White Labs

[FrozenInTime]

Just had 2 vials of hansen house yeast delivered to me. I had forgot I was on *the list*... LOL Now to come up with a good recipe to do this old yeast justice. Any Ideas? It's good for IPAs, right?

[Beer-lord]

I hope you like it as much as I do. I've used it for pales, IPA and my black IPA and got 2 vials as well.
I would use this as a house yeast if it was available all year long.

[Inkleg]

I now have two vials also and plan to go back and revisit some of the Pales and IPAs I've brewed before and see how it changes them.

Paul, there's no reason you can't keep this on hand year round. (I know you know this technique, just posting as information for others)

Just over build your starter each time by 500ml or about 1 pint. If the recipe calls for a 2 liter starter build on 2.5 liters in size. After it ferments out, take it off the stir plate, swirl the flask to mix everything up and fill up a sanitized pint jar with starter liquid/yeast. Put a piece of painters tape on the jar with the yeast and the date and toss it in the fridge. This now becomes your starter yeast for the next batch. Lather rinse repeat each time you make a starter. Depending on the age of your farmed yeast you might have to do a step starter, but I have brewed a beer with 2 year old jar of yeast done this way.

[Beer-lord]

My plans pretty much exactly. I can surely make this last 6 months or months.
Mine was almost warm when I got it but it was last time as well.
It may not be the best yeast ever but for someone like me who uses 001 all the time it's a good, similar yeast with enough differences to be very enjoyable.

Those who have it and use it, please let me know how you feel about this yeast.

[FrozenInTime]

I think I'll do up a summer pale then an IPA for fall. I'll run up a starter and split up enough for another starter. I will wash the yeast and use if for a while. I generally us US-05, is using this a good substitute or shall I expect a totally different critter?

[mashani]

I now have two vials also and plan to go back and revisit some of the Pales and IPAs I've brewed before and see how it changes them.

Paul, there's no reason you can't keep this on hand year round. (I know you know this technique, just posting as information for others)

Just over build your starter each time by 500ml or about 1 pint. If the recipe calls for a 2 liter starter build on 2.5 liters in size. After it ferments out, take it off the stir plate, swirl the flask to mix everything up and fill up a sanitized pint jar with starter liquid/yeast. Put a piece of painters tape on the jar with the yeast and the date and toss it in the fridge. This now becomes your starter yeast for the next batch. Lather rinse repeat each time you make a starter. Depending on the age of your farmed yeast you might have to do a step starter, but I have brewed a beer with 2 year old jar of yeast done this way.

I do this sometimes. I am considering doing it with some of the New Nordic yeast, however since its a blend of 3 quite different strains I think the ratio is going to get more and more out of whack depending on which one of the strains likes my ambient temps and wort conditions better. So I'd actually be creating a new yeast blend. Which might be cool, or it might suck, I don't know. I do know for a fact that the ratio does change from what's in the vial vs. what ends up in the finished beer, because someone at Zymergy actually tested this exact strain with lab equipment and determined that the ratios did change quite much.

Full article here:

http://www.zymurgybrewlab.com/yeastblog ... -ale-yeast

But summary:

Vial- 20 to 25% T. delbrueckii and looks like a fairly even split between the remaining two strains maybe favoring Sc "A"
Starter- 30 to 35% T. delbrueckii  and looks like a fairly even split between the remaining two strains  maybe favoring Sc "B"
Harvested- 5 to 10% T. delbrueckii  with the rest definitely favoring favoring Sc "A"

I think the same thing might happen with the Hansen blend, you might end up with a more 'Merican or a more 'English version of the thing over generations. But that might be less radical then what might happen with the New Nordic yeast though.

Based on that, assuming I like the results of my New Nordic Ale, I think what I might do is just yeast ranch an entire vial and make 4 500ml jars out of the results. The ratio isn't so far out of whack at starter point. Otherwise it sounds like I might end up making a beer that is very much that is just whatever Sacc A strain is if I was to wash the yeast. Its hard to say if repeated starters will keep favoring the T. delbrueckii or not either. That may very well depend on many factors.

Just thought it should be mentioned though. Anytime your not working with a pure strain this could happen.

I've read that some of the Nordic farmhouse brewers home strains have as many as 8 or more yeast and bacteria strains mixed in, they are using yeast rings to propagate the stuff, when they go wonky they go get some from one of their neighbors. Nice to know that 17th century brewing traditions like that still exist somewhere.

[Inkleg]

Great point Dave you are correct I had completely forgotten it was a blend.

My disclaimer is now that the above yeast farming will work well for single strain yeast and is a great and easy way to extend one vial of yeast.

It will work with blended yeast but your finished yeast ratios may vary which may or may not produce the same beer as the original blend.

Brewers Choice™