Frequently Asked Questions
Question:
Is there a difference between cleaning and sanitising?
Answer:
Cleaning is performed to remove any debris left from the previous use of your homebrew hardware. A common dry powder cleaning agent is Brewer's Detergent (Sodium Meta-silicate). Sanitising is performed after equipment cleaning to control wild bacteria during fermentation. Some modern sanitising agents from Brew Supplies Online are hydrogen-peroxide based or phosphoric acid based. Unlike their sulphite based predecessors modern homebrew sanitisers are typically no rinse. This makes the home brewing process even easier. Some modern sanitisers such as Stellarsan are yeast friendly and will act as a yeast nutrient during fermentation.
Question:
Is there a difference between brewer's yeast from the supermarket and a sachet yeast from a home brew store?
Answer:
Brewer's yeast is sometimes referred to as baker's yeast. Both yeast are strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae discovered hundreds of years ago. However each strain has its own unique characteristics which define its purpose. Brewer's Yeast as a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used as a basic ale yeast where alcohol levels are below 6.0% ABV. In the right conditions Brewer's Yeast could reach 8.0% ABV. However it performs poorly when fermenting more complex starches, fruits to make champagnes, dry wines, ciders, and meads. Modern home brew hybrid of original brewing yeasts have been specifically created to add unique flavours, aromas or characteristics to the ferment in addition to having a higher alcohol tolerance. Some of these hybrids can achieve over 23.0% ABV. If the brewer was creating a craft beer it is unlikely a basic brewers yeast would be used. Furthermore much more basic brewer's yeast has to be used than a hybrid yeast. Brewer's yeast is often used with some interesting nutrient mixes to achieve fermentation outcomes below an easy to use Turbo Yeast. Using this yeast is often considered more difficult than available sachet yeasts. There are numerous inexpensive home brew craft yeasts available from Brewing Supplies Online which will produce unique flavour or characteristics for a particular beer type and higher alcohol levels. Mangrove Jack's Belgian Ale Yeast is capable of alcohol tolerances which are difficult to reach with supermarket brewer's yeast.
Question:
What is the shelf life of a kit beer yeast?
Answer:
Several beer yeast manufacturers indicate that the life of a yeast is two to three years from when packaged. This attempts to consider the possible range of temperatures a home brew yeast may endure. However if you store a yeast sachet around ten degrees Celcius and colder you can extend its shelf life by as much as another two years. While the malt in a home brew beer kit will darken with time and degrade slowly the included yeast becomes unusable much sooner. Some yeast are plain date coded while others are little different. The first two character are the yeast application, the next three are the day on which it was packaged, and the last two the year. As an example a Thomas Cooper's Series yeast may display TC32420 ie: Thomas Cooper Series, day 324, year 2020.
Question:
Are Epsom Salt from the supermarket and yeast Nutrient sold by a home brew store the same thing?
Answer:
Epsom salt is sometimes used as an energiser or a nutrient because of its very low cost. Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulphate. It is made up of Magnesium, