5 Homebrew things I won't do

[trueblue]

Just out of interest, how are you harvesting? (top or bottom cropping)? and what striains do you use?

I have Whitelabs 002 English, 013 London, 022 Essex and Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire. The Essex yeast I bought around March 2018 and have brewed 14 beers with it and have one fermenting at the moment but the starter was sluggish, normally goes like a train, is although I have harvested this brew I might call it a day with this one. Also got a feeling I only have a couple of brews with the Yorkshire left. I top crop the yeast head and also a small amount of the wort at the same time to store it under.

 

[GerritT]

Amen. " Thirty different hops with addition timings based on only prime Fibbonaci numbers. "

I know what you mean.

There's only 6 of them under 4 hours But even them, 30 different hops, I wanna bet half of them is related either on mums or dads side. Or both!

 

[Sadfield]

So on that note it will be never
1. stop experimenting and learning
2. shoot an idea, technique or beer style down until you have tried it yourself.
3. Stop enjoying it.

Everything else goes

Stealing a couple of these.

1. Stop being inspired to experimenting and learn, either through reading or drinking the best commercial beers available.
2. Shoot an idea, technique or beer style down because its not to my personal taste.
3. Won't say something is wrong/shouldn't be done, without being able to back it up with a reasoned, supported argument.
4. Say I'll never do something.
3. Stop enjoying it.

 

[obscure]

I found Thames tap water no good for pales. It gave a astringent like harshness. For dark beers though works perfectly. I use it straight out of the tap

Luckily for me Dark beers tend to be my preference, one concern with water treatment is if I try it and it works really well I’ll never be able to go back to untreated water, and I like my lazy brew days.

As for a “decaf mocha double chocolate milkshake session stout” I can’t see myself ever brewing such a thing but now it’s being mentioned I kind,of want to try one if I ever saw it done by a commercial brewery.

 

[Cwrw666]

I understand it really about the bike mech's time, but £5-£10! Anyone who rides a bike really aught to be able to change a puncture. I can do mine in about 15 mins, and that includes pumping up the tyre using a 6 inch micro pump

So you expect a bike shop to do something for you for less than £20 per hour?

 

[Keruso]

Funny, getting an agreement is like trying to herd cats.
1. conical fermenters with glycol chilling and pressure transfer. (Unless I win some money)
2. Make anything less than 6%
3. Buy liquid yeast
4. Make a lager ( at least very unlikely )
5. Buy one of the 70+ litre all-in-one systems

 

[MyQul]

So you expect a bike shop to do something for you for less than £20 per hour?

No. As I say I understand it's more about the bike mech's time but there's still no way I pay that much for something that takes ten mins (with a track pump). Id rather (and have) learn to do it myself considering £20 ph is more than I earn ph. So to weigh it up its MUCH cheaper to learn to do it myself. I guess if someone earns more than £20ph they might consider paying to have a puncture repaired

 

[MyQul]

3. Buy liquid yeast

I find it interesting that many people flat out refuse to consider buying liquid yeast when yeast is probably the most important element in brewing. Buy a liquid yeast only adds 20p on to a pint, and that's if you only use it once. You can of course re-use many times

 

[obscure]

I find it interesting that many people flat out refuse to consider buying liquid yeast when yeast is probably the most important element in brewing. Buy a liquid yeast only adds 20p on to a pint, and that's if you only use it once. You can of course re-use many times

I do use liquid yeast on occasion but it is a pain, with it having a shorter shelf life, and the potential issues with shipping. I always have the horrible thought in my mind of it being left by the back door by the delivery driver in thirty degree heat for hours on end before I get back from work. Dried yeast is shelf stable, and easy to use, the variety is great but I need a genuine reason why a liquid yeast will be superior for a particular beer to justify the hassle.

 

[MyQul]

I do use liquid yeast on occasion but it is a pain, with it having a shorter shelf life, and the potential issues with shipping. I always have the horrible thought in my mind of it being left by the back door by the delivery driver in thirty degree heat for hours on end before I get back from work. Dried yeast is shelf stable, and easy to use, the variety is great but I need a genuine reason why a liquid yeast will be superior for a particular beer to justify the hassle.

Im the same. I use dried for almost all my beers for exactly the reasons you state but I have bought liquid yeast in the past and would again in the future if necessary (although If I can find a bottle conditioned beer that has a yeast type/style Im after I'd prefer to culture that up instead)

 

[GerritT]

Regarding bike tires: I used kevlar lined tires. So a flat tire (punctured inner tube) would mean a tire in a very bad state. And I'd pay £30 to have the tire and inner tube replaced. Once every few years, in Amsterdam. Worth it, I guess.

 

[trueblue]

I do use liquid yeast on occasion but it is a pain, with it having a shorter shelf life, and the potential issues with shipping. I always have the horrible thought in my mind of it being left by the back door by the delivery driver in thirty degree heat for hours on end before I get back from work. Dried yeast is shelf stable, and easy to use, the variety is great but I need a genuine reason why a liquid yeast will be superior for a particular beer to justify the hassle.

I buy my yeast from the Malt miller who puts the best before date on the website and because he uses DPD you get a next day delivery, even in these times, so there is never any issue with the quality. My personal opinion is live yeast makes better beer I know many will disagree but I was part of a series of experiments with several other brewers where we split batches 1/2 fermented with dried and 1/2 with liquid and then we blind tested each others beers and the results were overwhelming for the liquids. This was in the 1990's when Wyeast first came over here. There is a reason why commercial brewers mantain yeast labs at great expense rather than use an "easier" option. My 002 strain has been going for 20 brews and is certainly improving with each brew as it adapts to my conditions. I have never quite got the dried is easier argument yes it is easier to open a packet but it is all part of the brewing process and should be embraced. Yeast is the most important thing we use by far so to me I want want to use the best I can.

