How to use carbonation drops for brewing beer and cider

Using Carbonation Drops A Guide to Easy Beer & Cider Bottling

A common way to bottle beer or cider is to add sugar to each bottle individually using a spoon or by batch priming. That can be messy or take a bit of time. For faster bottling times, many brewers use carbonation drops to make bottling quick and error-free. Once the beers have been sealed with a drop safely inside, the process of secondary fermentation begins as the yeast eats the sugar in the drops. Too easy!

🤔What are Carbonation Drops?

Key Takeaway:Pre-measured Doses of Sugar

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What are the ingredients of carbonation drops? Sugar. That's it, sucrose or dextrose is the only ingredient. So there is no difference between a carbonation drop and a measured dose of sugar. The entire reason for using them is simply for ease of use. The science behind them is based on priming: the yeast consumes the sugar, producing carbon dioxide (CO2) as a byproduct. In a sealed bottle, this CO2 dissolves into the beer, creating carbonation.

Using drops ensures that each bottle is given the same sugar dosage, which allows for a consistent brew and helps prevent 'gushers'. Because the drops are just simple sugar and used at low volumes, they leave no 'off-tastes' in your beer. Popular brands like Coopers Carbonation Drops and Mangrove Jack's are reliable and widely available.

🍾How Do You Use Them?

Key Takeaway:The Easiest Step in Brewing

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It's actually probably the easiest part of making beer! Once you have added the beer to your sanitized bottles, all you need to do is literally drop a carbonation drop into each bottle. Instantly, you are done. Easiest instructions you will follow all week! You then cap the bottle so that carbonation can commence and the CO2 becomes trapped inside.

🔢How Many Drops Per Bottle?

Key Takeaway:Dosage Depends on Bottle Size & Style

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It's not an exact piece of maths but here are the standard practices:

• 1 drop for a standard 330ml to 375ml (12 oz) bottle. This dosage also works well for bottles up to 500ml for a standard level of carbonation.
• 2 drops for a 750ml bottle (your standard "long neck" or wine-size bottle).
• For anything bigger like a one-litre bottle, you may wish to consider 2 and a half drops or possibly 3, but you're risking over-sugaring your beer, which may cause beer gushers.

Style matters: Ales generally need less sugar than lagers. For a standard ale, one drop per 375ml is perfect. For a highly carbonated style like a Belgian Ale or German Hefeweizen, you might consider slightly more, but proceed with caution to avoid over-carbonation.

⏱️How Long Do They Take to Work?

Key Takeaway:Carbonation is Quick, Conditioning Takes Time

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The same amount of time as simply adding sugar does! Basically, carbonation will take place fairly quickly, a matter of days. However, a good length of time is then needed to let your beer condition properly and we recommend an absolute minimum of 2 weeks for that (we won't begrudge you a taste tester one though eh?). At three weeks your beer should be beginning to become quite drinkable, but as usual, we suggest you wait till that fifth week if you can be so patient.

A wee bit of advice: when you do your first taste, lower your expectations and secondly, make sure you have chilled your bottle in a fridge overnight. The lower temperature helps the CO2 stay dissolved in the beer and can reduce excessive fizz when you open the bottle. Don't believe me? Open a warm brew that's had a little too much sugar added...

💊Tablets vs. Drops

Key Takeaway:An Alternative with More Ingredients

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You can also use 'carbonation tablets' or (conditioning tablets) for bottling, which is a different way to carbonation glory. The tablets usually contain dextrose, dry malt extract, and heading powder, which is clearly different from using sugar for fermentation. Given the ingredients, they will add more flavour and body to your beer. The usage is typically 3, 4, or 5 tablets per 12-ounce bottle for low, medium, or high carbonation. Popular brands are Muntons' 'Carbtabs' and Brewer's Best Conditioning Tablets.

🦠Do I Need to Sterilize Them?

Key Takeaway:No, It's Not Necessary

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No, you do not need to take such a step. If you take the drops straight from a freshly opened packet and use clean hands, you should be absolutely fine. No one ever sterilizes their sugar when brewing so we don't see any reason to do this. I have a bag of sugar that I keep in my brewing shed. It's in a plastic container but it's manky - I've never had any issues with using sugar that's not sterilised. You just don't need to do it.

💡Final Tips & Tricks

Key Takeaway:Quick Pointers for Success

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• You can use drops to carbonate apple cider. The measurements are the same. Just as with beer, be wary of over-carbonating the cider.
• Remember that Priming sugar and corn sugar are both simply dextrose.
• If you choose not to use drops, we recommend a sanitized kitchen funnel to reduce mess.
• You can use drops with your ginger beer as well! And though we've never tried it, maybe your hard seltzer.
• You can use a Soda Stream machine to carbonate your beer, but be careful!

Leave a Comment advice about beer brewing, carbon dioxide, carbonation drops, cider, conditioning tablets, coopers, ginger beer, mangrove jack's, yeast

How to pitch yeast correctly into beer wort

How to pitch yeast into homebrew beer

Newbie beer makers may have heard the expression “pitch your yeast” and wondered what the heck it meant.

I myself was horribly concerned that I had missed a trick when making my first brew after learning this phrase.

Had I missed out on a step?

Had I ruined my beer?

Nope, of course not (but there are ways to do that).

‘Pitching yeast’ is just homebrewer lingo for adding yeast to the wort. It's called pitching because you throw it, kinda like a baseball pitcher...

Without yeast, your wort will not turn into beer. The yeast is an active living organism that feeds on the oxygen and sugars in the wort and as a bi-product produces carbon dioxide and the sought-after alcohol.

