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Beer Yeasts

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T

THawk

Crazy Martian Cat
GotMead Patron
Mar 15, 2011
637
2
18
On one of 7000+ islands in the Pacific
Any advice for using a beer yeast to make mead? Wine yeasts come in 5g packs while I've seen beer yeasts come in 11-15g packs. Will pitching a 15g pack of beer/ale yeast into a 2-gallon pail create jet fuel?

If I were, say, to do a JAOM style mead (orange, spices, etc) but use an ale yeast, would I need to make any adjustments on the amount of honey/nutrients I used?

I read some of loveofrose's experiment but I'm restricted to using dry yeast as liquid yeast won't survive the trip...

Yes, I'm starting to get more sophisticated...
 
You can rehydrate your dry yeast and if you can get your hands on some yeast energizer, all the better. Look around the forum for many many posts on how to rehydrate yeast.

Basically, you're going to mix honey with water, preferably in an Erlenmeyer flask (you can get them anywhere...even on an island in the Pacific) or if not, whatever is handy.

Then you wait two to three days and throw it all in the pail. More yeast actually is a good thing, so don't even worry about it.
 
mannye said:
You can rehydrate your dry yeast and if you can get your hands on some yeast energizer, all the better. Look around the forum for many many posts on how to rehydrate yeast.

Basically, you're going to mix honey with water, preferably in an Erlenmeyer flask (you can get them anywhere...even on an island in the Pacific) or if not, whatever is handy.

Then you wait two to three days and throw it all in the pail. More yeast actually is a good thing, so don't even worry about it.
Click to expand...

What is the advantage of using an Erlenmeyer flask to referment yeast? If honey comes in jars and the jar has a narrow neck that can be covered with a paper towel to keep out dirt and flies why can't you simply rehydrate in a sanitized jar from a previous batch of mead? . Strikes me that unless you are constantly agitating the contents of the jar with a magnetic stir bar then the container can have a high center of gravity. Is there any other advantage to spending money on a flask? As a careful Scot, now living in the USA , I am curious.
 
bernardsmith said:
What is the advantage of using an Erlenmeyer flask to referment yeast? If honey comes in jars and the jar has a narrow neck that can be covered with a paper towel to keep out dirt and flies why can't you simply rehydrate in a sanitized jar from a previous batch of mead? . Strikes me that unless you are constantly agitating the contents of the jar with a magnetic stir bar then the container can have a high center of gravity. Is there any other advantage to spending money on a flask? As a careful Scot, now living in the USA , I am curious.
Click to expand...

You said it. It's for constant agitation on a stir plate which isn't really that crucial. Plus, its just less messy if you're making a big 1.5 liter starter even if you're just agitating occasionally. AND..it looks cool.

And I did qualify it by saying "if not, whatever is handy."
 
Of the dry yeast, I've tried S33 and US05. Both were very clean, but very beer-like. You can look in the thread "Is wine yeast best for mead" for full tasting notes.

If you can find any dry belgian yeast, I would strongly suggest trying those. I seem to have good luck with most Belgian strains. Bonus is that they usually can go 12% ABV with no problems.

As always, rehydrate in GoFerm.
 
What is the advantage of using an Erlenmeyer flask to referment yeast
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There are a few advantages. First, they are usually much higher quality glass that can go directly on the stove, so you can boil your water and starter medium (usually DME) in the same vessel that you will be propagating in- so no spilling boiling water, and less chance of infection. Also, they are made to accept a stopper, so sealing them properly is easy. The graduations make measuring easy too. They can also go safely go into an ice bath while warm.

One drawback though is that boiling in a tapering vessel can easily boil over if you don’t keep a close eye on it.
 
You can use ale yeast and with a bit of aging, any yeasty, "beer-like" flavor (if present) will fade. Nottingham ale yeast can achieve an alcohol tolerance comparable to bread yeast and can be substituted in JAO and will work. Just remember it voids the warranty. :)

Sent from my THINGAMAJIG with WHATCHAMACALLIT
 
Any advice for using a beer yeast to make mead?
Click to expand...

