1056 v WLP001...

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26295.

Not everyone agrees..

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=168695

Interesting, I get the feeling if you're happy with the cleanliness of US05 then it is probably not going to be something you need to try..

I have never used 04, heard mixed views on it (I know you're not a fan), but if you want to capture some English style finish the options seem really limited with dry..

I did a saison with Jack Mangroves dry this summer and whilst it is okay I know it would be so much better with a liquid variety..

 

[TartanSpecial]

I'm just about to go down the liquid yeast route....want to get flavours as close as possible to fullers esb so using wlp002 and plan to grow up 4 or 5litres then separate into litre bottles for a few brews.... using them ( pouring off spent wort first) to make a starter a day or so before pitching.

 

[clibit]

Interesting, I get the feeling if you're happy with the cleanliness of US05 then it is probably not going to be something you need to try..

I have never used 04, heard mixed views on it (I know you're not a fan), but if you want to capture some English style finish the options seem really limited with dry..

I did a saison with Jack Mangroves dtest ry this summer and whilst it is okay I know it would be so much better with a liquid variety..

I would try S04, loads of people like it. And try Windsor.

I stuck a 99p Youngs yeast In my latest drink ready batch and it's not bad at all! Really nice beer and the yeast is pretty good. Mild esters, good mouthfeel, some sweetness due to 1015 finish. Very clear and hardly any yeast on the bottle, easy to pour.

A chap on JBK who has used lots of ale yeasts has made a beer with a red Youngs yeast packet and a coopers kit yeast, and recommends the blend.