Yeast is a sensitive cell-based life form and needs the correct conditions in which to thrive and help make really good beer.

That’s why pitching your yeast is more than simply adding it to your beer – it needs to be done at the correct time in the brew so that it can 'activate' properly. And it's not just for beer, it's cider and mead and seltzer too!

What temperature to pitch yeast into the beer wort?

The short version is if you pitch your yeast when your brew is too hot (say you’ve just boiled it), you will kill the yeast with the heat and fermentation will not occur. Which would be a waste of time and money.

This is why the cooling process can be so important.

That said, pitching yeast too cold means the yeast won't start its job.

Your fermenter might have a temperature gauge on the side, else you might need to get your hands on a thermometer.

Ale fermentation temperatures commonly range from 68 to 72 °F (20 to 22 °C) Lager fermentation temperatures will range from 45 to 55 °F (7 to 13 °C).

If you are using a beer kit, the ideal temperature should be written on the can or pouch - trust what the manufacturer brewer says!

I’ve noticed that some brewers can be super sensitive about yeast and the preparation and pitching of it. There are arguments about the best method but the casual homebrewer should not get caught up too much in it.

If you follow some good beer making instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems with the yeast.

A key tip to remember is that if you do ferment outside of the intended yeast range, your beer will have different qualities than you may be expecting - and by this we mean your beer will probably not taste like you intended.

The easiest way to pitch your yeast is by 'dry pitching'

If you are like me, once you have prepared the wort in your  30 litre fermenting drum and it is at the ideal temperature, you are ready to add your dried yeast. The easy way is to simply open up the packet that came from the beer kit, and drop it into your wort. I like to cut the packet open so that the yeast cells and efficiently exit the packet.

I also like to give it a shake to pack the yeast on one side and cut it on that side.

When you do this, you are pitching your yeast 'dry'.

Maybe give it a gentle stir with a clean spoon. Close off your fermenter securely and place your beer in a good spot for a week or two to let the yeast do its job. Put some blankets around it. Maybe use a heat pad, especially during winter months.

If you want to give the yeast the best chance to do their job really well:

Re-hydrate your yeast before you pitch it

A handy method that many earnest brewers follow is to hydrate the dry yeast in water before pitching. The reasoning behind this is that it gives the yeast a good chance to get started properly.

Rehydrating yeast in a glass

The theory is that there can be a concentration of sugars in the wort which means it is difficult for the yeast to absorb water into its membranes so that they can begin to activate/metabolize and thus commence the fermentation process.

Based on that, I imagine that if you have made a high gravity wort that's full of sugar and fermentables for the yeast to eat, hydration is a good step to take.

In my experience, I’ve never had the yeast fail with a simple beer kit but if you are keen to cut the potential problem out, feel free to re-hydrate your yeast.

Do this by boiling some water and letting it cool. You can then add your yeast packet (or two!) to the water and let it begin to absorb – you shouldn’t do this too far apart from when it is time to pitch the yeast.

Cover and leave for about 15 minutes and then inspect. It should have begun to smell like you are making bread and 'bubbled' a bit (see the above picture). If so, it’s ready to be pitched.

Once you've added the yeast to the wort, there will likely be some left in the glass - I have a 'waste not want not' kind of view so I add some water to the glass, give it a swirl and add it to the yeast as well.

If there is no churning or foaming or sourdough or bread like smells, it could be your yeast has died from old age or environmental damage such as being left in the sun.

You may need to use a new packet of yeast...

How many packets of yeast should I use?

Generally speaking, brewers will use one packet of yeast however if you a trying to make a very high-alcohol beer where the yeast is expected to do a lot of work, you might want to consider using two packets - this works well when brewing with two kit cans.

You may want to use two packets if your yeast is fairly old as the older it is, the less potency the yeast will have as the yeast cells will have slowly died off over time.

The 'denser' or thicker your wort, the more yeast you will need.

There's also a difference when making an ale or lager. Yeast becomes slow to ferment when it’s cold. Given lager ferments at a much lower temperature than ale, it's reasonable then to use more yeast with the lager to finish the job properly.

Some brewers use the rule of thumb to pitch about twice as much yeast for a lager as for an ale.

Using liquid yeast for brewing

If you intend to use a liquid yeast it should really be pitched to a starter wort before THEN pitching to the main wort in the fermenter. Here's a handy guide to making the starter from one of the true industry legends, John Palmer. 

That said, many liquid yeasts can simply be pitched as normal so check the instructions that come with your unit.

What are some good yeasts to brew with?

If you do not wish to use the yeast that comes with the beer kit you have, you could try what a gabillion brewers use, the American ale yeast, Safale -05. I've used it personally and it goes great guns and is tried and true.

The Safale - 04 is a handy English ale yeast too.

A quick summary of pitching yeast 

• Pitching yeast is simply adding it to the beer wort.
• Add it when your wort is the recommended temperature – check your beer kit’s recommended temperature.
• You can pitch dry yeast straight into the wort.
• Or you can add it to water just prior to pitching.
• Dry yeasts have a longer storage life than liquid yeasts. 
• Liquid yeasts must be stored by refrigeration means.
• The older the yeast, the more of it you will need to use. 
• You can even use baker's yeast to pitch into your beer!

Extra for experts: should you use a ph Meter?

Image credit to Justin Knabb via Creative Commons Licence

1 comment alcohol, home brew, john palmer, pitching yeast, wort, yeast

↠ Brewing with yeast (how to get a rise out of your beer)

The year was 1836 when Baron Charles Cagniard de la Tour, a French engineer and physicist proved that yeast were living organisms, totally changing the paradigm that yeast were not chemical substances.

De La Tour was the first person to postulate that yeast was the cause of alcohol and CO2 production.

And ever since then, yeast has been king when it comes to beer.

In this post, we cover a range of brewing matters that involve yeast. First up is the basic question of:

What is yeast?

Yeast is a single cell microorganism and it's actually technically a fungi.

While there are many varieties of yeast, the one's brewers typically use, ale and lager yeasts are members of the family Saccharymyces Cerevisiae.

If you don't use yeast when making beer, you do not get fermentation occurring.

No yeast, no booze.

That said, you don't just 'add yeast' to your beer like you would adding flour to a cake batter. Like most elements of making a good beer, there are all kinds of things that need to go right with the yeast for a beer to be a good drop. 

What is the difference between an ale and lager yeast?

Ales are known as “top fermenting” due to the yeast layer that forms at the top of the fermenter. Lager yeasts are called “bottom fermenting” as, you guessed it, they ferment at the bottom. 

Ale yeasts will best ferment in the range of 10-25 centigrade and produce beers high in esters and often lower in attenuation. These are both distinctive and desired characteristic of ales.  

Lagers ferment in the colder range of range from 7-15C and produce a cleaner beer with lower esters.

Woah Nelly, it's getting hot in here!

Yeast is, as De La Tour proved, a living thing so it needs to be treated right. And the first thing we should talk about is correct brewing temperature.

That’s why pitching your yeast is more than simply adding it to your beer – it needs to be done at the correct time in the brew so that it can activate properly.

The short version is if you pitch your yeast when your brew is too hot (say you’ve just boiled it), you will kill the yeast with the heat and fermentation will not occur.

For this reason, only add the yeast to the fermenter when you have filled it to the 23 litre mark with a lot of cold water. If you are aiming to get the yeast going at the suggested range, let it warm in the sun a bit. 

You can take its temperature using a thermometer and you are good to do.

How to re-hydrate your yeast before you pitch it

A handy method that many earnest brewers follow is to hydrate the dry yeast in water before pitching. The reasoning behind this is that it gives the yeast a good chance to get started properly before it comes into contact with the sugars.

Rehydrating yeast in a glass

The theory at play is that the concentration of sugars in the wort can mean it is difficult for the yeast to absorb water into its membranes so that they can begin to activate/metabolize and thus commence the fermentation process.

Based on that, I imagine that if you have made a high gravity wort that's full of sugar and other fermentables like DME for the yeast to eat, hydration is a good step to take.

In my experience I’ve never had the yeast fail with a simple beer kit but if you are keen to cut the potential problem out, feel free to re-hydrate your yeast.

The professional way to this is by boiling some water and letting it cool. You can then add your yeast packet (or two!) to the water and let it begin to absorb – you shouldn’t do this too far apart from when it is time to pitch the yeast. You can even add some sugar if you are super keen.

Cover and leave for about 15 minutes and then inspect. It should have begun to smell like you are making bread and 'bubbled' a bit (see the above picture). If so, it’s ready to be pitched.

Once you've added the yeast to the wort, there will likely be some left in the glass - I have a 'waste not want not' kind of view so I add some water to the glass, give it a swirl and add it to the yeast as well.

What is attenuation?

In the context of beer brewing, attenuation is the percentage that measures the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide by the fermentation process.

Well-attenuated beer will have a drier characteristic and have a greater competent of alcohol than a less attenuated beer.

Brewers measure attenuation because it is an indicator of yeast health and because specific attenuation levels are important for certain styles of beer. For example, if a beer does not attenuate to the expected level in fermentation will have more residual sugar and will thus be sweeter and heavier-bodied than planned.

The brewer would then investigate that the yeast was up to the performance level required or that it was used under correct brewing practices (such as appropriate temperature).

The typical values for attenuation percentages are:

• Low: 72 per cent and lower 
• Medium: 73 to 77 per cent 
• High: 78 per cent and upwards

How do I work out my attenuation rate?

You'll need to take readings with your hydrometer to determine your rate of attenuation. You then use this formula:

(original gravity - current gravity) / (original gravity - 1)

This will work out the 'apparent attenuation'. Remember to use your BEDMAS.

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So the selection considerations of your yeast should reflect on what kind of beer you wish to brew. If you are making an ale, you'll want to choose a yeast that produces a lower rate of attenuation.

Brewers regularly use the following yeasts with ales

Safale 04, WLP002 English, Danstar Windsor, Wyeast 1099.

For a lager yeast which will cause a higher rate of attenuation, you could try:

Saflager W34, White Lab's WLP925, Bock Lager

Using old yeast can affect the performance of the yeast

Facts are facts, you need enough yeast to get all the sugars and other fermentables in the wort. 

If the yeast in your packet or vial is only half healthy, then you'll need to find that extra 50 percent from somewhere as the amount of yeast in the packet is measured out so the standard 23 liter brew can be properly fermented.

So basically, if you're using old, tired yeast, you might need to compensate for that by using two packets. Which is in effect adding an extra cost to your brew.

Many modern’s brewing recipes take the view that you are pitching fresh yeast and even further, that the yeast has been prepared in nutrient-rich yeast starter.

If you 'under pitch' your viable yeast then it's quite likely your yeast will be under pressure to perform and you will get a low rate of attenuation - which this will alter the intended characteristics of the beer you are trying to make.

So, the lesson here, as for most things in life (like hops), fresh is best!

Can I use baking yeast to ferment beer?

Many craft brewers would probably shudder violently at the suggestion of using a yeast that's normally used to make bread.

