Experiments

English Ale Yeast

A couple guys in my club and I analyzed the differences between 8 English Ale yeast strains in a special bitter.  The resulting beers were all unique, and some elicited quite polarizing opinions.

Intro: The Great English Ale Yeast Experiment

Yeast Preparation: Smack Pack Cell Counts

Brew Day: Brew Day

Fermentation Note: End of Fermentation

Bottling: Bottling/Wrap-up

Results: The Great English Ale Yeast Experiment Questionnaire

Yeast Starter Comparison

There are a couple ways to make a starter from a yeast stock.  First a small culture must be inoculated and grown until fermentation is completed.  The next step can can take one of two paths.  The entire volume of start can be inoculated or culture can be gradually stepped up until the final volume of the starter is reached.  It can be argued that the first method is best because there is little chance for contamination as the start is not repeatedly exposed to the outside environment.  The second method is said to be better because the gradual increase in volume of wort is less stressful for the yeast.  I decided to test both methods side-by-side to see whether the methods differ in the starter’s final cell density and viability and whether the beer made by each method tastes different.

http://www.shantybrewery.com/yeast-starter-experiment/

Brettanomyces Selective Medium

I had read reports that used copper sulfate to select for growth of Brettanomyces.  I tested several concentrations of copper sulfate on the grown of S. cerevisiae and Brettanomyces species.

http://www.shantybrewery.com/yeast-isolation-medium/

English Hop Comparison

A couple guys at my homebrew club brewed a bitter with different English hop varieties.  Very nice way to really
compare different hops.

http://www.shantybrewery.com/english-hop-comparison/

S. eubayanus

I received a culture of S. eubayanus (an ancestor of lager yeast), and began brewing with it to see how well it would perform as a brewing yeast.

Here’s my first batch: http://www.shantybrewery.com/brewing-with-s-eubayanus/

I followed up my first experiment with a much larger set of samples.  In conjunction with several local homebrew clubs, I analyzed 49 different beers all brewed with only S. eubayanus.  http://www.shantybrewery.com/s-eubayanus-brewing-project/