Blending yeast

[Beer-lord]

I've blended similar yeast strains before with good luck and was glad I did. This morning I decided to go Frankenyeast. I have 3 old strains that I'm mixing for this weekends brew. White labs 007, 002 and Imperial Dry Hop yeast. Even White Labs website discusses blending 007 and 002 often in their small brewery and said, "WLP002 English Ale Yeast and WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast together to get the esters and higher attenuation that you want". I hope the Dry Hop will give me the umphhh I want for aroma.
While Labs use to have 001 and 002 together in a seasonal blend that I liked as well. I think I've read that it's not suggested you use the yeast leftover from blending because one is likely to become dormant and I'm not planning to anyway, just don't want to waste yeast. So, hopefully, I get something good AND use yeast instead of ditching it.

Anyone blend more than 2 yeasts before? I'm nuts but I love experimenting and pushing small brew boundaries.

[Kealia]

Nope. I've done split yeast batches like John Sand is discussing, but I've never blended yeasts.
Heretic!

[Beer-lord]

Heretic!

I can live with heretic but not if I have to dump 6 gallons of Simcoe and Amarillo beer! That would be a tragedy of hoptic proportions!

[Kealia]

Don't even joke about things like that....you'll make me cry.

[Beer-lord]

Using Multiple Yeast Strains

The following article was printed in the winter 2003 issue of Craft Beer Quarterly.

By Chris White
President, White Labs Inc.

Why use different yeast strains? Well, why make craft beers? The reason is simple — flavor.

Too often, when the discussion turns to using multiple yeast strains, we worry about performance. What will happen after a few generations, we ask. Questions like this need not be our main concern, however. Most craft breweries have conical fermentors, and don’t use yeast that many times. We should be talking about the flavor impacts, and how the flavors would best match the beer styles being produced. Here are some of the reasons why craft brewers should consider using multiple strains:

— The major brewers in the world do not use multiple yeast strains, but they are making clean lager beer. It makes sense for these large brewers to minimize flavor contributions from yeast. But craft brewers are making flavorful ales, wheat beers, Belgian beers, and strong beers. We want to add flavor and interest to our beers. One of the most effective ways to do this is through the use of multiple yeast strains.

— As the numbers of craft breweries grow, so does the need to differentiate your products. Consumers are more sophisticated, and I think would appreciate a beer with more flavor, or a different character, than they have experienced in the past — one they can only get with your yeast. By combining yeast, you can create a yeast profile that is not only secret, but produces a unique signature flavor.

— Brewers yeast can live happily together. They do not have a competitive nature, or a kill factor as in other strains, including some wine strains.Here are a few questions that have been directed my way regarding multiple yeast strains:

Q: I thought we shouldn’t care about performance?

A: You should not let it stop you from doing this, but you still should know what to expect and how to work with different strains, and that will help to know what to mix.

Q: Do I add the strains in the beginning or staggered?

A: Depends what you want. When yeast is pitched into beer, it starts to grow, entering into a log phase of growth after a few hours. This is when the bulk of the flavor compounds are produced. 12-36 hours into the fermentation. Therefore, if your goal is flavor, you need to add the multiple strains early on, preferably together. Note that if you just want another strain for bottling, or to complete attenuation, go ahead and add later. Very little flavor contribution happens here, unless the beer undergoes prolonged ageing.

Q Do I need extra oxygen?

A: No, pitch the same total amount you normally would (7-8 million would be best for most ales), and oxygenate the same. However, each strain has some different optimums, so if you are using a strain you are unfamiliar with, you might want to hedge your bet and add more.

Q: Won’t it be hard to collect the yeast?

A: Yes and no. It will be hard to collect the same percentage every time, but we don’t use yeast that much anyway. It won’t change that much over 5 to 10 generations. And if you only go 3 or 4, it is not that much extra of a cost if you get your target results.

[swenocha]

I have definitely done this. I took a several gen reharvest of HS2 and combined with dregs from several belgian ales for my current belgian blonde.

[mashani]

When doing this sometimes it works nicely to pitch the yeast you want the most flavor impact from first (or if it is a less flavorful yeast, more impact vs. getting stomped on), and then pitch the 2nd strain a day later. This lets the first yeast get a bigger foothold with the second yeast picking up the slack.

I've mostly blended for Belgians/Saisons. Sometimes the blend has even been a wine yeast or a mead yeast on top of the Belgian strain, or a mead yeast first and then a Belgian strain that attenuates more to help dry it out pitched some days in. (there are some commercial Belgians out there that use a strain that our yeast manufacturers classify as a mead strain these days like this).

[Beer-lord]

All 3 went into the same starter so they can fight over who gets to give the most.

[John Sand]

Sounds kinky.