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Yeast Chemistry

C:\Documents and Settings\Steve Brainerd\My Documents\Beer Brewing\Brewing Yeast\Yeast Chemistry.doc - 1 - 10/25/2008

Yeast Chemistry: Alcohol % by mass and % by volume................................................................................. 6 What is attenuation?........................................................................................................... 8 What is flocculation?.......................................................................................................... 8 What is diacetyl?................................................................................................................. 8 Why does my beer have a high ester and/or sulfur level?.................................................. 8 What is the shelf life of White Labs Yeast?......................................................................... 8 How can I pitch 1 million cells per ml per degree Plato?.................................................. 9 Yeast History..................................................................................................................... 10 Yeast and Brewing............................................................................................................ 10 Yeast and Their Flavor Affects in Beer............................................................................. 11 Cultivation and Maintenance of Yeast.............................................................................. 11 Wyeast............................................................................................................................... 12 Wyeast Ales - Top-fermented Beers Styles yeast Strain Recommendations................... 12

English Style Ale, Bitters:............................................................................................. 12 American-style Pale Ale: .............................................................................................. 13 Brown Ale/Mild:........................................................................................................... 13 Scottish Ale:.................................................................................................................. 13 Scottish Strong Ale: ...................................................................................................... 13 English Strong Ale:....................................................................................................... 13 Porter:............................................................................................................................ 13 Dry Stout:...................................................................................................................... 14 Sweet Stout: .................................................................................................................. 14 Imperial Stout: .............................................................................................................. 14 Barley Wine: ................................................................................................................. 14 Dusseldorf-style Altbier:............................................................................................... 14

Wyeast Lager- Bottom-Fermented Beers yeast Strain Recommendations....................... 14 Bohemian Pilsner:......................................................................................................... 15 Pilsner: .......................................................................................................................... 15 American Pilsner:.......................................................................................................... 15 German Light Lager (Helles):....................................................................................... 15 Dortmund/Export: ......................................................................................................... 15 Vienna/Oktoberfest/Marzenbier: .................................................................................. 15 Bavarian Dark (Dunkel):............................................................................................... 16 Bock/Doppelbock: ........................................................................................................ 16 California Common Beer:............................................................................................. 16

Wyeast Wheat Beers yeast Strain Recommendations...................................................... 16 American Wheat: .......................................................................................................... 16 Bavarian Weizenbier:.................................................................................................... 16 Belgian Witbier:............................................................................................................ 16 Berliner Weisse:............................................................................................................ 17 Belgian Ales (dubbel, tripel abbey, grand cru):............................................................ 17

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Lambic: ......................................................................................................................... 17 ALE YEAST Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wyeast One’s We’ve used.................................. 17

1056 American Ale Yeast.(Pelican Brewery Pacific City Oregon).............................. 17 1084 Irish Ale Yeast. (Guinness).................................................................................. 18 1272 American Ale Yeast II (BridgePort) .................................................................... 18 1332 Northwest Ale Yeast. ........................................................................................... 18 1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. (Rockbottom) ....................................................................... 18 1968 London ESB Ale Yeast. ( Walking Man) ............................................................ 18

More Wyeast Ale Yeasts.................................................................................................... 19 1007 German Ale Yeast................................................................................................ 19 1010 American Wheat. ................................................................................................. 19 1028 London Ale Yeast. ............................................................................................... 19 1098 British Ale Yeast.................................................................................................. 19 1099 Whitbread Ale Yeast............................................................................................ 20 1187 Ringwood Ale Yeast. ........................................................................................... 20 1214 Belgian Ale Yeast. ............................................................................................... 20 1275 Thames Valley Ale Yeast. ................................................................................... 20 1318 London Ale Yeast III. .......................................................................................... 20 1335 British Ale Yeast II. ............................................................................................. 20 1338 European Ale Yeast. ............................................................................................ 20 1388 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast..................................................................................... 21 1762 Belgian Abbey Yeast II........................................................................................ 21 2565 Kölsch Yeast. .................................................................................................... 21

LAGER YEAST Saccharomyces uvarum Wyeast.............................................................. 21 2278 Czech Pils Yeast. ................................................................................................. 21 2308 Munich Lager Yeast............................................................................................. 22 2000 Budvar.................................................................................................................. 22 2001 Urquell. ................................................................................................................ 22 2007 Pilsen Lager Yeast. .............................................................................................. 22 2035 American Lager Yeast. ........................................................................................ 22 2042 Danish Lager Yeast.............................................................................................. 22 2112 California Lager Yeast ( Anchor Steam). ............................................................ 22 2124 Bohemian Lager Yeast. AKA 34/70 .............................................................. 23 2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast........................................................................................... 23 2278 Czech Pils Yeast. ................................................................................................. 23 2308 Munich Lager Yeast............................................................................................. 23 2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend. ..................................................................................... 23

WHEAT YEAST Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wyeast......................................................... 23 3056 Bavarian Wheat Yeast.......................................................................................... 24 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen Yeast....................................................................... 24 3333 German Wheat Yeast. .......................................................................................... 24 3463 Forbidden Fruit Yeast. ......................................................................................... 24 3522 Belgian Ardennes Yeast....................................................................................... 24 3638 Bavarian Wheat Yeast.......................................................................................... 25 3724 Belgian Saison Yeast. .......................................................................................... 25 3787 Trappist High Gravity....................................................................................... 25

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3942 Belgian Wheat Yeast............................................................................................ 25 3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast. ..................................................................................... 25

BRETTANOMYCES & LACTIC CULTURES Wyeast...................................................... 26 5278 Belgian Lambic Blend. ........................................................................................ 26 5112 Brettanomyces bruxellensis. ................................................................................ 26 5526 Brettanomyces lambicus. ..................................................................................... 26 5335 Lactobacillus delbrueckii. .................................................................................... 26 5733 Pediococcus cerevisiae......................................................................................... 27

WHITE LABS Yeasts........................................................................................................ 27 ALE YEAST White Labs.................................................................................................... 27

WLP001 California Ale Yeast ...................................................................................... 27 WLP002 English Ale Yeast .......................................................................................... 27 WLP003 German Ale Yeast II...................................................................................... 28 WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast............................................................................................... 28 WLP005 British Ale Yeast ........................................................................................... 28 WLP006 Bedford British Ale Yeast ............................................................................. 29 WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast................................................................................... 29 WLP008 East Coast Ale Yeast ..................................................................................... 29 WLP009 Australian Ale Yeast...................................................................................... 30 WLP010 10 Year Anniversary Ale Yeast Blend .......................................................... 30 WLP011 European Ale Yeast....................................................................................... 30 WLP013 London Ale Yeast.......................................................................................... 31 WLP017 Whitbread Ale Yeast ..................................................................................... 31 WLP022 Essex Ale Yeast............................................................................................. 31 WLP023 Burton Ale Yeast ........................................................................................... 32 WLP025 Southwold Ale Yeast..................................................................................... 32 WLP026 Premium Bitter Ale Yeast ............................................................................. 32 WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast ....................................................................... 33 WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast............................................................................ 33 WLP033 Klassic Ale Yeast .......................................................................................... 34 WLP036 Dusseldorf Alt Yeast ..................................................................................... 34 WLP039 Nottingham Ale Yeast ................................................................................... 34 WLP041 Pacific Ale Yeast ........................................................................................... 35 WLP051 California Ale V Yeast .................................................................................. 35 WLP060 American Ale Yeast Blend............................................................................ 35 WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale Yeast....................................................................... 36

SPECIALTY/BELGIAN YEAST White Labs..................................................................... 36 WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast ................................................................................... 36 WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale Yeast ..................................................................36 WLP351 Bavarian Weizen Yeast ................................................................................. 37 WLP380 Hefeweizen IV Ale Yeast .............................................................................. 37 WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale Yeast................................................................................... 37 WLP410 Belgian Wit II Ale Yeast: .............................................................................. 38 WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast......................................................................................... 38 WLP510 Bastogne Belgian Ale Yeast .................................................................... 38 WLP515 Antwerp Ale Yeast ........................................................................................ 39

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WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast: .......................................................................................... 39 WLP540 Abbey IV Ale Yeast ...................................................................................... 40 WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast.......................................................................................... 40 WLP565 Belgian Saison I Yeast................................................................................... 40 WLP566 Belgian Saison II Yeast ................................................................................. 41 WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale Yeast ............................................................................. 41 WLP575 Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend...................................................................... 41

WINE/MEAD/CIDER YEAST White labs......................................................................... 42 WLP715 Champagne Yeast.......................................................................................... 42 WLP718 Avize Wine Yeast.......................................................................................... 42 WLP720 Sweet Mead/Wine Yeast: .............................................................................. 42 WLP727 Steinberg-Geisenheim Wine Yeast................................................................43 WLP730 Chardonnay White Wine Yeast ..................................................................... 43 WLP735 French White Wine Yeast ............................................................................. 43 WLP740 Merlot Red Wine Yeast ................................................................................. 44 WLP749 Assmanshausen Wine Yeast.......................................................................... 44 WLP750 French Red Wine Yeast................................................................................. 44 WLP760 Cabernet Red Wine Yeast ............................................................................. 45 WLP770 Suremain Burgundy Wine Yeast ...................................................................45 WLP775 English Cider Yeast:...................................................................................... 45

LAGER YEAST White Labs............................................................................................... 46 WLP800 Pilsner Lager Yeast: ...................................................................................... 46 WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast ..................................................................... 46 WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast ............................................................................ 47 WLP820 Oktoberfest/Märzen Lager Yeast .................................................................. 47 WLP830 German Lager Yeast...................................................................................... 47 WLP833 German Bock Lager Yeast ............................................................................ 48 WLP838 Southern German Lager Yeast ...................................................................... 48 WLP840 American Lager Yeast ................................................................................... 48 WLP850 Copenhagen Lager Yeast............................................................................... 49 WLP885 Zurich Lager Yeast ........................................................................................ 49 WLP920 Old Bavarian Lager Yeast ............................................................................. 49 WLP925 HP Lager Yeast.............................................................................................. 50 WLP940 Mexican Lager Yeast..................................................................................... 50

Wyeast INCUBATION Instructions................................................................................. 50 FERMENTATION TEMPERATURE RANGE.................................................................. 51 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL FERMENTATION................................................................... 51 BRAINERD Yeast Starter 01-22-07.................................................................................. 51 Fermentation Temperature reference data....................................................................... 52 Yeast Washing for the Small BreweryFrom Wyeast......................................................... 54 Yeast Washing for the Home Brewer................................................................................ 55 A NEW METHOD OF WASHING YEAST USING CHLORINE DIOXIDE ..................... 56

Why Acid Wash? ...................................................................................................... 61 How to Acid Wash........................................................................................................ 63

Microscope Monitoring and techniques........................................................................... 63 Dry yeast Fermentis Safale S-04....................................................................................... 67

Yeast Chemistry


Yeast Chemistry


Alcohol % by mass and % by volume

To determine the amount of alcohol in the beer they are making, brewers compare the specific gravity of the beer before it starts fermenting to its specific gravity when it is finished fermenting.

The specific gravity is a measure of the density of a liquid relative to water. The density of water is 1 kilogram per liter, so if the specific gravity of a liquid is 1.06, one liter of that liquid will weigh 1.06 kg.

A hydrometer used to measure the specific gravity of liquids. Notice the reading of 1.000 for water.

The liquid that will form the beer is called a wort (pronounced wert). Its specific gravity is always higher than water because it contains a lot of dissolved sugars. Yeast added to

Yeast Chemistry


the wort will convert some of these dissolved sugars into ethyl alcohol. When the beer is finished, the specific gravity is always less than when it started, because some of the sugars have been converted into alcohol, which is less dense than water (0.79 kg/L).

Glucose (C6H12O6) is the main sugar that will be converted to alcohol. Many reactions take place inside the yeast that ultimately convert each glucose molecule into two molecules of ethyl alcohol (CH3CH2OH) and two molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2).

C6H12O6 => 2(CH3CH2OH) + 2(CO2)

If you check the periodic table, you can figure out the molecular weights of these two molecules. The molecular weight of ethyl alcohol is 46.0688 and the molecular weight of carbon dioxide is 44.0098. You will need these numbers to calculate the alcohol content of the beer.

During the fermentation process most of the carbon dioxide that forms from the reaction bubbles out of the solution and leaves the fermentation vessel by way of a vent. You can say that all of it leaves, because the amount the remains in the beer is very small compared to the amount that leaves.

If you look at the equation for the reaction you see that each glucose is split into two ethyl alcohol molecules and two carbon dioxide molecules. That means for each carbon dioxide molecule that leaves the fermentation vessel, one ethyl alcohol molecule must be formed inside the vessel. If you look back at the molecular weights you can say that for each 44.0098 grams of CO2 that leaves the vessel 46.0688 grams of ethyl alcohol are formed. Put another way, for each gram of CO2 that bubbles off, about 1.05 grams of ethyl alcohol are produced.

You can compare the starting specific gravity to the final specific gravity. If the starting gravity of the wort is 1.06, and after fermentation, the gravity is 1.02. Subtracting the second from the first gives us the weight of CO2 that left the vessel. That is equal to 0.04 kg/L. Then you multiply by 1.05 to get the weight of the alcohol in the container. That is 0.042 kg/L. Now that you know both the mass of the solution (1.02 kg/L) and the mass of the alcohol (0.042 kg/L) you can calculate the percentage of alcohol by mass by dividing the two. This gives 0.042 / 1.02, which equals 0.041, or 4.1 percent.

It is important to note that the percentage of alcohol by mass is higher than the percentage of alcohol by volume because an equal mass of alcohol occupies more volume than water would. So to convert from percent alcohol by mass to percent alcohol by volume you just divide by the density of alcohol. In this case you get 4.1/0.79 or 5.2 percent alcohol by volume.

In Colorado the beer sold in grocery stores has to be low alcohol "3.2" beer. It can contain no more than 3.2 percent alcohol by mass. But the beer sold in liquor stores is labeled by volume, and most beer is about 5 percent alcohol by volume. But when you

Yeast Chemistry


convert from weight to volume you find that the "3.2" beer is really 4 percent alcohol by volume. Still a pretty big difference, but maybe not quite as big as you might think.

What is attenuation? Attenuation is the percentage of sugars that the yeast consume during fermentation. If the fermentation went to 1.000 gravity, that would be 100% attenuation. Understanding the different attenuation ranges of each strain will help determine the terminal gravity of the beer. What is flocculation? Flocculation refers to the clumping of yeast cells at the end of fermentation. Strains are separated into three main degrees of flocculation- High, Medium, and Low. An example of a highly flocculent strain would be our English Ale yeast, which will settle at the bottom of the fermentation tank. An example of a low flocculent strain would be our Hefeweizen yeast. How important is yeast when it comes to making beer? Yeast is the most important ingredient when it involves making great beer. Over 500 different flavors and aromas are derived from yeast. Many brewers spend a lot of time and money on other ingredients and forget about the importance of adding high quality and bacteria free yeast into their wort. A brewer should spend as much time if not more selecting their yeast strain as they do selecting other ingredients for their beer. What is diacetyl? Diacetyl is a natural byproduct of yeast. It is most commonly recognized as a butterscotch or buttered popcorn flavor in the beer. To minimize the diacetyl attributes in beer, it’s recommended that the fermenting wort rest once the beer has reached terminal gravity for 48 hours at 62-70 degrees prior to crashing the temperature. This stage allows to yeast to reabsorb the diacetyl. Why does my beer have a high ester and/or sulfur level? High ester and sulfur levels are most commonly associated with high fermentation temperatures. Different types of strains also produce different ester and sulfur attributes. Make sure you choose the proper yeast for the style of beer you are making and ferment the wort within the recommended temperature ranges.

What is the shelf life of White Labs Yeast?

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Quick Answer: 4 Months Long Answer: Yeast is a living organism. As such, it needs to be in the right conditions to survive. Dry yeast can stay alive for one year, but yeast left in liquid form, even though it's a better product in terms of taste and performance, is more perishable. At White Labs, we are constantly working on our recipe to maximize the viability of the yeast in long term storage. The longer we can make the yeast last in the vial, the better shape it will be in for fermentation. After 30 days in the vial, the viability of our yeast is 75-85%, which is very high for liquid yeast. Yeast that is harvested after a brewery fermentation will typically have a viability of less then 50% after 30 days. Our high viability is due to the health of the yeast and nutrient content of our liquid at packaging. After 6 weeks, lag time before active fermentation is usually between 15-20 hours. The shelf life for White Labs Yeast is four months. Yeast used after this point is usually fine, but lag times will be longer. There will be living yeast in most vials for 6-12 months, so if a starter is made to activate the yeast, successful fermentations can be carried out with aged yeast.

How can I pitch 1 million cells per ml per degree Plato?

Some homebrewers now want to pitch more yeast in 5 gallons then a pint starter. An often quoted number is to pitch 1 million cells/ml/degree Plato of beer, which equals about 250 billion cells for 5 gallons. That is okay, more cells are not detrimental until about 400 billion cells. For those that enjoy yeast culturing and want 250 billion cells, one vial can be added directly to 2 liters of wort starter, and after two days of incubation, will be equal to roughly 250 billion cells. Is this necessary? Every brewer will have a different opinion, but here is some information:

a. The source of the 1 million cells/ml/degree Plato figure: Professional brewery literature. Most professional breweries re-pitch their yeast because they have the fermentor design and facilities to reuse yeast. So most brewery pitches are actually re-pitches, and only 2-10% of brewery pitchings are using freshly propagated yeast. One of the main sources of contamination in a brewery is the pitching yeast. So in order to out-compete other organisms, large quantities of yeast must be pitched. When propagated by a professional yeast laboratory, the yeast is grown under sterile conditions, sterile oxygen and special nutrients are used to improve cell construction and performance. This does not occur in a brewery, so numbers they use to "pitch" take into account the inadequacy of their brewers yeast. The yeast is also unhealthy due to prolonged growth without oxygen and nutrients. In addition, brewers yeast will always contain some contaminants that need to be out-grown, and 1 million cells per ml per degree Plato has been found to be the best marriage of high pitching rates and no negative flavor effects (Higher pitching rates can lead to unhealthy yeast and a "yeasty" off bite). Liquid yeast grown by a professional laboratory should have no contaminants, so out competing contaminants found in the pitching yeast is not a concern.

One thing that contributes to flavor contribution in beer is yeast growth. If less yeast is pitched into beer, more yeast growth takes place, so more flavor compounds such as esters are produced. Depending on the amount produced, this is how pitching rates can

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have a direct effect on flavor profile. If 5 to 10 billion cells are pitched into wort, this definitely has a negative flavor impact in terms of higher ester levels and potential for bacterial contamination. But does a pint starter worth of yeast (30-50 billion cells) pitched into beer tasted different then 2 liters worth of yeast (250 billion cells)? Sounds like more homebrew has to be made to get to the bottom of this! Your feedback is appreciated.

Yeast History

"God is Good" is the name which yeast were given in the early days of brewing. This is prior to the time which Louis Pasteur, in the mid 1800's, discovered that, in fact there was actually a single cell microscopic organism responsible for the conversion of fermentable barley malt sugars into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and flavor compounds. No longer was the process an unexplainable phenomenon, but a scientific process which we all can be grateful for.

Yeast and Brewing

Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Saccharomyces uvarum are the genus and species of ale, and lager yeast respectively. These are the primary types of yeast cultures which produce most of the worlds beers. Other types of yeast and bacteria are also utilized in various styles of beer and brewing beer like beverages. Many of these organisms were discovered more by chance, than by design. Beverages including wine, fermented milk products, and mead from honey are some examples of what developed from spontaneous fermentation, which is now understood and managed in a scientific manner.

Yeast cells are round, or ovate and reproduce by multipolar budding. They are approximately 6-8 microns in size. The characteristics which are beneficial to brewing are flavor production, the ability to attenuate the wort, and their flocculating nature, or how well they settle out and clear the beer after fermentation is complete.

As described by Gay-Lussac at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the chemical reaction of fermentation is as follows;

Yeast Chemistry


C6H12O6 + Saccharomyces cerevisiae = 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

( sugar plus yeast yields alcohol and carbon dioxide )

Yeast and Their Flavor Affects in Beer

Around the world throughout the centuries, yeast cells, like most living things, have evolved and have adapted to their environment in order to survive.

Due to this mutation and adaptation, subspecies, or variations of yeast have evolved due to the specific climate, and food sources. For this reason we are fortunate to have a wide variety of yeast strains today. These strains can be identified by their fermentation characteristics and selected to produce certain beer styles.

Ale yeast ferment at warmer temperatures than will lager yeast. In turn, Ales typically become fruitier, softer and more robust than lager beers. Lager beers tend to be dry, crisp and steely, the classical example of this is the Pilsner Lager Beer. By selecting specific yeast, one can emphasize maltiness, certain fruity esters, hop character, and a number of other fermentation characteristics desirable for a given beer.

In addition to the Ales and lagers of the world, wheat beers, and lambic style beers utilize other relative yeast strains and bacteria which impart unusual flavors and aromas such as apple, banana, plum, apricot, bubble gum, and even sweaty horse hair. These flavor and aroma compounds are an essential aspect of certain beer styles. Without these rare types of cultures which have evolved through time, the dimension and diversity of beer styles would be greatly limited.

By selecting specific yeast strains and providing a certain environment, the brewer creates the beer style of choice. These parameters include the type of water, whether hard or soft, the variety of malts, whether malted lightly or dark, and the choice of hops, whether bitter or aromatic. Taking these components and controlling the environment, the brewer puts their signature on the beer with the silent regimen of the hard working yeast.

Cultivation and Maintenance of Yeast

Yeast cells are maintained with two basic parameters; feed them so they don't die, and keep them clean, or free of contamination by other organisms. By doing this, along with selective culturing, the identity and character of each specific strain can be maintained. This process requires dedicated microbiologists in an environment free of contamination.

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There is an ongoing process which involves the storage, reviving, testing, and cataloging data which is collected as the identifying characteristics.

Yeast can be stored or maintained on agar slants of food nutrient to allow continued survival of the organism. Yeast can be dried or freeze dried for prolonged shelf storage, or they can be frozen in certain mediums or held under refrigeration in liquid suspension. All methods have benefits and drawbacks. It is the scientists and brewers job to control the parameters which effect the quality of the yeast and their survival.

Three key instruments in this process, are the autoclave, incubator and microscope. The use of these tools and culture medium conducive to yeast growth, allow's one to take care of their yeast. In addition basic laboratory supplies and glassware are used.

The autoclave is a pressure cooker or sterilizer. This equipment is used to sterilize the growth medium and instruments which come in contact with the yeast. This is how the yeast is kept clean. The sterilization of the medium kills any of the many potentially contaminating bacteria and organisms which abound. The autoclave produces steam heat to 250 degrees fahrenheit at 15 pounds of pressure to produce the sterilizing effect, or to kill anything in it. The growth medium and equipment having been processed in the autoclave, are ready to be introduced into the yeast environment aseptically. Note, that the yeast cannot be autoclaved, or they too would die.

When the proper medium is prepared, and yeast aseptically transferred to the medium, the suitable temperature which is conducive to rapid or exponential yeast growth is necessary. This is achieved in an incubator. An incubator is a controlled environment, which provides the optimum temperature. It minimizes temperature fluctuations and extremes. Temperatures too cold or too warm will inhibit growth or even kill the yeast.

The microscope is beneficial to confirm the presence of the desired organism. Single yeast cells cannot be seen by the naked eye. Magnification by several hundred times, to 10,000 times, by the microscope, can bring you into the microscopic world of the unknown. It can also be used to identify potential contaminating intruders. Depending on the magnifying strength, the microscope can bring to life, vivid morphologies, which help identify one organism from another.

Wyeast

Wyeast Ales - Top-fermented Beers Styles yeast Strain Recommendations

English Style Ale, Bitters: Low to medium maltiness, high hop bitterness, low to medium diacetyl OK.

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Fruitiness/esters OK (or even "highly desirable"). --Wyeast 1028, 1098, 1968, 1318, 1275, 1335.

American-style Pale Ale: Generally drier than British pale ales. High hop bitterness, high hop aroma. Low diacetyl OK. Fruity/estery. --Wyeast 1056, 1028, 1338, 1272.

Brown Ale/Mild: Low bitterness, sweet and malty. Low esters, low diacetyl OK. Light to medium body. --Wyeast 1028, 1338, 1084, 1968, 1318, 1187.

Scottish Ale: Low bitterness, medium to high maltiness. Medium body. Low diacetyl OK. --Wyeast 1728, 1056, 1084.

Scottish Strong Ale: Medium to full body, very malty. Low bitterness. Medium to high diacetyl. High alcohol. --Wyeast 1728, 1056, 1388.

English Strong Ale: Medium to full body, malty. Medium to high bitterness. Fruitiness/esters high. Low diacetyl OK. High alcohol. --Wyeast 1968, 1028,1098, 1275.

Porter: Medium to full body. Low to medium sweetness, medium to high bitterness. Fruitiness/esters OK. Low diacetyl OK. --Wyeast 1084, 1028, 1056, 1187, 1335.

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Dry Stout: Medium to full body. Medium to high bitterness. Sweet maltiness. No hop flavor or aroma. Diacetyl low to medium. Alcohol low to medium. --Wyeast 1084, 1007, 1028, 1275, 2565.

Sweet Stout: Medium to full body. Low bitterness. No hop flavor or aroma. Low to medium alcohol. Low diacetyl OK. --Wyeast 1968, 1338, 1056, 1318, 1728.

Imperial Stout: Malty. Fruitiness/esters OK. High hop bitterness and flavor. Full body, high alcohol. --Wyeast 1084, 1056, 1728, 1275.

Barley Wine: Malty sweet. Fruity/estery. Medium to full body. Very high alcohol. Low to medium diacetyl OK. --Wyeast 1728, 1084, 1056, 1275, 1272, 3787, 3347.

Dusseldorf-style Altbier: Light to medium body, medium to high bitterness. Low hop flavor. Low fruitiness and esters. --Wyeast 1007, 1338, 1056, 2565. Kolschbier: Light to medium body, dry. Medium bitterness, low hop flavor and aroma. --Wyeast 2565, 1007, 1338.

Wyeast Lager- Bottom-Fermented Beers yeast Strain Recommendations

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Bohemian Pilsner: Light to medium body. Medium to high bitterness. Low to medium hop flavor, high hop aroma. Low to medium maltiness. Low diacetyl OK. No fruitiness/esters. --Wyeast 2124, 2007, 2278, 2247.

Pilsner: Light to medium body. Dry, bitter. Medium to high hop flavor and aroma. Very low diacetyl OK. No fruitiness/esters. --Wyeast 2007, 2124, 2308.

American Pilsner: Light body. Low to medium bitterness. Low to medium hop aroma. No fruitiness/esters or diacetyl. --Wyeast 2035, 2007, 2278, 2247, 2272.

German Light Lager (Helles): Medium maltiness. Low bitterness. Hop flavor and aroma. Low diacetyl OK. No fruitiness/esters. --Wyeast 2308, 2206, 2124, 2247.

Dortmund/Export: Medium body. Medium maltiness. Medium bitterness. Hop flavor and aroma. No fruitiness/esters or diacetyl. --Wyeast 2206, 2308, 2035, 2042.

Vienna/Oktoberfest/Marzenbier: Malty sweetness, medium body. Low to medium bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. No fruitiness/esters or diacetyl. --Wyeast 2206, 2278, 2308, 2272.

Yeast Chemistry


Bavarian Dark (Dunkel): Medium body. Medium bitterness. Low diacetyl OK. No fruitiness/esters. --Wyeast 2206, 2308, 2247.

Bock/Doppelbock: Full body. Malty. Low bitterness. Low diacetyl OK. No fruitiness/esters. Medium to high alcohol. --Wyeast 2124, 2278, 2007, 2206.

California Common Beer: Medium body. Medium to high hop bitterness and flavor. Fruitiness/esters low. --Wyeast 2112, 2272.

Wyeast Wheat Beers yeast Strain Recommendations

American Wheat: Light to medium body. Low to medium bitterness. Some malt and hop aroma. Low to medium fruitiness/esters, Low diacetyl OK. --Wyeast 1007,1010 , 1056.

Bavarian Weizenbier: Light to medium body. Fruity/estery/phenolic. Low bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma OK. No diacetyl. Distinctive clove/banana/vanilla aroma/flavor is evident. --Wyeast 3068, 3056, 3333, 3942.

Belgian Witbier: Low to medium bitterness. Low to medium body. Dry, tart. Low to medium esters. Some

Yeast Chemistry


phenolic notes in aroma/flavor. --Wyeast 3944, 3787.

Berliner Weisse: Light body. Dry. Sharp lactic sourness. Fruity and estery. Very low bitterness, no hop character. No diacetyl. --Wyeast 1007 , 1010, 2565 with sour mash or L. delbrueckii

Belgian Ales (dubbel, tripel abbey, grand cru): Everything, all over the map, All marked by distinctive contributions from the yeast. --Wyeast 1214, 3944, 1762, 1388.

Lambic: Sour, horsey. Fruity/estery. Can be phenolic. --Wyeast 3278.

ALE YEAST Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wyeast One’s We’ve used

Ales are typified by a rich, full-bodied profile with a fruity nose and taste. Each strain has unique characteristics, which can be enhanced or minimized depending on formulation and fermentation temperatures.

1056 American Ale Yeast.(Pelican Brewery Pacific City Oregon) Probable origin: Balentine India Pale Ale, USA Beer Styles: American Pale, Brown Ales, Porters, Stouts, IPA's Commercial examples may include: Sierra Nevada Ales, Balentine IPA, and St. Louis Pale Ale, Flatlanders Unique properties: Very clean crisp flavor characteristics. Low fruitiness and mild ester production. Slightly citrus like with cool 60-66º F, (15-19º C) fermentation temperatures. Versatile yeast, which produces many beer styles allowing malt and hop character to dominate the beer profile. Flocculation is moderate. Flocculation improves with dark malts in grain bill. Normally requires filtration for bright beers. DE or Pad filtration

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recommended. Flocculation - low to medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (60-72° F, 15-22° C)

1084 Irish Ale Yeast. (Guinness) Probable Origin: Dublin, Ireland Beer Styles: Dry Stout, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, and Porter Commercial examples may include: Guinness, Beamish Stout, and Murphy's Stout Unique properties: This yeast ferments extremely well in dark roast worts. Beers fermented in the lower temperature range produce dry and crisp beers to fruity beers with nice complexity in the upper range. Ester production is enhanced and rich with fermentation temperatures above 64º F, (18º C). Flocculation is low to moderate with filtration typically required. Alcohol tolerance is approximately 10-11% ABV. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 71-75%. (62-72° F, 16-22° C)

1272 American Ale Yeast II (BridgePort) . Fruitier and more flocculent than 1056, slightly nutty, soft, clean, slightly tart finish. Accentuates hop character at warmer fermentation temperatures with intense fruitiness. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (60-72° F, 15-22° C)

1332 Northwest Ale Yeast. One of the classic ale strains from the Northwest U.S. Breweries. Produces a malty and mildly fruity ale with good depth and complexity. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 67-71%. (65-75° F, 18-24° C)

1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. (Rockbottom) Ideally suited for Scottish-style ales, and high-gravity ales of all types. Can be estery with warm fermentation temperatures. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 69-73%. (55-75° F, 13-24° C)

1968 London ESB Ale Yeast. ( Walking Man, Lauerlwood, Hopworks)) Probable origin: London, England Beer Styles: British Pale Ales, Special Bitters Commercial examples may include: Fullers London Pride, Young's and Greene Kings Unique properties: This extremely flocculant yeast produces distinctly malty beers. Attenuation levels are typically less than most other yeast strains making a slightly sweeter finish. Ales produced with this strain tend to be fairly fruity. Fruitiness increased with higher fermentation temperatures 70-74º F, (21-23º C). Diacetyl production is noticeable and a thorough rest; 50-70º F, (10-21º C) is necessary. Yeast traps trub easily

Yeast Chemistry


and autolysis is possible. A very good cask conditioned ale strain due to thorough flocculation characteristics. Beers become readily bright within days. Brilliant beers easily achieved without any filtration. Alcohol tolerance approximately 9% ABV. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 67-71%. (64-72° F, 18-22° C)

More Wyeast Ale Yeasts

1007 German Ale Yeast.

Probable origin: Dusseldorf, Germany Beer Style: Alt beer, American style wheat beers Commercial examples may include: St. Stan Alt, Schlosser Alt, Frankenheim Alt, and Pinkus Alt Unique properties - True top cropping yeast, low ester formation, broad temperature range affects styles. Will ferment cold; 55° F range, (13° C) producing lager characteristics including sulfur production. Style is noted for dry, crisp characteristics. Fermentation at higher temperatures (70-75° F, 21-24° C) may produce some mild fruitiness. Extremely poor flocculating yeast, generally remains significantly in suspension without treatment or filtration. Pad filtration is often difficult. Brewer's benefit from DE filtration or centrifuging. Maturation: Beers mature fairly rapid, even when cold fermentation is used. Low or no detectable diacetyl, alcohol tolerance approximately 11% ABV. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (55-68° F, 13-20° C)

1010 American Wheat.

A dry fermenting, true top cropping yeast which produces a dry, slightly tart, crisp beer. Ideal for beers where a low ester profile is desirable, a good alternative for Alts and Kölsch, along with American Style Hefeweizen. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 74-78%. (58-74º F, 14-23° C)

1028 London Ale Yeast.

Rich with a dry finish, minerally profile, bold and crisp, with some fruitiness. Often used for higher gravity ales and when a high level of attenuation is desired for the style. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (60-72° F, 15-22° C)

1098 British Ale Yeast.

The original dried yeast from Whitbread. Produces beers with a clean neutral finish allowing malt and hop character to dominate. Ferments dry & crisp, slightly tart, fruity

Yeast Chemistry


and well-balanced. Ferments well down to 65°F (18° C). Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-75%. (64-72° F, 18-22° C)

1099 Whitbread Ale Yeast.

A mildly malty and slightly fruity fermentation profile; not as tart and dry as 1098 and much more flocculent. Clears well without filtration. Low fermentation temperatures will produce a clean finish with a very low ester profile. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 68-72%. (64-75º F, 18-24° C)

1187 Ringwood Ale Yeast.

Great Yeast of European origin with unique fermentation and flavor characteristics. Distinct fruit ester and high flocculation provide a malty complex profile, also clears well. Thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 68-72%. (64-74º F, 18-23° C)

1214 Belgian Ale Yeast.

Abbey-style top-fermenting yeast, suitable for high-gravity beers. Estery, great complexity with very good alcohol tolerance. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (58-78° F, 14-24° C)

1275 Thames Valley Ale Yeast.

Produces classic British bitters, rich complex flavor profile, clean, light malt character, low fruitiness, low esters, well balanced. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (62-72° F, 16-22° C)

1318 London Ale Yeast III.

From traditional London brewery with great malt and hop profile. True top cropping strain, fruity, very light, soft balanced palate, finishes slightly sweet. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 71-75%. (64-74° F, 18-23° C)

1335 British Ale Yeast II.

Typical of British and Canadian ale fermentation profile with good flocculating and malty flavor characteristics, crisp finish, clean, fairly dry. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 73-76%. (63-75° F, 17-24° C)

1338 European Ale Yeast.

From Wissenschaftliche in Munich. Full-bodied complex strain finishing very malty with full bodied profile, very desirable in English Style Brown Ales and Porters.

Yeast Chemistry


Produces a dense, rocky head during fermentation. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 67-71%. (62-72° F, 16-22° C)

1388 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast.

Classic yeast for style. Robust flavor profile with moderate to high alcohol tolerance. Fruity nose and palate, dry, tart finish. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (65-75° F, 18-24° C)

1762 Belgian Abbey Yeast II.

High gravity yeast with distinct warming character from ethanol production. Slightly fruity with dry finish, low ester profile. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (65-75° F, 18-24° C)

2565 Kölsch Yeast. Probable origin: Cologne, Germany Beer Styles: Traditional American use - Kölsch, Fruit beers, Light pseudo lagers Commercial examples may include: Kess, Paffgen, Muhlen Unique properties: True top cropping yeast similar to Alt strains. Produces slightly more fruity/winey characteristics. Fruitiness increases with temperature increase. Low or no detectable diacetyl production. Also ferments well at cold 55-60° F range, (13-16° C). Used to produce quick conditioning pseudo lager beers. Poor flocculating yeast requires filtration to produce bright beers or additional settling time. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (56-70° F, 13-21° C)

LAGER YEAST Saccharomyces uvarum Wyeast

Lager beers are typically lighter and dryer than ales with a crisp finish. Lager yeast generally produce significant amounts of sulfur during cooler fermentation, which dissipates during aging. An important profile in great pilsner beers.

2278 Czech Pils Yeast.

Classic pilsner strain from the home of pilsners for a dry, but malty finish. The perfect choice for pilsners and all malt beers. Sulfur produced during fermentation dissipates with conditioning. Flocculation - med.. to high; apparent attenuation 70-74%. (50-58° F, 10-14° C)

Yeast Chemistry


2308 Munich Lager Yeast.

A unique strain, capable of producing fine lagers. Very smooth, well rounded and full-bodied. Benefits from temperature rise for diacetyl rest at the end of primary fermentation. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (48-56° F, 9-13° C)

A blend of lager strains designed to produce a rich, malty, complex and full bodied Octoberfest style beer. Attenuates well while still leaving plenty of malt character and mouth feel. Low in sulfur production. Flocculation - medium-low; apparent attenuation: 73-77%. (48-58° F, 9-14° C)

2000 Budvar.

Nice malty nose, subtle fruit. Rich malt profile on palate. Finishes malty but dry, well balanced, crisp. Hop character comes through in finish. Flocculation: medium-high; Apparent attenuation: 71-75% (48-56° F, 9-13° C)

2001 Urquell.

Mild fruit/floral aroma. Very dry and clean on palate with full mouthfeel and nice subtle malt character. Very clean and neutral finish. Flocculation: medium-high; Apparent attenuation: 72-76%. (48-56°F, 9-13° C)

2007 Pilsen Lager Yeast.

A classic American pilsner strain, smooth, malty palate. Ferments dry and crisp. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation: 71-75%. (48-56° F, 9-13° C)

2035 American Lager Yeast.

Bold, complex and aromatic, good depth of flavor characteristics for a variety of lager beers. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (48-58º F, 9-14° C)

2042 Danish Lager Yeast.

Rich, Dortmund-style, crisp, dry finish. Soft profile accentuates hop characteristics. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (46-56° F, 8-13° C)

2112 California Lager Yeast ( Anchor Steam).

Particularly suited for producing 19th century-style West Coast beers. Retains lager characteristics at temperatures up to 65° F, (18° C) and produces malty, brilliantly clear beers. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 67-71%. (58-68° F, 14-20° C)

Yeast Chemistry


2124 Bohemian Lager Yeast. AKA 34/70 Probable origin: Weihenstephan, Germany Beer Styles: Pilsners, Hellas, Dunkel Commercial examples may include: Ayinger, Sam Adams, Stroh, Sudwerk Unique properties: A Carlsberg type yeast and most widely used lager strain in the world. Produces a distinct malty profile with some ester character with a crisp finish. Well balanced profile produces a wide range of lager beers. Will ferment in the mid 40's to mid 50's for various beer styles. Benefits from diacetyl rest at 58 F (14 C) for 24 hours after fermentation is complete. Also used for pseudo ale production with fermentations at 75º F, (24º C) which eliminates sulfur production. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 69-73%. (48-58° F, 9-14° C)

2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast.

Used by many German breweries to produce rich, full-bodied, malty beers. Good choice for Bocks and Dopplebocks. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (46-58° F, 8-14° C)

2278 Czech Pils Yeast.

Classic pilsner strain from the home of pilsners for a dry, but malty finish. The perfect choice for pilsners and all malt beers. Sulfur produced during fermentation dissipates with conditioning. Flocculation - med.. to high; apparent attenuation 70-74%. (50-58° F, 10-14° C)

2308 Munich Lager Yeast.

A unique strain, capable of producing fine lagers. Very smooth, well rounded and full-bodied. Benefits from temperature rise for diacetyl rest at the end of primary fermentation. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (48-56° F, 9-13° C)

2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend.

A blend of lager strains designed to produce a rich, malty, complex and full bodied Octoberfest style beer. Attenuates well while still leaving plenty of malt character and mouth feel. Low in sulfur production. Flocculation - medium-low; apparent attenuation: 73-77%. (48-58° F, 9-14° C)

WHEAT YEAST Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wyeast

Yeast Chemistry


A myriad of aromas and flavors come from a great variety of wheat and Belgian beer yeast. Intense fruity esters and aromatics dominate this profile. Characteristics are intensified by higher fermentation temperatures.

3056 Bavarian Wheat Yeast.

Blend of top-fermenting ale and wheat strains producing mildly estery and phenolic wheat beers. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (64-74° F, 18-23° C)

3068 Weihenstephan Weizen Yeast. Probable origin: Weihenstephan, Germany Beer Styles: German Hefeweissen, Crystal weisse, Dunkel weisse, Weisenbock Commercial examples may include: Ayinger Weissebeer, Tabernash Wheat, Sandwald, Erdinger Weisse, Schneider Weisse Unique properties: Classic German wheat beer yeast, used by more German Brewers than any other strain in the production of Wheat beer. Properties dominated by banana ester production, phenols and clove like characteristics. Extremely attenuative yeast, which produces a tart thirst quenching finish. Extremely low floccing yeast remains in suspension readily with proteinacous wheat malt. Sometimes used in conjunction with lager yeast and kerausened to finish the beer and improve the overall dryness. High CO2 levels, typically at 2.7 - 3.2 volumes is desirable for best presentation. True top cropping yeast requires full headspace of 33%. Ester formation is significantly affected by aeration and pitching rates. Crystal weisse production typically requires DE filtration, may prove too difficult for Pad filtration only. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (64-75° F, 18-24° C)

3333 German Wheat Yeast.

Subtle flavor profile for wheat yeast with unique sharp tart crispness, fruity, sherry-like palate. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 70-76%. (63-75° F, 17-24° C)

3463 Forbidden Fruit Yeast.

From old Belgian brewery for production of wits to classic grand cru. Phenolic profile with subdued fruitiness. Well balanced estery profile. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77% (63-76º F, 17-24° C)

3522 Belgian Ardennes Yeast.

One of many great beer yeast to produce classic Belgian ales. Phenolics develop with increased fermentation temperatures, mild fruitiness and complex spicy character. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 72-76% (65-85º F, 18-29° C)

Yeast Chemistry


3638 Bavarian Wheat Yeast.

Top cropping hefeweizen yeast with complex flavor and aroma. Balance of banana and bubble gum esters with lichi and apple/plum esters and cloviness. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 70-76% (64-75º F, 18-24° C)

3724 Belgian Saison Yeast.

Classic farmhouse ale yeast. Spicy and complex aromatics including bubble gum. Very tart and dry on palate with mild fruit. Finishes crisp and mildly acidic. Benefits from elevated fermentation temperatures. Usually slow to attenuate. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation: 76-80%. (70-85° F, 21-29° C)

3787 Trappist High Gravity. Probable origin: Westmalle, Belgium Beer Styles: Doubles, Triples, Abbey, Beir de Grarde Commercial examples may include: Westmalle, Rochfort, Chimay, Casteel Unique properties: This strain produces intense esters and phenolic characteristics with complex fruitiness. Does not produce significant amount of iso-amyl acetate (banana esters) or bubble gum esters typical of many yeast of this style. Phenol and ester production are influenced by fermentation temperatures. Phenols tend to dissipate as beer matures. This type of yeast benefits from incremental feeding of sugars during fermentation, making suitable conditions for doubles and triples, to ferment to dryness with good alcohol tolerance approximately 11-12% ABV. True top cropping yeast with broad temperature range. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 75-80%. (64-78° F, 18-25° C)

3942 Belgian Wheat Yeast.

Estery, low phenol producing yeast from small Belgian brewery. Apple, bubble gum and plum like aromas with a dry but fruity finish. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (64-74° F, 18-23° C)