The truth is, you can baking yeast for brewing, as both yeasts (beer and baking) are different strains of the same species, saccharomyces cerevisiae.

You'd being doing yourself a service to ask 'what is the difference between baker's yeast and brewer's yeast?'

The difference between the two kinds of yeasts lies in the history of their cultivation.

Each has been grown for the attributes they bring to the final product. In the case of beer yeast, the popular strains have been cultivated for hundreds of years to hone their specific attributes being the beer flavor produced, attenuation, and consistency.

Beer yeast will flocculate better than baker's yeast. When brewers yeast nears the end of fermentation, single cells aggregate into clumps of thousands of cells (flocculation), and drop to the bottom of the fermentor, leaving clear beer behind. Baker's yeast is not as flocculant.

Beer yeast that floccuates well will contribute to having a clear beer.

A good way to look at the difference is that brewer's yeast was bred to produce more alcohol and less carbon dioxide while baker's yeast was bred to make more CO2 and less alcohol.

So be warned - using a baking yeast in place of brewing yeast is like driving a Ford and expecting to drive like a Ferrari!

Using a yeast starter to increase the viability of the yeast

For complete fermentation to occur, the yeast cells need to begin to reproduce at an optimum rate. Temperature plays a vital role in the rate at which this can occur. The choice of beer style can run counter to allowing this. We're basically taking lagers here.

If you are brewing a lager, you'll know from above that it best ferments at a temperature range lower than an ale at 7 - 15 centigrade. That cooler temperature can impede the performance of the yeast.

While you could simply add even more yeast, that again costs money, so enter the use of a yeast starter. The idea is to develop a ready culture of yeast that can be used to carry out the fermentation of wort into clean beer.

A properly prepared yeast starter will have enough cells in it to do the required job, meaning the cold temperature should not impede the yeast.

So how do you make a yeast starter?

You follow the sage advice of John Palmer. 

At the very least, if you are using dry yeast, you should add it to a glass of warm water and a little bit of sugar about an hour before you are ready to pitch it into your yeast.

When yeast might need a helping hand at the end of fermentation

As a round of a difficult fermentation draws to an end (temperature variance, over-saturated wort), you may need to rouse the yeast convince it to finish the fermentation. If your fermentation is not quite at the desired final gravity and it seems to have stalled then there's a simple trick to do.

Stir the beer few times gently. This will cause the yeast that may the fallen to the bottom, to re-integrate with the wort again and find some new sugars to eat.

This trick works best when fermentation is occurring at the higher end of the yeast's operating tolerance.

If you're brewing environment is too cold, you may need to warm the wort and then stir.

Be careful not to aerate your beer or add nutrients if your fermentation is nearly done.

What is the shelf life of yeast?

Dry packet yeast, if stored properly, have a fairly long shelf life. I've seen punter say it will last upwards of a year or even two when stored in the fridge.

Dry yeast certainly loses viability over time so if you are using an older yeast, beer in mind that you might need to account for that by pitching an extra amount.

This is why many brewers would recommend that you do not use the yeast packet that comes with a beer kit as you don't know how long it has been sitting around. That said, I've been using kit yeasts for years and never had a problem. That said (II), when I have used Safale 05 it felt like the batch started fermenting furiously fast from the get go.

Liquid yeast is another story. Results may vary - many liquid yeasts come with the recommendation that they be used within three months date of their first shipping from the manufacturer but they can keep pretty well for 6 months in the fridge.

The better stored the yeast is, the longer it will remain viable

It is very common to prepare a liquid yeast by way of a yeast starter. Even packets and vials where there are very few viable cells can be revived and multiplied with a well-made yeast starter.

The loose rule of thumb then is that dry yeast has a shelf life of 2 years and liquid yeast 6 but you need to try and factor in the decay rate of the yeast.

If in doubt, make test the yeast with some water and sugar or make a starter.

Can I pitch multiple yeast strains?

Yes, you can mix the strains of yeast. You will get a mix of the properties of each yeast which will have an impact on the flavour of the beer. Where large commercial brewers are basically making lagers like Heineken, they are not focused on getting flavor combinations from yeast.

 Craft brewers, who by nature are 'taste explorers', readily seek out new flavors by mixing up their yeast or combinations.

Their quest for flavorful ales, wheat beers, Belgian beers, and strong beers has led them to mix things up.

The mixed yeasts do not compete over each other, they each simply go about fermenting. Given yeast imparts flavour into the beer in the first 36 hours, each yeast should be added at the same time.

If you are trying to fix an issue of low attenuation by adding more yeast, then by all means you can add more yeast as little flavour will be added to the brew at that late stage.

Yeast tolerance to alcohol

You might think it odd given yeast makes alcohol that you have to account for the alcohol produced.
A yeast strain can tolerate only so much of it before it stops working. Over the centuries yeasts have been studied and cultivated and beaten into submission so much so that there a plenty of strains that can handle high solutions of alcohol.

Such yeasts are desired to that they are able to fully ferment what's offered in the wort. There's simply no reason to let a beer be half fermented is there?

So choosing a yeast that can handle the ABV of the beer you intend to brew is a no brainer.

Many yeasts do fine in the 3 - 5 per cent range, many Belgian yeasts get found out at 8 per cent. A few hardy nuggets can go beyond 10.

 When going beyond 8 per cent, beers need a bit of extra love. Extra nutrients may be required, a high concentration of pitching yeast than normal should be used, the yeast should rouse, and warmer temperatures will help get the yeast ticking over.