 

[samale]

Pub I remember them back in the Day

I buy my yeast from the Malt miller who puts the best before date on the website and because he uses DPD you get a next day delivery, even in these times, so there is never any issue with the quality. My personal opinion is live yeast makes better beer I know many will disagree but I was part of a series of experiments with several other brewers where we split batches 1/2 fermented with dried and 1/2 with liquid and then we blind tested each others beers and the results were overwhelming for the liquids. This was in the 1990's when Wyeast first came over here. There is a reason why commercial brewers mantain yeast labs at great expense rather than use an "easier" option. My 002 strain has been going for 20 brews and is certainly improving with each brew as it adapts to my conditions. I have never quite got the dried is easier argument yes it is easier to open a packet but it is all part of the brewing process and should be embraced. Yeast is the most important thing we use by far so to me I want want to use the best I can.

How long will a liquid yeast keep if you over build it and keep a litre in the fridge for the next starter. I just need to build or buy a stir plate

 

[trueblue]

Pub I remember them back in the Day
How long will a liquid yeast keep if you over build it and keep a litre in the fridge for the next starter. I just need to build or buy a stir plate

I try to use within a couple of months but have gone longer. I use a stir plate but didn't for many years.

 

[MyQul]

Pub I remember them back in the Day
How long will a liquid yeast keep if you over build it and keep a litre in the fridge for the next starter. I just need to build or buy a stir plate

It will keep in the fridge for months but you need to do extra step ups if you keep it that long. If your just using the overbuild I'd say 6-8 weeks before you need to do an extra step.

You dont need a stir plate. Stir plates are good in that they grow more yeast but you dont absolutely need one. You can just use a large plastic bottle (or even a DJ like I do) and shake it at least 4 times per day

 

[samale]

It will keep in the fridge for months but you need to do extra step ups if you keep it that long. If your just using the overbuild I'd say 6-8 weeks before you need to do an extra step.

You dont need a stir plate. Stir plates are good in that they grow more yeast but you dont absolutely need one. You can just use a large plastic bottle (or even a DJ like I do) and shake it at least 4 times per day

I bought a 3 litre glass lab flask

 

[MyQul]

I buy my yeast from the Malt miller who puts the best before date on the website and because he uses DPD you get a next day delivery, even in these times, so there is never any issue with the quality. My personal opinion is live yeast makes better beer I know many will disagree but I was part of a series of experiments with several other brewers where we split batches 1/2 fermented with dried and 1/2 with liquid and then we blind tested each others beers and the results were overwhelming for the liquids. This was in the 1990's when Wyeast first came over here. There is a reason why commercial brewers mantain yeast labs at great expense rather than use an "easier" option. My 002 strain has been going for 20 brews and is certainly improving with each brew as it adapts to my conditions. I have never quite got the dried is easier argument yes it is easier to open a packet but it is all part of the brewing process and should be embraced. Yeast is the most important thing we use by far so to me I want want to use the best I can.

Well you've convinced me TB. I really like Beoir so I might buy a liquid version of a scottish yeast from one of the yeast labs

 

[MyQul]

I bought a 3 litre glass lab flask

That'll do the trick

 

[Sadfield]

I buy my yeast from the Malt miller who puts the best before date on the website and because he uses DPD you get a next day delivery, even in these times, so there is never any issue with the quality. My personal opinion is live yeast makes better beer I know many will disagree but I was part of a series of experiments with several other brewers where we split batches 1/2 fermented with dried and 1/2 with liquid and then we blind tested each others beers and the results were overwhelming for the liquids. This was in the 1990's when Wyeast first came over here. There is a reason why commercial brewers mantain yeast labs at great expense rather than use an "easier" option. My 002 strain has been going for 20 brews and is certainly improving with each brew as it adapts to my conditions. I have never quite got the dried is easier argument yes it is easier to open a packet but it is all part of the brewing process and should be embraced. Yeast is the most important thing we use by far so to me I want want to use the best I can.

Only true if you make the erroneous assumption that breweries maintain a pure, singular strain. Your yeast isn't adapting to the conditions, it's becoming less pure through contamination and mutation. This isn't a bad thing for the majority of the time. However, as you alluded to in a previous post regarding your Essex yeast, things can awry and the balance needs to be reset. This is why breweries have yeast banks, often to repitch multiple strains to reset the balance. The question is, how are these yeasts stored at yeast banks? Not in liquid form. Most likely freeze dried cells stored at sub-zero temperatures. Dried yeast is inferior though, isn't it?

Stored at -196c

Anyone who has half an eye on the scale of operation of the likes of Lallemand and Fermentis will see that they aren't sustaining those business's on the homebrew market, which puts pay to the romantic notion of commercial breweries maintaining decade old, superior live yeasts.

For the record I'll use either, or get some of the free stuff from outside. The choice though is better selection of liquid yeasts vs predictability, convenience of dry.

 

[Keruso]

I find it interesting that many people flat out refuse to consider buying liquid yeast when yeast is probably the most important element in brewing. Buy a liquid yeast only adds 20p on to a pint, and that's if you only use it once. You can of

It’s because I dont reuse yeast and generally brew pale ales and IPAs where US05, S04, BRY97, Koln etc produces great beer with reliable and consistent fermentation. Liquid yeast would cost £16 a brew, if the beer was better I may change, I suppose I would have to try side by side to see if there’s an improvement over dry.