3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast. Probable origin: Hoegaarden, Belgium Beer Styles: White Beer, Grand Cru, Doubles, Spiced beers Commercial examples may include: Celis Wit, Hoegaarden, Blanc de Brugge Unique properties: A yeast with complex flavor profile which produces a spicey phenolic character with low ester production. Phenols tend to dominate most flavors and dissipates with age. Ferments fairly dry with a finish which compliments malted and unmalted wheat and oats. Sometimes used in conjunction with lactic acid bacteria to produces a sharper finish. This strain may be a slow starting yeast with true top cropping characteristics. Flocculation is low, with yeast staying suspended with proteins in a well designed beer. Alcohol tolerance approximately 10-11% ABV. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (62-75° F, 16-24° C)

Yeast Chemistry


BRETTANOMYCES & LACTIC CULTURES Wyeast

5278 Belgian Lambic Blend.

Contains a selection of Saccharomyces add non-Saccharomyces which include Belgian style wheat beer yeast, Sherry yeast, two Brettanomyces strains and Lactic Acid Bacteria. While this mixture does not include all possible cultures found in Belgian Lambics, it is representative of the organisms, which are most important for the desirable flavor components of these beer styles. Individual components available from this blend are numbered below. Flocculation - low to medium; apparent attenuation 65-75%. (63-75º F, 17-24° C)

5112 Brettanomyces bruxellensis.

Wild yeast isolated from brewery cultures in the Brussels region of Belgium. Produces the classic sweaty horse hair character indigenous to beers of this region: gueuze, lambics, sour browns. Ferments best in worts with lower pH after primary fermentation has begun. This strain is generally used in conjunction with S. cerevisiae as well as other wild yeast and lactic bacteria. Produces some acidity and may form a pellicle in bottles or casks. Generally requires 3-6 months aging for flavor to fully develop. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation low. (60-75º F, 15-24° C)

5526 Brettanomyces lambicus.

Wild yeast isolated from Belgian lambic beers. Produces a pie cherry like flavor and sourness along with distinct brett character. Ferments best in worts with reduced pH after primary fermentation has begun, and may form a pellicle in bottles or casks. Works best in conjunction with other yeast and lactic bacteria to produce the classic Belgian character. Generally requires 3-6 months of aging to fully develop flavor characteristics. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation low. (60-75º F, 15-24° C)

5335 Lactobacillus delbrueckii.

Lactic acid bacteria isolated from a Belgian Brewery. This culture produces moderate levels of acidity and is commonly found in many types of beers including gueuze, lambics sour brown ales and Berliner Weisse. Always used in conjunction with S.cerevisiae and often with various wild yeast. (60-95º F, 15-35° C)

Yeast Chemistry


5733 Pediococcus cerevisiae.

Lactic acid bacteria used in the production of Belgian style beers where additional acidity is desirable. Often found in gueuze and other Belgian style beer. High acid producer which usually increases overall acid levels in beer as storage time increases.

WHITE LABS Yeasts

ALE YEAST White Labs

WLP001 California Ale Yeast

This yeast is famous for its clean flavors, balance and ability to be used in almost any style ale. It accentuates the hop flavors and is extremely versatile.

Attenuation: 73-80%

Flocculation: Medium

Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-73°F

Alcohol Tolerance: High

WLP002 English Ale Yeast

A classic ESB strain from one of England's largest independent breweries. This yeast is best suited for English style ales including milds, bitters, porters, and English style stouts. This yeast will leave a beer very clear, and will leave some residual sweetness.

Attenuation: 63-70%

Flocculation: Very High


Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

Yeast Chemistry


WLP003 German Ale Yeast II

Good for Kölsch, Alt, and German style Pale Ales. Strong sulfur component will reduce with aging. Clean, but with more ester production than WLP029.

Attenuation: 73-80%



Does not ferment well less than 62°F


WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast

This is the yeast from one of the oldest stout producing breweries in the world. It produces a slight hint of diacetyl, balanced by a light fruitiness and slight dry crispness. Great for Irish ales, stouts, porters, browns, reds and a very interesting pale ale.

Attenuation: 69-74%

Flocculation: Medium to High


Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High

WLP005 British Ale Yeast

This yeast is a little more attenuative than WLP002. Like most English strains, this yeast produces malty beers. Excellent for all English style ales including bitter, pale ale, porter, and brown ale.

Attenuation: 67-74%

Flocculation: High

Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F


Yeast Chemistry


WLP006 Bedford British Ale Yeast

Ferments dry and flocculates very well. Produces a distinctive ester profile. Good choice for most English style ales including bitter, pale ale, porter, and brown ale.

Attenuation: 72-80%

Flocculation: High



WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast

Clean, highly flocculent, and highly attenuative yeast. This yeast is similar to WLP002 in flavor profile, but is 10% more attenuative. This eliminates the residual sweetness, and makes the yeast well suited for high gravity ales. It is also reaches terminal gravity quickly. 80% attenuation will be reached even with 10% ABV beers.

Attenuation: 70-80%




WLP008 East Coast Ale Yeast

Our "Brewer Patriot" strain can be used to reproduce many of the American versions of classic beer styles. Similar neutral character of WLP001, but less attenuation, less accentuation of hop bitterness, increased flocculation, and a little tartness. Very clean and low esters. Great yeast for golden, blonde, honey, pales and German alt style ales.

Attenuation: 70-75%

Flocculation: Medium to Low


Yeast Chemistry



WLP009 Australian Ale Yeast

Produces a clean, malty beer. Pleasant ester character, can be described as "bready". Can ferment successfully, and clean, at higher temperatures. This yeast combines good flocculation with good attenuation.

Attenuation: 70-75%

Flocculation: High

Ideal Fermentation Temperature Range: 65-70°F


WLP010 10 Year Anniversary Ale Yeast Blend

White Labs started in 1995 with 5 strains available for homebrewers-WLP001, WLP002, WLP004, WLP300, and WLP810. We wanted a blend with all of these strains, but Hefeweizen just doesn't fit. So we have crafted a blend using unique proportions of WLP001 California Ale Yeast, WLP002 English Ale Yeast, WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast, and WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast. A truly unique blend that will test a brewers imagination! For a limited time only.

Attenuation: 75-80%




WLP011 European Ale Yeast

Malty, Northern European-origin ale yeast. Low ester production, giving a clean profile. Little to no sulfur production. Low attenuation helps to contribute to the malty character. Good for Alt, Kolsch, malty English ales, and fruit beers.

Attenuation: 65-70%

Yeast Chemistry





WLP013 London Ale Yeast

Dry, malty ale yeast. Provides a complex, oakey ester character to your beer. Hop bitterness comes through well. This yeast is well suited for classic British pale ales, bitters, and stouts. Does not flocculate as much as WLP002 and WLP005.

Attenuation: 67-75%




WLP017 Whitbread Ale Yeast

Traditional mixed yeast culture. British style character, slightly fruity, with a hint of sulfur production. This yeast can be used for many different beer styles. The most traditional choices would be English style ales including milds, bitters, porters, and English style stouts. North American style ales will also benefit from fermentation with WLP017. The beer will clear easily.

Attenuation: 67-73%

Flocculation: High

Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 66-70°F Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

WLP022 Essex Ale Yeast

Flavorful British style yeast. Drier finish than many British ale yeast. Produces slightly fruity and bready character. Good top fermenting yeast strain, is well suited for top cropping (collecting). This yeast is well suited for classic British milds, pale ales, bitters, and stouts. Does not flocculate as much as WLP002 and WLP005. Attenuation: 71-76%

Yeast Chemistry





WLP023 Burton Ale Yeast

From the famous brewing town of Burton upon Trent, England, this yeast is packed with character. It provides delicious subtle fruity flavors like apple, clover honey and pear. Great for all English styles, IPA's, bitters, and pales. Excellent in porters and stouts.

Attenuation: 69-75%




WLP025 Southwold Ale Yeast

From Suffolk county, England. This yeast produces complex fruit, citrus, and spicy flavors. Great for British bitters and pale ales. Slight sulfur is produced during fermentation, which will disappear with aging.

Attenuation: 68-75%




WLP026 Premium Bitter Ale Yeast

From Staffordshire, England. Fermentation gives a mild, but complex, estery character. Ferments strong and dry. Good for high gravity beers. Best for all English style ales, including bitters, milds, ESBs, porters, stouts, and barley wines.

Yeast Chemistry


Attenuation: 70-75%




WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast

Scotland is famous for its malty, strong ales. This yeast can reproduce complex, flavorful Scottish style ales. This yeast can be an everyday strain, similar to WLP001. Hop character is not muted with this strain, as it is with WLP002.

Attenuation: 70-75%



Does not ferment well less than 62°F


WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast

From a small brewpub in Cologne, Germany, this yeast works great in Kölsch and Alt style beers. Good for light beers like blond and honey. Accentuates hop flavors, similar to WLP001. The slight sulfur produced during fermentation will disappear with age and leave a super clean, lager like ale.

Attenuation: 72-78%



Does not ferment well less than 62°F, unless during active fermentation.


Yeast Chemistry


WLP033 Klassic Ale Yeast

Traditional English style, single strain yeast. Produces signature ester character, and does not mask hop character. Leaves ale with a slightly sweet malt character. Best for bitters, milds, porters, and stouts. Also good for Scottish style ales.

Attenuation: 66-74%




WLP036 Dusseldorf Alt Yeast

Traditional Alt yeast from Dusseldorf, Germany. Produces clean, slightly sweet alt beers. Does not accentuate hop flavor as WLP029 does.

Attenuation: 65-72%




WLP039 Nottingham Ale Yeast

British style ale yeast with a very dry finish. Medium to low fruit and fusel alcohol production. Good top fermenting yeast strain, is well suited for top cropping (collecting). This yeast is well suited for pale ales, ambers, porters, and stouts.

Attenuation: 73-82%




Yeast Chemistry


WLP041 Pacific Ale Yeast

A popular ale yeast from the Pacific Northwest. The yeast will clear from the beer well, and leave a malty profile. More fruity than WLP002, English Ale Yeast. Good yeast for English style ales including milds, bitters, IPA, porters, and English style stouts.

Attenuation: 65-70%

Flocculation: High



WLP051 California Ale V Yeast

From Northern California. This strain is more fruity than WLP001, and slightly more flocculent. Attenuation is lower, resulting in a fuller bodied beer than with WLP001.

Attenuation: 70-75%




WLP060 American Ale Yeast Blend

Our most popular yeast strain is WLP001, California Ale Yeast. This blend celebrates the strengths of California- clean, neutral fermentation, versatile usage, and adds two other strains that belong to the same 'clean/neutral' flavor category. The additional strains create complexity to the finished beer. This blend tastes more lager like than WLP001. Hop flavors and bitterness are accentuated, but not to the extreme of California. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation.

Attenuation: 72-80%



Yeast Chemistry


Alcohol Tolerance: Medium High

WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale Yeast

Can ferment up to 25% alcohol. From England. Produces ester character that increases with increasing gravity. Malt character dominates at lower gravities.

Attenuation: >80%



Alcohol Tolerance: Very High

SPECIALTY/BELGIAN YEAST White Labs

WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast

This famous German yeast is a strain used in the production of traditional, authentic wheat beers. It produces the banana and clove nose traditionally associated with German wheat beers and leaves the desired cloudy look of traditional German wheat beers.