If you are keen on brewing very high ABV beer, you'll need to appreciate that such beers may taste quite sweet or they can even become unpalatable.

Once you've made a good beer, sit back with a cold one and watch the Star Wars crawl.

The Art and Science of Multi-Yeast Pitching in Craft Brewing

Before we delve into the intriguing realm of mixing yeast strains, it's important to note that craft brewing has always been an experimental space, the "laboratory" where flavors are tinkered with, much like a mad scientist meddling with vials in a secluded lab. Here, yeast becomes not just an agent of fermentation, but a character-building element in the narrative of the brew.

Why Consider Mixing Yeast Strains?

Craft brewers have been increasingly looking at yeast as more than just a functional component. They see it as a tool for artistic expression, akin to a painter's palette. Mixing yeast strains allows brewers to create new and unexpected flavor profiles, contributing complexity and nuance that wouldn't be attainable with a single yeast strain. For instance, combining a Belgian yeast strain, known for its fruity esters, with a more neutral American ale yeast can result in a beer that captures the best of both worlds.

Compatibility and Competitiveness: The Social Dynamics of Yeast

Yeast, like any other living organism, competes for resources—in this case, the sugars in the wort. Different strains have different rates of metabolism, flocculation characteristics, and temperature optima. It's critical to understand these aspects when attempting to mix strains. For example, a highly flocculant strain might drop out of the fermentation early, leaving a less flocculant, slower-acting strain to finish the job. This could create a unique sequential development of flavors. However, such yeast dynamics are not always predictable and might require several iterations to master.

Timing Matters: Staggered Pitching

A less traditional but intriguing approach is staggered pitching, where different yeast strains are added at different stages of the fermentation process. For instance, a strain known for quick and vigorous fermentation might be pitched first, followed by a slower, more flavor-focused strain. This ensures that the first strain doesn't dominate the fermentation, leaving room for the second strain to contribute its unique characteristics.

Risks and Rewards

Craft brewing is often about pushing boundaries, but it's essential to remember that not all boundaries yield to be pushed. Mixing yeast strains without a well-thought-out plan can result in unpredictable flavors, stuck fermentations, or other unwanted outcomes. Hence, meticulous documentation and small-scale testing are advised before scaling up your yeast mixing ambitions.

Yeast Blends: The Pre-Mixed Solutions

There are commercial yeast blends available that are designed to provide balanced characteristics of multiple strains. These are excellent for brewers who are just starting to dabble in the complexities of yeast interaction but don't want to leap into the deep end just yet.

From Flask to Fermentor: Practical Steps

Preparing Individual Starters

To ensure the yeast strains are at their peak vitality, each should ideally be propagated in individual yeast starters. These should then be combined at the time of pitching into the main fermentor.

Mixing Ratios

When combining strains, consider the ratio in which you mix them. A 50:50 ratio might seem like an equitable distribution, but the faster-acting yeast could still outcompete the slower one. It's often advised to experiment with varying ratios to find the balance that produces the flavor profile you are aiming for.

Monitoring and Quality Control

Fermentation should be carefully monitored. Take regular gravity readings to assess how the fermentation is progressing and whether one yeast is outcompeting the other. Tasting at different stages is also key, as the flavor profile can give you valuable insights into the ongoing yeast "dialogue."

Leave a Comment attenuation, carbon dioxide, fermentis, final gravity, floccing, hydrometer, original gravity, saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeast

How the use of ZINC can improve your beer brewing results

Zinc may not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when you think of beer, but it plays a crucial role in the brewing process. 

Zinc is an essential nutrient for the yeast, and it can have a significant impact on the flavor, aroma, and appearance of beer. 

In this article, we'll explore the benefits of using zinc in the beer brewing process, the different forms of zinc that can be used, and when the optimum time is to add zinc to the beer brewing process.

Fake as.

Benefits of Using Zinc in Beer Brewing

There are several key benefits to using zinc in beer brewing:

Improved Yeast Health: Zinc is a crucial nutrient for yeast. It helps to maintain cell membranes and enzyme systems, which are essential for yeast growth and metabolism. By ensuring that there is enough zinc in the brewing process, brewers can improve yeast health, leading to more vigorous fermentation, faster attenuation, and better flocculation.

Enhanced Flavor Stability: Zinc is important for maintaining flavor stability in beer. Without enough zinc, beer can develop off-flavors and aromas, such as sulfur compounds or dimethyl sulfide (DMS). By ensuring that there is enough zinc in the brewing process, brewers can help prevent these off-flavors from developing.

Better Head Retention: Zinc can help improve head retention in beer. Head retention refers to the ability of a beer to maintain a foam head after it has been poured. Zinc can help stabilize the proteins in beer, which can contribute to better head retention.

Improved Beer Clarity: Zinc can be used as a fining agent to clarify beer. Zinc can help settle out yeast and other particles in the beer, resulting in a clearer, brighter beer.

Forms of Zinc to Use in Beer Brewing

There are two primary forms of zinc that can be used in the beer brewing process: zinc sulfate and zinc chloride.

Zinc sulfate is the more commonly used form of zinc in brewing. It is a white, crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. Zinc sulfate can be added to the wort during the boiling process or to the finished beer during packaging.

Zinc chloride is a white, crystalline powder that is also readily soluble in water. It is less commonly used in brewing, but it can be added to the wort during the boiling process or to the finished beer during packaging.

What is the Optimum Time to Add Zinc to the Brewing Process?

The optimum time to add zinc to the brewing process will depend on the specific recipe and process being used. In general, zinc should be added during the early stages of the brewing process, either during the mash or the boil. This will ensure that there is enough zinc available for the yeast during the fermentation process.

