Maine Brews

I’ve been reading Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff lately, and he offers one piece of advice which I have recently taken to heart, and have found to be extremely helpful. Jamil often repeats that you should pitch the right amount of yeast, and that this quantity is often more than most would expect.

When I began home brewing, I began with all extract kits. For better or worse, these kits only required that you follow the brief instructions enclosed within, and your beer would come out fine. I did this successfully for a long time, and developed the notion that one packet of yeast per batch of beer was the correct amount. This turns out only to be the case in extremely mild, low-gravity beers. For many mid-range beers, the right amount is 2 packets, or vials of liquid yeast. This can be expensive, especially with liquid yeast, which is why making a yeast starter can be so helpful. It only requires a small amount of malt extract, and you can vastly increase the amount of yeast you have available to pitch.

When I first learned about yeast starters, it was my impression that they were only necessary for large, high gravity beers, and I made one for fun, but didn’t realize that it can make the difference between a clean fermentation and a slow, strained fermentation, or even a complete versus incomplete fermentation.

While I haven’t managed to over pitch yeast into a batch yet, I have had some very active and complete fermentation. The last batch I made was using yeast that claimed 73% attenuation, but my actual was well over 80%, which was great.

Yeast are the workers for your finished product. You may feel like you’re doing all the labor, but the real alchemists are the yeast — tiny little creatures who can make the difference in the flavor, aroma, and character of your beer. Respect the yeast, make sure there are plenty of them to do their job, and you’ll be rewarded.