Brewing Master » Brewing Beer » High alc. yeasts?
High alc. yeasts?
Question:
Ok, that answered my question perfectly. Thanks everyone, Grav
Response:
You pretty much have it in the right order: Beer yeasts produce less alcohol than wine yeasts, which produce less than champagne yeasts. There are ethanol tolerant strains of ale yeasts, however, which are used extensively in Belgian brewing, and will produce about as much alcohol as wine yeast (read the Belgian Ale book by Pierre Rajotte for more info on this). Trevor
Response:
You pretty much have it in the right order: Beer yeasts produce less alcohol than wine yeasts, which produce less than champagne yeasts. There are ethanol tolerant strains of ale yeasts, however, which are used extensively in Belgian brewing, and will produce about as much alcohol as wine yeast (read the Belgian Ale book by Pierre Rajotte for more info on this).
FWIW, I’ve also used the Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) to ferment a Barleywine, OG = 1.096. No problem… just took a little longer than usual (5 weeks) to ferment out. —
Response:
Graviti5 asks: Just a question of personal interest: What type of yeast produces the highest alcohol level? (ie. ale/wine/champagne)
In my experience, ale/lager yeasts peter out below 10% alc. Wine yeasts go higher, but I’ve never had one go over ~14%, which is plenty high enough. For high-alcohol brew (~18%), I use DADY — Distillers’ Active Dry Yeast — which seems to ferment rapidly and efficiently, fermenting 10# sugar in under 3 days. It also imparts little flavor, which is desirable in high-alcohol beverages. But, there’s no point in making a brew so high in EtOH that it’s not drinkable. Try chugging a mug of chablis if you don’t understand.
Response:
Just a question of personal interest: What type of yeast produces the highest alcohol level? (ie. ale/wine/champagne) Graviti