How much zinc sulfate should be added to a 30 litre brew of beer?

The amount of zinc sulfate to add to a 30 liter brew of beer will depend on a few factors, including the specific recipe and process being used, as well as the water chemistry of the brewing water. 

I'd bet a dollar the average home brewer doesn't care about that one bit though!

Generally, a recommended range for zinc sulfate addition in brewing is between 0.1 to 0.5 mg/L.

Assuming a target addition rate of 0.5 mg/L, the amount of zinc sulfate needed for a 30 liter brew of beer would be approximately 15 milligrams. 

This can be added directly to the wort during the boiling process.

Leave a Comment yeast, zinc

The merits of rehydrating yeast before pitching into the wort

If you're a no-fuss kind of brewer like myself, you can simply pitch the yeast into the wort when it is at a suitable temperature. 

But if you are interested in getting the best out of your yeast, you may want to consider the rehydration of yeast brewing trick. 

Rehydrating yeast before pitching it into the wort is a legitimate practice and is recommended by many yeast manufacturers such as White Labs and Fermentis. Rehydrating yeast involves adding water to the dried yeast cells to allow them to rehydrate and become active before they are pitched into the wort.

The science behind rehydrating yeast lies in the fact that yeast cells are living organisms that require specific conditions to become active and start fermentation. Dried yeast cells are in a dormant state and need to be rehydrated in water to activate the enzymes and metabolic processes that are essential for fermentation.

Rehydrating yeast has several benefits.

Firstly, it ensures that the yeast cells are healthy and active before they are pitched into the wort, which increases the likelihood of a successful fermentation. When yeast cells are rehydrated properly, they are more resistant to stress and can adapt to changes in the wort environment more effectively.

Secondly, rehydration can help to reduce the lag time before fermentation begins. When yeast cells are rehydrated, they are able to start metabolizing sugars in the wort more quickly, which means that fermentation can begin sooner.

Finally, rehydrating yeast can help to improve the flavor and aroma of the final beer. When yeast cells are healthy and active, they are better able to metabolize the sugars and produce desirable flavor and aroma compounds.

To rehydrate yeast, it is typically recommended to add the yeast to warm, sterile water (around 38-40°C or 100-104°F) and stir gently for a few minutes until the yeast is fully dissolved. 

After a period of 15-30 minutes, the yeast may be added to the wort - as long as the wort has been cooled to a temperature suitable for the yeast!

It is also important to note that the temperature and pH of the water used to rehydrate the yeast can have a significant impact on fermentation performance. The water temperature should be between 35-40°C (95-104°F), and the pH should be between 3.5-4.5

You can measure the pH of your beer with a pH tester. 

Lastly, it is worth noting that not all yeast strains require rehydration.

Some strains, such as certain dry yeast strains, are formulated to be added directly to the wort without rehydration. It is important to check the instructions provided by the yeast manufacturer to determine whether rehydration is necessary for a particular strain.

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The impact of dry hoping on yeast metabolism

Dry hopping is a technique used in brewing beer where hops are added to the beer during or after fermentation, rather than during the boiling process. This technique is used to enhance the aroma and flavor of the beer without adding bitterness.

While dry hopping does not have a direct impact on yeast metabolism, it can affect the yeast's ability to ferment sugars and produce alcohol. Hops contain compounds known as hop oils, which are composed of various terpenes and other volatile compounds. These compounds can inhibit yeast growth and fermentation if they are present in high concentrations.

One of the main terpenes found in hop oils is myrcene, which has been shown to have antimicrobial properties that can inhibit the growth of yeast and other microorganisms. In addition to inhibiting yeast growth, hop oils can also affect yeast metabolism by altering the yeast's gene expression.

Dry hop into beer wort like a Jedi Knight

Recent research has shown that dry hopping can induce stress responses in yeast, which can lead to changes in gene expression and metabolism. Specifically, dry hopping has been shown to increase the expression of genes involved in oxidative stress response and energy metabolism.

In one study, researchers found that dry hopping with high concentrations of hops (greater than 2 g/L) resulted in a decrease in yeast cell viability and an increase in oxidative stress markers. However, at lower concentrations of hops (less than 1 g/L), there was no significant effect on yeast viability or oxidative stress.

Overall, while dry hopping does not directly impact yeast metabolism, it can indirectly affect yeast growth, fermentation, and gene expression through the presence of hop oils. 

Brewers must carefully control the amount of hops added during dry hopping to ensure that the beer's flavor and aroma are enhanced without negatively impacting yeast metabolism.

How does a home brewer address this issue?

There are several steps that can be taken to help address the stress on yeast during dry hopping:

• Use a high-quality yeast strain: Using a healthy and robust yeast strain that is well-suited for the specific beer style can help ensure that the yeast can handle the stress of dry hopping.
• Control the hop dose: The concentration of hop compounds in the beer can have a significant impact on yeast metabolism and health. Careful control of the hop dose can help reduce the stress on the yeast and minimize the risk of off-flavors and aromas. This is fancy way to say do not over hop your beer!
• Monitor fermentation temperature: Yeast metabolism can be influenced by temperature, and higher temperatures can increase the risk of yeast stress. Maintaining a stable and appropriate fermentation temperature can help reduce the stress on the yeast during dry hopping.
• Use yeast nutrients: Yeast nutrients, such as yeast hulls or zinc, can be added to the wort to help improve yeast health and performance during fermentation. Zinc as a nutrient is a crucial part of beer brewing.
• Add hops in stages: Rather than adding all of the hops at once, adding them in stages can help reduce the overall stress on the yeast. This can be achieved by dividing the dry hop addition into multiple smaller additions, which can be added over several days. 