Attenuation: 72-76%

Flocculation: Low



WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale Yeast

This yeast is used to produce the Oregon style American Hefeweizen. Unlike WLP300, this yeast produces a very slight amount of the banana and clove notes. It produces some sulfur, but is otherwise a clean fermenting yeast, which does not flocculate well, producing a cloudy beer.

Yeast Chemistry


Attenuation: 70-75%

Flocculation: Low



WLP351 Bavarian Weizen Yeast

Former Yeast Lab W51 yeast strain, acquired from Dan McConnell. The description originally used by Yeast Lab still fits: "This strain produces a classic German-style wheat beer, with moderately high, spicy, phenolic overtones reminiscent of cloves."

Attenuation: 73-77%

Flocculation: Low



WLP380 Hefeweizen IV Ale Yeast

Large clove and phenolic aroma and flavor, with minimal banana. Refreshing citrus and apricot notes. Crisp, drinkable hefeweizen. Less flocculent than WLP300, and sulfur production is higher.

Attenuation: 73-80%

Flocculation: Low



WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale Yeast

Slightly phenolic and tart, this is the original yeast used to produce Wit in Belgium.

Yeast Chemistry


Attenuation: 74-78%

Flocculation: Low to Medium



WLP410 Belgian Wit II Ale Yeast:

Less phenolic than WLP400, and more spicy. Will leave a bit more sweetness, and flocculation is higher than WLP400. Use to produce Belgian Wit, spiced Ales, wheat Ales, and specialty Beers.

Attenuation: 70-75%

Flocculation: Low to Medium



WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast

From one of the few remaining Trappist breweries remaining in the world, this yeast produces the distinctive fruitiness and plum characteristics. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.

Attenuation: 75-80%

Flocculation: Medium to low


Lower temperatures (under 65) will result in less fruity and more earthy beers.


WLP510 Bastogne Belgian Ale Yeast :

Yeast Chemistry


A high gravity, Trappist style ale yeast. Produces dry beer with slight acidic finish. More ‘clean’ fermentation character than WLP500 or WLP530. Not as spicy as WLP530 or WLP550. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.

Attenuation: 74-80%




WLP515 Antwerp Ale Yeast

Clean, almost lager like Belgian type ale yeast. Good for Belgian type pales ales and amber ales, or with blends to combine with other Belgian type yeast strains. Biscuity, ale like aroma present. Hop flavors and bitterness are accentuated. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation, which can give the yeast a lager like flavor profile.

Attenuation: 73-80%



WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast:

Used to produce Trappist style beers. Similar to WLP500, but is less fruity and more alcohol tolerant (up to 15% ABV). Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.

Attenuation: 75-80%

Flocculation: Medium to high



Yeast Chemistry


WLP540 Abbey IV Ale Yeast

An authentic Trappist style yeast. Use for Belgian style ales, dubbels, tripples, and specialty beers. Fruit character is medium, in between WLP500 (high) and WLP530 (low).

Attenuation: 74-82%




WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast

Saisons, Belgian Ales, Belgian Reds, Belgian Browns, and White beers are just a few of the classic Belgian beer styles that can be created with this yeast strain. Phenolic and spicy flavors dominate the profile, with less fruitiness then WLP500.

Attenuation: 78-85%




WLP565 Belgian Saison I Yeast

Classic Saison yeast from Wallonia. It produces earthy, peppery, and spicy notes. Slightly sweet. With high gravity saisons, brewers may wish to dry the beer with an alternate yeast added after 75% fermentation.

Attenuation: 65-75%




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WLP566 Belgian Saison II Yeast

Saison strain with more fruity ester production than with WLP565. Moderately phenolic, with a clove-like characteristic in finished beer flavor and aroma. Ferments faster than WLP565.

Attenuation: 78-85%


Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-78 F


WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale Yeast

From East Flanders, versatile yeast that can produce light Belgian ales to high gravity Belgian beers (12% ABV). A combination of fruitiness and phenolic characteristics dominate the flavor profile. Some sulfur is produced during fermentation, which will dissipate following the end of fermentation.

Attenuation: 73-78%

Flocculation: Low



WLP575 Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend

A blend of Trappist type yeast (2) and one Belgian ale type yeast. This creates a versatile blend that can be used for Trappist type beer, or a myriad of beers that can be described as 'Belgian type'.

Attenuation: 74-80%



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WINE/MEAD/CIDER YEAST White labs

WLP715 Champagne Yeast

Classic yeast, used to produce champagne, cider, dry meads, dry wines, or to fully attenuate barley wines/ strong ales. Neutral.

Alcohol Tolerance: 17%

Attenuation: >75%

Flocculation: Low


WLP718 Avize Wine Yeast

Champagne isolate used for complexity in whites. Contributes elegance, especially in barrel fermented Chardonnays.


Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP720 Sweet Mead/Wine Yeast:

A wine yeast strain that is less attenuative than WLP715, leaving some residual sweetness. Slightly fruity and will tolerate alcohol concentrations up to 15%. A good choice for sweet mead and cider, as well as Blush wines, Gewürztraminer, Sauternes, Riesling.


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Attenuation: <75%

Flocculation: Low


WLP727 Steinberg-Geisenheim Wine Yeast

German in origin, this yeast has high fruit/ester production. Perfect for Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Moderate fermentation characteristics and cold tolerant.


Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP730 Chardonnay White Wine Yeast

Dry wine yeast. Slight ester production, low sulfur dioxide production. Enhances varietal character. WLP730 is a good choice for all white and blush wines, including Chablis, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, and Sauvignon Blanc. Fermentation speed is moderate.


Attenuation: > 80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP735 French White Wine Yeast

Classic yeast for white wine fermentation. Slow to moderate fermentor and foam producer. Gives an enhanced creamy texture.


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Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP740 Merlot Red Wine Yeast

Neutral, low fusel alcohol production. Will ferment to dryness, alcohol tolerance to 18%. Vigorous fermenter. WLP740 is well suited for Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon.


Attenuation: > 80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP749 Assmanshausen Wine Yeast

German red wine yeast, which results in spicy, fruit aromas. Perfect for Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Slow to moderate fermentor which is cold tolerant.


Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP750 French Red Wine Yeast

Classic Bordeaux yeast for red wine fermentations. Moderate fermentation characteristics. Tolerates lower fermentation temperatures. Rich, smooth flavor profile.


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Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP760 Cabernet Red Wine Yeast

High temperature tolerance. Moderate fermentation speed. Excellent for full-bodied red wines, ester production complements flavor. WLP760 is also suitable for Merlot, Chardonnay, Chianti, Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc.


Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP770 Suremain Burgundy Wine Yeast

Emphasizes fruit aromas in barrel fermentations. High nutrient requirement to avoid volatile acidity production.


Attenuation: >80%

Flocculation: Low


WLP775 English Cider Yeast:

Classic cider yeast. Ferments dry, but retains flavor from apples. Sulfur is produced during fermentation, but will disappear in first two weeks of aging. Can also be used for wine and high gravity beers.

Attenuation: >80%

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LAGER YEAST White Labs

WLP800 Pilsner Lager Yeast:

Classic pilsner strain from the premier pilsner producer in the Czech Republic. Somewhat dry with a malty finish, this yeast is best suited for European pilsner production.

Attenuation: 72-77%




WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast

Pilsner lager yeast from Southern Czech Republic. Produces dry and crisp lagers, with low diacetyl production.

Attenuation: 75-80%




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WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast

This yeast is used to produce the "California Common" style beer. A unique lager strain which has the ability to ferment up to 65 degrees while retaining lager characteristics. Can also be fermented down to 50 degrees for production of marzens, pilsners and other style lagers.

Attenuation: 65-70%

Flocculation: High



WLP820 Oktoberfest/Märzen Lager Yeast

This yeast produces a very malty, bock like style. It does not finish as dry as WLP830. This yeast is much slower in the first generation than WLP830, so we encourage a larger starter to be used the first generation or schedule a longer lagering time.

Attenuation: 65-73%




WLP830 German Lager Yeast

This yeast is one of the most widely used lager yeasts in the world. Very malty and clean, great for all German lagers, pilsner, Oktoberfest, and Marzen.

Attenuation: 74-79%




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WLP833 German Bock Lager Yeast

From the Alps of southern Bavaria, this yeast produces a beer that is well balanced between malt and hop character. The excellent malt profile makes it well suited for Bocks, Dopplebocks, and Oktoberfest style beers. Very versatile lager yeast, it is so well balanced that it has gained tremendous popularity for use in Classic American style Pilsners. Also good for Helles style lager beer.

Attenuation: 70-76%




WLP838 Southern German Lager Yeast

This yeast is characterized by a malty finish and balanced aroma. It is a strong fermentor, produces slight sulfur, and low diacetyl.

Attenuation: 68-76%




WLP840 American Lager Yeast

This yeast is used to produce American style lagers. Dry and clean with a very slight apple fruitiness. Sulfur and diacetyl production is minimal.

Attenuation: 75-80%



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WLP850 Copenhagen Lager Yeast

Clean, crisp north European lager yeast. Not as malty as the southern European lager yeast strains. Great for European style pilsners, European style dark lagers, Vienna, and American style lagers.

Attenuation: 72-78%




WLP885 Zurich Lager Yeast

Swiss style lager yeast. With proper care, this yeast can be used to produce lager beer over 11% ABV. Sulfur and diacetyl production is minimal. Original culture provided to White Labs by Marc Sedam.

Attenuation: 70-80%.



Alcohol Tolerance: Very High

WLP920 Old Bavarian Lager Yeast

From Southern Germany, this yeast finishes malty with a slight ester profile. Use in beers such as Oktoberfest, Bock, and Dark Lagers.

Attenuation: 66-73%



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WLP925 HP Lager Yeast

Use to ferment lager beer in one week! Ferment at room temperature 62-68°F) under 1.0 bar (14.7 PSI) until final gravity is obtained, generally in one week. Lager the beer at 35°F, 15 PSI, for 3-5 days, to condition. Sulfur production is strong first 2 days, then disappears by day 5. Do not need to carbonate, since at 1 bar entire time.

Attenuation: 73-82%




WLP940 Mexican Lager Yeast

From Mexico City, this yeast produces clean lager beer, with a crisp finish. Good for Mexican style light lagers, as well as dark lagers.

Attenuation: 70-78%




Wyeast INCUBATION Instructions

Lay package on a table. Locate the bulged seal area of the inner package. Place the palm of one hand between the bottom of the package and the bulged seal. With your other hand, press firmly on the bulge to break the inner seal. You will know the seal is broken when the bulge is flattened. Mix the yeast and nutrients by kneading the package.

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NOTE: A STARTER CULTURE CAN BE MADE To increase the pitching rate, boil one-third to one-half cup of malt extract in a pint of water to make a wort of S.G. 1.020-30. Boil wort for 15 minutes and cool. Add yeast and aerate well. Keep at 70-80º F Pitch at high krausen, about 12 hours. Agitate frequently to increase aeration.

To pitch the yeast: clean the container or package with sanitizing solution. Shake well. Open, and pour the yeast into the fermenter.