Yes-
First, I would keep the OG on the lower end. Most beer yeasts will not be happy north of 1.100. Second, make sure to use the proper nutrient additions. Beer yeasts are used to being in a nice comfy wort with all of the nutrients that they could ever want (usually). Mead musts typically have very little in the way of nutrients. Third, depending on the strain, proper (read lots of) aeration in mandatory. Fourth, temperature control can me more important with beer yeast. A lot of beer yeasts will have a narrower temperature window than a typical wine yeast.

Here is my lager yeast experiment that came out awesome, and is now in my normal rotation:

http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20835


As loveofrose said- some Belgian strains are more alcohol tolerant, but they may be more on the estery side. I have become a big fan of the Wyeast 1764 “Pac Man” strain. It is very alcohol tolerant (for a beer yeast) and is a very clean and vigorous fermentor. At the lower end of its temp range, it is borderline lager clean, and I make a great faux-lager that many folks don’t realize is an ale.

From the Wyeast site:

Wyeast 1764-PC ROGUE Pacman Yeast
Beer Styles: American Pale Ale, American Amber Ale, American Brown Ale, Brown Porter, Cream Ale, Irish Red Ale, Strong Scotch Ale, Dry Stout, American Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, American IPA, Imperial IPA, American Barleywine, Fruit Beer, Spice/Herb/or Vegetable Beer, Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer, Other Smoked Beer, Wood-Aged Beer
Profile: A versatile yeast strain from one of Oregon’s leading craft breweries. Pacman is alcohol tolerant, flocculent, attenuates well and will produce beers with little to no diacetyl. Very mild fruit complements a dry, mineral finish making this a fairly neutral strain. Pacman’s flavor profile and performance makes it a great choice for use in many different beer styles.

Alc. Tolerance 12% ABV
Flocculation med-high
Attenuation 72-78%
Temp. Range 60-72°F (15-22°C)
 
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Robusto said:
Yes-
First, I would keep the OG on the lower end. Most beer yeasts will not be happy north of 1.100. Second, make sure to use the proper nutrient additions. Beer yeasts are used to being in a nice comfy wort with all of the nutrients that they could ever want (usually). Mead musts typically have very little in the way of nutrients. Third, depending on the strain, proper (read lots of) aeration in mandatory. Fourth, temperature control can me more important with beer yeast. A lot of beer yeasts will have a narrower temperature window than a typical wine yeast.

Here is my lager yeast experiment that came out awesome, and is now in my normal rotation:

http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20835


As loveofrose said- some Belgian strains are more alcohol tolerant, but they may be more on the estery side. I have become a big fan of the Wyeast 1764 “Pac Man” strain. It is very alcohol tolerant (for a beer yeast) and is a very clean and vigorous fermentor. At the lower end of its temp range, it is borderline lager clean, and I make a great faux-lager that many folks don’t realize is an ale.

From the Wyeast site:

Wyeast 1764-PC ROGUE Pacman Yeast
Beer Styles: American Pale Ale, American Amber Ale, American Brown Ale, Brown Porter, Cream Ale, Irish Red Ale, Strong Scotch Ale, Dry Stout, American Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, American IPA, Imperial IPA, American Barleywine, Fruit Beer, Spice/Herb/or Vegetable Beer, Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer, Other Smoked Beer, Wood-Aged Beer
Profile: A versatile yeast strain from one of Oregon’s leading craft breweries. Pacman is alcohol tolerant, flocculent, attenuates well and will produce beers with little to no diacetyl. Very mild fruit complements a dry, mineral finish making this a fairly neutral strain. Pacman’s flavor profile and performance makes it a great choice for use in many different beer styles.

Alc. Tolerance 12% ABV
Flocculation med-high
Attenuation 72-78%
Temp. Range 60-72°F (15-22°C)
Click to expand...

I think I will try 1764; however, THawk said he could only get dry yeast.
 
I think I will try 1764; however, THawk said he could only get dry yeast.
Click to expand...

Oh... my bad. I must have missed that part. In that case, I have had great luck with Saflager 34/70 yeast. But this is a Lager strain, so cold fermentation is needed.
 
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