All this is well and good but our personal experience suggests that one can make pretty good beers when dry hopping so I personally do not worry about the effects of dry hopping on my own beer!

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⇒ How to use 'Baking Yeast' to make home brew beer

I was doing the weekly shopping and I came across a line row of baker's yeast and I wondered if you could use that to make homebrew. I took a photo of it! And the answer to the question is...

Turns out you can!

Can I substitute active baker's dry yeast for brewer's yeast?

 I'd heard of beer a craft brewer made from yeast found on his hipster beard, so why not use bread yeast?

So I did some research, and it turns out you can use baking yeast as it is an 'active dry yeast'.

The real question is should you use baker's yeast to make beer? 

Yeast is a wholly active part of the fermentation process, which is hugely relying on all kinds of factors to go right and a good yeast will make a good beer better.

Many craft brewers would probably shudder violently at the thought of using a yeast that's normally used to make bread but let's have a look at the idea.

You can totally use baking yeast for brewing, as both yeasts (beer and baking) are different strains of the same species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Which sounds like a good starting place!

A good question to start with is, what is the difference between baker's yeast and brewer's yeast?

The difference between the two kinds of yeasts is their cultivation.

Each has been grown for the attributes they bring to the final product. In the case of beer yeast, the popular strains have been cultivated for hundreds of years to hone their specific attributes being the beer flavour produced, attenuation (how well the sugars are fermented by yeast), and consistency.

I found a great comparison of the two: brewer's yeast was bred to produce more alcohol and less carbon dioxide while baker's yeast was bred to make more CO2 and less alcohol.

So be warned using baking yeast in place of brewing yeast is like driving a Ford and expecting to drive like a Ferrari!

There is, of course, nothing wrong with driving a Ford. First on race day eh?

How much baker's yeast to pitch? 

I've read that 11 grams of baker's yeast per 5 gallons or 23 liter fermenter drum are recognized by many brewers as a fair amount to pitch in.  Too much more will probably be redundant. 

What ABV alcohol does bread yeast make?

Bread yeast tends to ferment alcohol up to about 8% without too much effort which is a fine tolerance range for beer, but when trying to produce alcohol beyond this level, the bread yeast begins to struggle, very often stopping around 9% or 10%.

And that's actually because beers are generally brewed between 4 and 8 percent.

Clearing baker's yeast

When using this yeast, you just have to be conscious that your beer won't taste as clean or look as clear as the beer that you may have become accustomed to brewing.

This is in part because the yeast doesn't settle quite as well as most brewer's yeast does.

If you are bottle conditioning, another trick you could try to clear the baker's yeast is by cold crashing the fermented wort (often referred to as the primary) and then racking it to a bottling bucket and then bottling.

The reason is that the baker's yeast will likely stay suspended in the beer for a lot longer than brewing yeast does (it has a tendency to be awesome at floccing out and then sticking to the bottom of bottles). The cold temperature will force the baking yeast out of suspension and into the bottle of your beer.

You can of course also try and use finings to help clear the baking particles.

The careful pouring and chilling of the bottles before pouring will help alleviate this somewhat.

Can I use baker's yeast to make mead?

You sure can. Wine too! Some specific mead recipes state to use baker's yeast!

Can I use baker's yeast to make apple or pear cider?

You sure can use baking yeast with your homemade hard cider brewing. If you do things right, you should be able to get a 6 percent alcohol content. 

I'd recommend you always hydrate the yeast before you pitch it. 

Be careful about adding too much sugar. 

If you are really brave, you can even ferment apple juice with bread yeast. But you are getting into making the kind of hooch they make in prison at this point... I've done it - I made a bitter juice with a real punch - mix with lemonade 50:50 and it tasted fine.

Using baking yeast to rescue a beer that's stopped fermenting

If you're worried your pitched beer yeast has run out of puff, in a pinch you could add some baker's yeast to help get things going again.

Just remember by adding a second yeast, the intended nature of your beer's taste will change.

If you go down this path you may need to activate the yeast in water before you pitch it, just to give it a helping hand.

What baking yeasts can I use?

Anything from your supermarket is a good place to start. In New Zealand, Edmund's Sure To Rise suits fine. Fleischmann's active dry yeast seems a popular choice overseas.

Using brewing yeast to bake bread

Given brewing yeast is 'active yeast', you can also use brewing yeast to make bread products too! I imagine you could make a really heavy dough bread with some brewing yeast!

Some internet research tells me brewing yeast doesn't give off the same amount of CO2 as bread yeast so you will get a dense loaf of bread (the CO2 makes bubbles in bread, making it 'fluffy'. Here's a good discussion by brewers who've had success with this cooking method!

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How to re-use yeast from the trub

Yeast trub and how to re-use it

We've talked a bit about how vital yeast is to the beer brewing process which got us thinking about how many brewers choose to mix and match yeasts to the different kinds of beers they want to make.

This comes at a cost though - yeast can be a fair cost component of brew day.

So to save some cash money some brewers choose to re-use the leftover yeast that remains in the 'trub'.

You might think, that stuff at the bottom of the fermenter is just a whole lot of gunk and no good to anyone.

You'd be wrong.

There's usually plenty of viable yeast still left and it would love nothing better than to feast on some more sugars...

Cashed up commercial breweries recycle and re-pitch yeast, so why don't you?