Aerate well by stirring vigorously. Seal fermenter with airlock. Keep at 75º F until fermentation begins. Then cool to desired temperature. Signs of fermentation should be evident within one day, depending on yeast strain, brewing procedures, and fermentation temperatures.

FERMENTATION TEMPERATURE RANGE

Ale yeast 60-72 º F; Lager yeast 46-58º F.

KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL FERMENTATION

A. Transfer yeast in active state (not after attenuated). B. Aerate well at each transfer. C. Use more yeast for high-gravity beer. D. Use the freshest yeast possible.

BRAINERD Yeast Starter DATE:_________________

1. Distilled H2O ; pH = ___________ TDS = 0.00 2. Add 0.3g/l Ca2SO4 ( 0.45 gram/1600 ml) 3. Add Wyeast nutrient Blend: 0.190 gram/1600 (2.2 grams/5 gallons) 4. H20 pH = ______ TDS = _______ 5. Light dried malt extract 146 grams per liter distilled H20 (234 grams/1.6liter) 6. Boil for 30 minutes in open sterilized pot 7. Add after cooling to 2000ml Earlmeyer flask. 8. Cool to 72 F S.G. = 1.050 9. Oxygenate 1minute. 10. Add Yeast smack pack (Started 1.5 days before) 11. Or from room temperature White labs vial 12. Put on lock Keep at 68 F 13. Typically these take off in 6 hours with lots of fermentation action (foaming ) 14. RESULTS: 15. SG = _____________ 16. pH = _____________ 17. TDS: _____________ 18. Temp: 68

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Fermentation Temperature reference data

Inoculating 100 liters of wort with 1 liter of yeast @1X108 / ml drops the cell count to 1 X 106 / ml. Propagation at various temperatures, determines the length of time necessary to bring the counts up to 1 X 108 / ml before increasing the volume by 10 which returns the cell count to approximately 1 X 106 / ml / oP. EXAMPLE: At 75F cells double every 2 hours.

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Wyeast is committed to providing the highest quality products on the market. Research provides new insight into the performance of our products. Recently we have been researching metabolic activity in yeast cells under varying conditions. Specifically, we have determined factors that can reduce lag time. Enclosed are two graphs that demonstrate some important data on the effect of age and temperature on metabolic activity, and the importance of nutrient addition to dormant cells.

Graph #1 demonstrates the effect that age and temperature of the yeast at pitching. It is important to allow yeast to warm to room temperature for up to 24 hours before pitching. This dramatically reduces the lag time in the fermenter.

Graph #2 demonstrates the "XL Advantage". Metabolic activity is dramatically increased by

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addition of a small amount of nutrient. Within 1 hour, the cell activity spikes when wort with nutrients are added in small quantities. The smack-pack is designed to give the cells a jump-start, which reduces lag time. As the data clearly shows, the XL pack is "pitchable" within 1 hour. We feel it is important to clarify that the XL packs are the highest quality product on the market with the highest cell counts and fastest starts.

Yeast Washing for the Small BreweryFrom Wyeast

Washing yeast can be an effective method to improve and extend yeast performance in brewery operations. There are many methods to wash yeast, this paper will cover one method utilizing an acid wash, to remove trub and fatty acids, dead cells, and reduce any level of bacteria contamination.

Materials required:

• Yeast harvested from a fermenter • Container with chilled water • Food grade phosphoric acid (85%) • pH measurement (paper or meter) • Safety goggles, gloves, clothing • 10 bbl wort, 2 hrs. after starting

Procedures for 2 gallons of yeast:

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1. Chill 2 gallons of tap water to 32 F. or as cold as you can. Add approx. 20 milliliters of 85% phosphoric acid, to the chilled water, to achieve a pH of approx. 1.9.

2. Mix 2 gallons of yeast with 2 gallons of the chilled acidified water. The pH of the new solution should be approx. 2.2 . Depending on your water, additional acid may be required. When pH 2.2 is established, the amounts should be constant for future washing so record this information.

3. Agitate the solution well, and continue to agitate in 15 minute intervals for a 2 hour period. The final 15 minutes, allow the solution to settle.

4. Decant the suspended yeast into chilled wort at the 2 hour mark. Leave the last liter in the container, which contains trub and dead yeast. It is important to stop the wash after 2 hours to prevent killing the healthy yeast, add to the 10 bbl wort at this time. Fermentation should proceed as normal.

5. Here are some answers: Step 2: Yeast slurry should be as close to 32oF as possible. The yeast/acidified water blend should also be kept as close to 32 as possible. Step 3: Agitatoin temp as close to 32 as possible. Step 4: Do not warm up the yeast slurry blend before pitching, pitch it cold into your fermentation temp wort. NOTE: Do not worry about decanting. Continuous mixing of yeast/acid water blend is preferable (or as much as possible). You will not get a lot of separation (at least for most strains) when continuous mixing is performed. Please let me know if you have other questions. Jess Caudill Brewer/Microbiologist Wyeast Laboratories (541) 354-1335

Yeast Washing for the Home Brewer

Objective: To recover yeast from a finished batch of beer for repitching or storage for future brewing.

Materials:

One primary fermenter after beer has been siphoned or removed.

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Three sanitized 1 quart mason jars with lids, filled half full of sterile or boiled water which have been cooled and chilled to refrigerator temperature (38 F)

Procedures:

Sanitize the opening of the carboy.

Pour the water from one of the quart jars into the carboy. Swirl to agitate the yeast, hop residual, and trub from the bottom.

Pour carboy contents back into the empty jar and replace the cover.

Agitate the jar to allow separation of the components. Continue to agitate periodically until obvious separation is noticeable.

While the viable yeast remains in suspension, pour off this portion, into the second jar, being careful to leave as much of the hops and trub behind as possible.

Agitate the second container to again get as much separation of yeast from particulate as possible. Allow contents to rest, then pour off any excess water from the surface.

Pour off yeast fraction, which suspends above the particulate into the third container. Store this container up to 1 month refrigerated. Pour off liquid and add wort, 2 days before brewing or repitch into a new brew straight away.

A NEW METHOD OF WASHING YEAST USING CHLORINE

DIOXIDE By Dana Johnson & Katie Kunz

Immersed in the hustle and bustle of a busy brewery, it is easy for one to forget that yeast is a living entity that requires special care, that it is something more than just another brewing ingredient. Yet even with that yeast-care is a very touchy subject among brewers. Ask ten brewers how they handle their slurries and you'll probably hear ten different answers. Washing yeast is one of the more controversial practices - some breweries rely on it, while others avoid it all together. In this article, we will review the most commonly-used method of washing yeast, and will introduce a new procedure that is being explored at some breweries. Tried And True

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The "tried and true" method of washing yeast utilizes phosphoric acid (H3PO4) to acidify the yeast slurry to around pH 2, where it is held for a given amount of time, ranging from two hours to overnight. In theory, undesirable organisms are destroyed by the low pH and trub is removed from the yeast. The healthy yeast remains suspended and is used for pitching, while dead cells and trub collect at the bottom of the washing vessel. However, there are several problems with acid-washing. It reduces the populations of most wort-spoiling bacteria, but is less successful with beer-spoilers such as lactic-acid bacteria, and is generally not effective on wild yeasts and molds(1). Further, the low pH tends to stress the yeast, and for this reason most breweries wash with acid only rarely. Recently, a few breweries have begun using an acid-free wash that allows them to wash their yeast on a regular basis. An Alternative Method Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has been used for decades to disinfect drinking water. In this scenario, chlorine dioxide kills by penetrating the hydrophobic region of the bacterial membrane and oxidizing it(2). Chlorine dioxide reacts with sulfur-containing amino acids, which form cell membranes. The proteins get destroyed, the membrane ruptures and the organism dies(3). Chlorine dioxide is relatively new to the brewing industry. It is gaining acceptance as a post-rinse sanitizer, but is not widely-recognized as a yeast-washing agent. Given what is known about it, however, it makes sense that it might be an effective, economical and safe alternative to phosphoric acid. Chlorine dioxide has (in theory) over 2.5 times more oxidation capacity than elemental chlorine but does not have a chlorine-like flavor profile. Chlorine dioxide does not form trihalomethanes, as does sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) and iodophors, and breaks down to innocuous compounds, namely table salt and water(4). Breweries that use chlorine dioxide to wash yeast begin with a measured amount of sodium chlorite solution, which is "activated" to release ClO2 by pouring it into a small amount of acidified water. The activated solution is then immediately added to the yeast slurry and mixed well. In theory, the chlorine dioxide that is released "washes" the yeast in as little as five to ten minutes, depending on contaminant-levels. The yeast can then be pitched immediately or stored refrigerated until needed. The small breweries currently using chlorine dioxide for this purpose do so without any yeast performance problems. Most, however, do not have the means to check yeast viability and test contamination levels. Low (1-2) parts-per-million (ppm) levels of chlorine dioxide kill organisms such as wort-spoilers, but not much is known about its efficacy against the myriad contaminants that can find their way into a brewer's yeast. Our purpose here is to begin finding out. There were two questions we wanted to answer: Does washing yeast with chlorine dioxide reduce the number of spoilage organisms? Does washing yeast with chlorine dioxide have any effect on the viability of the yeast? Testing the long-term stressing effect of chlorine dioxide, such as on the formation of petite mutants, will be the subject of subsequent studies. Test Procedure Two different strains of pure ale yeast were propagated using unhopped malt extract and

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stored at 4° C (39° F) for about two weeks. Just before testing, each was dosed with a mixture of Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Enterobacter and wild yeast. Six clean and sanitized glass growlers were divided into the following two sets:

• Yeast #1 water-wash (negative control) • Yeast #1 acid- wash (using Wyeast's protocol, pH 2.2) • Yeast #1 ClO2 -wash (using tentative brewery protocol, 20-50 ppm actived sodium chlorite) • Yeast #2 water-wash (negative control) • Yeast #2 acid-wash (using Wyeast's protocol, pH 2.2) • Yeast #2 ClO2-wash (using tentative brewery protocol, 20-50 ppm actived sodium chlorite).

One liter of 4° C-water was added to each growler. Each yeast slurry was distributed equally among the three growlers in its set, which were then tightly capped and inverted for good mixing. The viability and cell-counts of each was read using the methylene-blue staining method and hemacytometer. The slurries' cell densities differed by a factor of 1.5, which reflected their distinct growth characteristics in the malt extract. Contamination levels were tested by drawing a 0.1 ml sample from each and plating onto LMDA medium. All plates were incubated aerobically for 84 hours at 30° C (86° F) and checked for colony forming units (CFUs). The "water-wash" slurries were stored at 4° C for two hours and inverted every 15 minutes to keep the yeast suspended. After this time, each was tested in the same manner as before for viability and contaminants. The "acid-wash" slurries were treated with 2.5 ml 85% phosphoric acid each, giving a pH 2.2, and were stored at 4° C for two hours and inverted every 15 minutes to keep the yeast suspended. After this time, each was tested in the same manner as before for viability and contaminants. The "ClO2-wash" slurries were each treated with 50 ml activated sodium chlorite (0.5 ml of 8.3% sodium chlorite concentrate, added to 100 ml cold water which had been acidified to pH 3), which was calculated to yield 20-50 ppm in the volumes treated. The activated sodium chlorite concentration of each slurry was measured using a sodium chlorite titration test kit.

