A Guide to Brewing with Beer Yeast
In this article, we talk to our brewing expert about the importance of beer yeast and the terminology brewers use when talking about yeast.
Yeast Series – Collection Part 2
Continuing last week’s blog on top cropping yeast, this week will talk about bottom cropping yeast. This is most commonly used for lager yeast (bottom fermenting) however since many commercial and home brewers are using conical fermenters for fermentation where there is limited access to the top of the fermenter, bottom cropping is usually the […]
Yeast Series – Collection
Since yeast is a living organism and is not used up in the process of fermentation, it can be collected and reused in multiple brews. Over the next two weeks we will talk about how the home brewer can harvest yeast by top cropping for ale yeasts and bottom cropping for lager yeast. Commercial brewers […]
Yeast Series – Rehydration
Yeast is arguably the most important ingredient in beer, without it we would be left with sugary bitter wort. The next few weeks will look into some of the major topics when it comes to homebrewers working with yeast. Rehydration Dry yeast is often added directly on top of the wort in the fermenter by […]
Storing and preserving your ingredients
To brew the best beer possible, we all know that it starts with quality ingredients. The key here is that they are fresh too, but as you make the shift away from brewing single extract kits to brewing all grain recipes, you’ll find that you may want more ingredients on hand for when the mood […]
Yeast Pitching Rates
If you are looking to improve the consistency of your beers from batch to batch and avoid the negative off flavours that can be created during fermentation, it might be time to look in to your pitching rates. Pitching rate refers to the amount of yeast cells you are pitching into your beer (or if […]
The top ten reasons to control your fermentation temperatures
For many homebrewers, temperature controlled fermentation is something they consider when all other elements of their homebrewery have been put together. Arguably though, fermentation control may be one of the most important things you can do to improve your results. Yeast are responsible for so many flavour compounds in beer that just by being able […]
Forced fermentation test – What is it and why do it?
Have you ever been in a situation where you weren’t sure if your beer was stuck or if fermentation had simply finished? Or wanted to warm your lager for a diacetyl rest a few points before your final gravity but not sure when that was meant to be? Or want to use a new yeast […]
Open Fermentation for Belgian Yeast Strains
What is open fermentation? Well, to put it simply this is when you ferment your beer without a lid on your fermenter. This can sound pretty scary as it goes against everything you learn as a homebrewer to do with sanitation and avoiding infection but is actually how most beers were made years ago and […]
