yeasts ain't yeasts .....

[michael_aussie]

A workmate brews. He makes weird, funky beers including super high alcohol content ginger beers. IMO most taste like ****. His partner has some sort of doctorate in something to do with biology. She has told him the yeast is yeast, so he uses the yeast from bread packs in his beer. I told him he is wasting his time and its probably the reason why his beers taste like cat’s piss.

Who is correct, the partner who says yeast is yeast, or me .. who says yeasts ain’t yeasts?

 

[Coalminer]

A workmate brews. He makes weird, funky beers including super high alcohol content ginger beers. IMO most taste like ****. His partner has some sort of doctorate in something to do with biology. She has told him the yeast is yeast, so he uses the yeast from bread packs in his beer. I told him he is wasting his time and its probably the reason why his beers taste like cat’s piss.

Who is correct, the partner who says yeast is yeast, or me .. who says yeasts ain’t yeasts?

You

 

[MHB]

Both - sort of, bit like saying dogs are all dogs, its true but I don't expect to see a toy poodle rounding up sheep or a security guard with an attack chinchilla any time soon.
Yeasts are all yeasts, but they aren't all created equal.
Mark

 

[Rocker1986]

I'd say you. There are many different strains of yeast that all lend something a bit different to a beer. But I would never use bloody bread yeast to brew with, no wonder it tastes like ****.

 

[Outback]

I want an attack chinchilla now.

 

[scomet]

She has told him the yeast is yeast

Get your mate to buy his Mrs a copy of this book for Chrissy and tell her to - listen for a change!!

https://www.brewerspublications.com...east-the-practical-guide-to-beer-fermentation

 

[Wolfman1]

I treat every chinchilla like it’s going to attack. That’s why I’m still alive.

This couple are in for a treat when they are educated and they get to experience the wonder of those marvellous wee beasties.
(That’s yeast, not the chinchillas)

 

[DU99]

why do they make different yeasts then..

 

[enikoy]

When I asked my wife why the yeast in our bread maker behaves so differently to the yeast in my fermenter, she rolled her eyes and went into a long detailed spiel I cant remember, but involved "All trees aren't the same are they". She's a Doctor of Biology/Immunology

She was actually keen to take my re-used yeast down to the lab so she could wash and re-culture "properly".

 

[Fro-Daddy]

My partner said a very similar thing, she is involved in science and to them all yeast acts the same it seems.
After going to an education night with multiple beers with the same wort but different yeasts, you can tell there is a pretty drastic difference between varieties.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Yeast is Yeast? An absurd comment to make on the subject of brewing. Maybe she doesn't want her partner making good beer. He might drink more etc.
Some wild yeast wont convert sugar into alcohol. Some can be harmful to humans. There are bakers that will be vigilant on using the same strain yeast and be disappointed to have to use another strain because of the different character it can have in their bread.
Hundreds of varieties.

How do you think she would go converting every successful brewery in the world to bakers yeast after enlightening them that yeast is just yeast.

 

[MHB]

Hundreds, last time I looked at the British national yeast archive they listed over 26,000 yeast strains, all of them can be purchased as a slant or such like. They are in the process of gene sequencing them all, will lead to (I suspect) a pretty drastic cropping of the head count, but we will know a lot more about them, which will be a good thing.
Mark

 

[enikoy]

Worth going back to basics on our yeasty friends. Hello wikipedia (rather than a brewing website).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I almost wrote: Hundreds for every letter of the alphabet but wondered if I might be over guessing. Obviously not.
Are they all brewing yeast? Holey cow.

 

[altone]

Next time she goes shopping tell her shoes are shoes and dresses are dresses!

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Worth going back to basics on our yeasty friends. Hello wikipedia (rather than a brewing website).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast

Reading through that raises the obvious question to the opening post.
Why would a biologist say: Yeast is Yeast?
Its like saying: Bacteria is Bacteria. When there's billions of different types and different characteristics.

If you consider a Christmas present for that bloke get him a box of satchels of US-05 or something ...

 

[Hpal]

Oils ain't oils mate

 

[Peterbrew]

Reading through that raises the obvious question to the opening post.
Why would a biologist say: Yeast is Yeast?
Its like saying: Bacteria is Bacteria. When there's billions of different types and different characteristics.

If you consider a Christmas present for that bloke get him a box of satchels of US-05 or something ...

Maybe she meant yeast all act in the same way that they eat sugar to create CO2/alcohol, but doesn't understand the exact difference between them? [emoji848]

 

[Quokka42]

All yeasts are yeasts, in fact they are all fungii. But their behaviour in beer varies greatly. Bread yeast is great for whisky or dark rum, and Laucke can be used to make interesting Belgian or NEIPA styles.
My "go-to" yeast is Nottingham, which can make beers from Lager-style to Midlands type Ales and Irish Stouts, but I use a number of (mostly dried) yeasts for different styles - London ESB for Tetley's and such, US-05 when I want a dry and probably hoppy beer, usually White Labs when I get into exotic stuff like Berliner Weisse and Saison. Wyeast aren't releasing so many varieties any more and pretty much always need a starter.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Not a lot of threads on yeast considering it is probably the most important step in the brewing process, even so it is hard to imagine someone entertaining the thought of all yeast being the same.