TABLE ONE: YEAST COUNT AND VIABILITY

Sample Name Initial Cell Count % Viability Before/After

Yeast #1, Water 2.7 x 108 98/98 Yeast #2, Water 1.8 x 108 96/96 Yeast #1, acid 2.7 x 108 98/84 Yeast #2, acid 1.8 x 108 96/92 Yeast #1, ClO2 2.7 x 108 98/98 Yeast #2, ClO2 2.7 x 108 96/96

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TABLE TWO: YEAST WASHING EFFICACY

Sample Name Lacto Count

CFUs Before/After

Aceto Count CFUs

Before/After

Entero Count CFUs

Before/After

Wild Yeast Count CFUs

Before/After Yeast #1, Water 1050/1050 520/520 6/3 37/27 Yeast #2, Water 1050/1050 6/6 7/3 41/50 Yeast #1, acid 1055/55 520/0 6/0 82/68 Yeast #2, acid 1050/57 4/0 5/0 36/70 Yeast #1, ClO2 1050/0 520/0 7/0 38/81 Yeast #2, ClO2 1050/0 6/6 3/0 54/69

TABLE THREE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF SODIUM CHLORITE INTO CHLORINE DIOXIDE AND BY PRODUCTS

5NaClO2 + 4H+ ----> 4ClO2 + 4Na+ + Na+Cl- + 2H2O

(sodium chlorite) (acid) (chlorine

dioxide) (sodium ion) (table salt) (water)

CONCLUSION Not surprisingly, washing the yeast with water affected neither viability nor contamination levels. Phosphoric acid did a good job of removing the gram-negative spoilers tested and reduced the Lactobacillus population by about 20 times. As impressive as this may be, it is unsatisfactory because the levels remaining are 180 times above those generally tolerated. Three CFU's-per-1.0-ml is considered acceptable, as opposed to the 55-per-0.1-ml listed in Table 2. While phosphoric acid did a respectable job of destroying the bacteria, the viability of the yeast suffered to varying degrees (~14.5% and ~4%). It also seems to have had no effect on the wild yeast. Chlorine dioxide appears to have cleared both slurries of bacteria quite thoroughly, even at the 13-ppm-levels we achieved, without decreasing the viability of the yeast. This was accomplished inside of ten minutes, rather than over the two-hour period required for the acid wash. The six CFUs of Acetobacter appearing after treatment at ten minutes were gone when the slurry was tested again at 24 hours. Since chlorine dioxide is gaseous and dissipates quickly, this effect may be explained by residual "unactivated" sodium chlorite being "activated" over time by the acids produced by the remaining contaminants. As with the acid-wash, chlorine dioxide had no discernable effect on the wild yeast population. While our test was not intended to be definitive, it shows that chlorine dioxide may be an effective alternative to phosphoric acid as a yeast-wash. The primary advantages of chlorine dioxide are that it can destroy the tougher spoilers without compromising the yeast's viability, and is safer to handle. All this having been said, remember that there is no substitute for proper sanitation. The best way to keep undesirable organisms from infecting beer is to keep all the equipment clean, sanitized and unexposed.

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Dana Johnson has been with Birko R&D since 1979 and a home brewer since 1989. He is Manager of Birko's CON-TACT-ITâ Bacteria Detection System. Katie Kunz is the owner of The Brewing-Science Institute in Colorado Springs, which specializes in yeast supply and laboratory services for microbrewers. She received her B.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado in 1993, and currently serves as Chairman for the local section of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. References: (1) Dr. George Fix, Rocky Mountain Microbrewing Symposium, Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 20, 1998 (2) W.J. Masschelein, Chemical Oxidation, 1992, Technomic Publishing Company, Inc., Lancaster, PA, page 170. (3) Dave Miller, "The Troubleshooter", Brewing Techniques, March/April, 1998, page 28. (4) Dana Johnson, "Applications of Chlorine Dioxide: A Postrinse Sanitizer that Won't Leave a Bad Taste in Your Mouth, Brewing Techniques, March/April, 1997, page 76.

Acid Washing of Yeast By Ant Hayes

Every homebrewer can remember a particular change in their brewing process that fundamentally improved the quality of their beer. For me it was yeast. I used dry yeast for many years, and always assumed that the variable results that I enjoyed were due to my less than perfect sanitisation regime. I switched to using liquid yeast when my homebrew store ran out of dry packets of yeast. The results that I got from liquid yeast ensured that I have never gone back to using dry yeast.

But using liquid yeast brings along challenges of its own. It cost me around R100 ($15.00 Australian) to import or buy a liquid yeast, meaning that it made economic sense to reuse yeast from batch to batch. This can be a relatively hazardous exercise, as your yeast can become infected quite easily. Yeast washing made reusing yeast a pleasure. This is what I want to discuss and how to do it.

Below I will set out the method that I use to wash my yeast. I must first warn you that I did not take biology in high school. So if I can do this, anyone can. How I wash yeast does work for me and will work for you.

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Why Acid Wash?

Yeast taken from the slurry of a recent fermentation has a couple of features that are less than ideal to reuse again:

1. Cells are coated with trub constituents. In effect the coating may slow down how the performs because it 'clogs' up the cell wall, just like a filter will clog up over time.

2. Cells are clumped together. If cells are clumped together only the outside cells are exposed.

3. The slurry is often infected. No matter how clean you are there will always be a small amount of infection in your beer. Usually this level is so low it doesn't matter, but reusing yeast increases the risk that it will become a problem. Acid washing can

Yeast cells before washing.

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only kill bacteria. A wild yeast infection cannot be removed.

4. There is a lot of dead cells and trub. The slurry doesn't just contain living yeast. There is lots of other stuff there that can give off flavours to the beer. The acid washing process set out below addresses these problems, breaking up and cleaning the yeast, removing a lot of rubbish and killing most types of infection

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How to Acid Wash

Put yeast in a solution with pH of 2 for about 2 hours. My method is as follows: On brew day, once the boil has started, I rack the beer off my yeast starter, and transfer the yeast slurry across to a smaller vessel. I strain the slurry through a stainless steel sieve, to break up the clumps. I then use phosphoric acid to drop the pH to somewhere between 2.5 and 2. (I use 2ml of phosphoric acid per 500ml slurry). I measure the acid in a syringe and then add a drop at a time.

After washing.

It is important to add the acid slowly and stir a lot as:

1. It is easy to add too much (check the pH after each addition the first time you try.)

2. You can damage the yeast if you allow sub pH 2 spots to develop. I then put a bubbler on the yeast vessel and leave it at room temps for about 1,5 hours (typical duration of the boil).

While it is generally better to use phosphoric or lactic acid as they are a natural flavour in beer, you can use citric and tartaric acid for yeast washing. I have in the past, but that being said, phosphoric acid has the advantage that you battle to detect any trace of it in your beer. I ran into problems with citric acid when my tap water pH was high, and I had to use a fair amount of the stuff. My light lager tasted vaguely reminiscent of Fanta Orange. Tartaric gives a wine flavour, although this is more subtle than that of citric acid.

At the end of the boil I flash chill a litre of wort and add this to the yeast, so that by the time I am ready to pitch (30 minutes later), it has already started fermenting. You should decant off any excess liquid and trub material before you add the wort. Measuring pH

Now how do know when you get to a ph of 2 to 2.5. I would suggest you read

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the pH article also available on this web site and use some of the sources suggested there to get an idea how much acid you need to add.

Happy Brewing,

Ant Hayes Gauteng; South Africa

Microscope Monitoring and techniques

A good quality control program – whether you make beer at home or produce millions of barrels a year – requires a good quality control program. And nothing is more important to quality control than the consistent use of a microscope. You should use the microscope regularly so that you can learn to identify the health of your yeast, which is the most important ingredient in beer. We hope in this section to provide you with photos of healthy and unhealthy yeast cells so that you can compare these to your own microscope work. White Labs has a fluorescent microscope equipped with a camera, and we used this camera to take the photos in this section. The photos will be updated regularly.

The photo above shows healthy yeast, in this case WLP001 California Ale Yeast. The photo shows one of 25 squares found on a hemacytometer counting chamber. The hemacytometer, which was first developed for counting blood cells, is the most commonly used device for determining the number of cells per unit volume of a suspension.

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The above photo shows all 25 squares of the hemacytometer counting chamber.

The above is an example of a yeast sample that has undergone a Gram stain. The yeast cells stain positive. It is a good idea to perform this test on your yeast so that you know what they look like compared to unwanted bacteria. The Gram stain kits are available from White Labs.

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Wild yeast, above, are typically 30 to 50 percent smaller than brewers yeast. The wild yeast pictured here, which were grown on plates, also underwent a Gram stain like the brewers yeast in the photo above it.

Lactobacilli, above, are slender rods that stain Gram positive (purple) to Gram variable (purple to red).

In the future, we plan many more updates for this section. We plan to post a tutorial for cell counting. We will also compare wild yeast to brewers yeast in more detail. Additionally, we plan on posting photos of the various yeast strains we grow so that you can see the sometimes dramatic differences between strains.

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Dry yeast Fermentis Safale S-04

Safale S-04 Dry ale yeast

Ingredients: Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), rehydrating agent Properties: A well-known, commercial English ale yeast, selected for its fast fermentation character

and its ability to form a very compact sediment at the end of the fermentation, helping to improve beer clarity. This yeast is recommended for the production of a large range of ale beers and is specially well adapted to cask-conditioned ales and fermentation in cylindro-conical tanks. Sedimentation: high. Final gravity: medium.

Dosage: 50 g/hl to 80 g/hl. Pitching instructions:

Re-hydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream in a stirred vessel prior to pitching. Sprinkle the dry yeast in 10 times its own weight of sterile water or wort at 27C ± 3C. Once the expected weight of dry yeast is reconstituted into cream by this method (this takes about 15 to 30 minutes), maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes. Then pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel. Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and then mix the wort e.g. using aeration.

Fermentation temperature:

Recommended fermentation temperature: 15C – 24C.

Packaging: 4 display units each 38 x 11.5g nitrogen-flushed sachets in cardboard box. 20 x 500g vacuum-packed sachets in cardboard box. 1 x 10 kg vacuum-packed sachets in cardboard box.

Storage: Store in cool (< 10C), dry conditions. Opened sachets must be sealed and stored at 4C and used within 7 days of opening. Do not use soft or damaged sachets.

Shelf life: Refer to best before end date on sachets. 24 months from production date under recommended storage conditions.

Typical analysis:

% dry weight:

94.0 – 96.5

Viable cells at packaging:

> 6 x 109 / gramme

Total bacteria*: < 5 / ml Acetic acid bacteria*:

< 1 / ml

Lactobacillus*: < 1 / ml Pediococcus*: < 1 / ml Wild yeast non Saccharomyces*:

< 1 / ml

Pathogenic micro-organisms:

in accordance with regulation

*when dry yeast is pitched at 100 g/hl

i.e. > 6 x 106 viable cells / ml

Important notice:

Please note that any change to a fermentation process may alter the final product quality. We therefore advise that fermentation trials are carried out prior to using our yeast commercially.

Yeast Chemistry


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