How to 'wash' your leftover yeast for reuse and repitch

Washing your leftover yeast to reuse it in another batch is a great skill to have in your back pocket as a homebrewer. Yeast washing is actually a fairly simple process where the goal is to separate the remaining live yeast from the residue of the trub being mostly hops and spent grain.

Your final goal is to make a yeast starter so that you do not need to purchase yeast every time you brew.

Washing your yeast cake

You are not really washing the yeast, you are basically decanting it from the other hops and residue in the trub. 

Mix the trub with about 1500 mls of water in an easy to pour container such as a conical flask. Let the slurry settle and it will settle - the yeast and water will form a layer over the top and the debris will fall to the bottom. 

Decant the 'creamy' yeast level into a clean container. 

This 'washed' yeast can now be stored in the refrigerator for many months until you wish to use it as part of a yeast starter

There's a more simple method where you don't wash the yeast or make a starter...

Draw or harvest your yeast sample from your primary fermenter as it contains more active yeast than what would be in a secondary fermenter (if you actually used one).

Once the beer has been racked for kegging or bottling it's time to begin the harvest. There will be a  layer of trub and it needs to be liquefied somewhat to make it easy to work with, so add some clean and sterile water.

Take your 'slurry' swirl it up the slurry and decant it from the fermenter it into sanitized containers. Properly cover them tight and store those in the fridge.

Each container should enough yeast to ferment an average 23 litre batch of beer.

If you use one of the containers in the next 3 weeks or so, you can use it directly without any other preparation as the yeast will still be quite active. Pitch in the normal manner.

If you are using yeast beyond a three or four week period, you'll do well to rouse the yeast from its slumber.

Place the slurry into a starter container and add a quart or litre of fresh wort to "wake it up" before using. Warming it to room temperature will help too.

If you're thinking that washing yeast sounds like too much work, feel free to ask if:

Can I just add fresh wort to the trub?

You sure can, but if you intend to recycle yeast over and over, you're going to get a lot of trub left at the bottom right?

So this practice might work better if you add a properly cooled fresh wort over the trub of a secondary fermentation. 

Give the new solution a bit of a stir so that the yeast finds its mark.

Why should I recycle my yeast?

The big commercial breweries do it to save money and it's an efficient process. For the homebrewer the best reason to do this is so that you 'jump start' your next brew with a much larger pitching cell volume. This means you will give your beer an excellent start at fermentation and a likely reduction in the occurrence of strange smells and flavours in your beer.

How many times can I recycle my beer yeast?

Many commercial brewers reuse yeast for several fermentation cycles - and we've heard stories of going through to 40 or 50 batches.  How they do this is by pumping the residual yeast via the bottom of one fermenter into the waiting and ready lump of steal and repeat.

Trial and experience will dictate how well you go. The better you sanitize your equipment and care for your yeast, the more viable it will be.

Conical fermentors make access the trub easy. Given it collects at the end of the cone, you can simply remove it by opening the valve and emptying it into a clean collection vessel.

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What is the 'krausen' in home brewing (and should I release it?)

A massive krausen!

I learned a new brewing word the other day.

It was 'Krausen'.

Which made me immediately say to myself "Release the Krausen!"

But enough with the bad jokes, let's talk about what a krausen is.

The krausen is the foamy head that constitutes on top of fermenting beer as it sits in the fermenter.

A healthy head of krausen is an ideal goal of the home brewer because it's a sign that your beer is fermenting just as it should.

Knowing this can be quite handy because if you are not seeing or hearing bubbles escaping from the airlock, the presence of a krausen build up is proof that the yeast is doing its job and fermentation is occurring.

And just the same as the presence of krausen shows fermentation is occurring, it's disappearance (but not initial lack of) is an indicator that fermentation is complete (or halted if brewing conditions are too cold).

But sometimes these things see the movie The Blob and decide they want to grow...

Preventing a krausen 'blow out' with tubing

Occasionally brewing conditions mean that the yeast is so active, the krausen behaves like it is a kraken released from the gates of hell and it foams up like a fiery tempest and blows out the airlock, just making a heck of a mess all over your brewing equipment!

These beer explosions typically occur with glass carboys which allow pressure to build.

A solution to krausen 'blow out' is using a blowoff tube. One replaces the standard carboy airlock with the tubing.

The tubing can then release into a bottle, bucket or whatever to help with reducing any blow off mess.

Check out the image to the right for an idea on how to set up the blow off tubing. This example uses a steel tube.

If you're not convinced this tubing is worth the effort, consider this.

A common krausen issue is that the airlock can get clogged with foam and any added hops. This leads to a strong pressure buildup in the fermenter which when is it great, the barrel lid, bung or airlock blows off, spewing stuff everywhere and making for a very messy and frustrating cleanup.

There's even the potential for damaging your equipment.

We suggest if you have brewing conditions where this has happened more than once, you may wish to consider grabbing some tubing from Amazon!

Make sure you get a suitable thick pipe, nothing too narrow as that will work against you.

One more thing.

We've not done it ourselves but we have read that some punters fill that bottle or bucket the tubing goes into with water so as to further help retard the foaming krausen!

Have you ever heard of Fermcap-S?

You could also try and prevent too much foam by using an anti foaming agent like Fermcap-S. If you wish to use it in your carboy or fermenter to prevent the krausen from escaping, the dosage is only 2 drops at the start of fermentation. 

Krausen the line...

When you have bottled your beer, it's time to get cleaning that fermenter right? And if you've done everything right, there will be a ring around the line where the krausen rose from.

I call it the Krausen line.

If you don't immediately clean your vessel, it will harden and be a right monster to remove. A good soak with PBW or sodium percarbonate should sort that line of scum out PDQ.

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