To Wyeast or not to Wyeast that is the question....

[The Englishmans Fox]

Hey everyone,
Firstly I just want to say I'm new to brewing and I really love the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone on this site. It's so great to have a place where you can get decent, true advice. I'm thinking about starting my own micro brewery and think I have everything I need malt and hop wise but I was wondering about yeast. Is there a big difference between dried yeast and already active yeast? Should I make a starter and if so how? I've seen videos that use Wyeast which you seem to active in the packet. The packet then swells and you add direct to the fermenter. Is this a good brand? Also how can you find out how much yeast to add? I have a three tiered gravity fed system that is 70L.

Cheers for the help guys

 

[mike77]

I have used Wyeast several times and have 100% success with them. I also reused the yeast with no problems.I would say though that if you were going to use something like their American Ale yeast then it is apparently the same as safale us-05 dried yeast, so not really much point. I would use it if you have something special in mind. Last year I used their French Saison 3711 several times because I had no temperature control and it was during the summer and the flat was hot and that yeast is designed to ferment at higher temperatures. According to wyeast their Smack-pack is designed for 5 gallons say I would say 3 packs should do it. Lots of details on their website here http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16

 

[The Englishmans Fox]

Thanks mike77. So if I have a 70L system before I start making the wort and the mash, what would my yield of beer be? Would I have to put 3 smack packs of yeast in each fermenter?

 

[mike77]

So I'm not sure what your loss would be if you were starting out at 70L. I just took 70L, converted it to gallons then divided it by 5 which is the number of gallons that wyeast suggest. Do you know how much beer you are aiming to ferment? Think I read somewhere that you lose about 10% while boiling which would give you 63L and then you will lose some more in the grain and hops. According to Wyests 5 gallon guideline, 2 packs would do you for about 50L and you might consider 3 for more. You could also think about just buying one pack and creating the correct size of yeast starter in advance.

 

[brewtim]

First suggestion is to get the Yeast book for a vastly increased understanding about yeast:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0937381969/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Second suggestion would be to consider making a starter (grow your own yeast) to save on the cost of yeast, 1 healthy Wyeast smackpack can be grown to a quantity to suit the size of your Wort. A ready calculator is here:

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

You can of course pitch multiple smack packs, which is great if you enjoy spending lots of money on yeast. Even if using multiple packs, still check the manufacturers date as the amount of yeast available declines over a period of 6 months to around 10% (10 billion cells) at the 6 month date (above calculator helps here also). A typical 23litre batch will require 150-250 billion cells for a 'proper' ferment dependent on style and strength of beer required.

 

[The Englishmans Fox]

Would you recommend adding the yeast to the chilled mash then into he fermenter or would you aerate the mash then add to the fermenter then add the yeast and keep it still

 

[mike77]

I drain the chilled wort into my fermenter then I aerate it in the fermenter then I add the yeast.

I notice you are planning a fairly big batch for your first brew. I would consider doing a few smaller batches e.g. 5 gallons to get a practice in and work on your technique and recipe. You are bound to run into a few issues on your first attempts and it may be easier to work around them with smaller batches.

 

[The Englishmans Fox]

Noted, thanks for the advice. Even though my equipment holds 70L I think I am going for a batch of 23L of beer at the end. Should be a bit more manageable. Only have to start with about 35L of water due to my water loss being about 12L.

 

[mike77]

Yeah wasn't trying to put you off. I just think if you do smaller batches you will be able to do 2 or 3 in a relatively short space of time. It will get you used to the overall process and your equipment then you can start looking to fine tune things like yeast pitching rates etc. Getting set up for my first brew was a steep learning curve but the second one was a lot easier. Good luck.

 

[dennisking]

Yeast is the most important part of your brew and I firmly believe it is worth paying slightly more for quality, as has been said with proper handling you can re-use to keep price right. I prefer whitelabs to wyeast as it's easier to handle. It can be bought from our sponsor the malt miller. Both these yeasts are aimed at the home brewer rather than the commercial brewer, you may also consider Brewlabs, they cater for both home and commercial brewers and will tailor make a yeast to suit and are very approachable, ring and speak to Alison she's a mind of yeast information. As someone has also said the yeast book is a must if you are going to brew seriously.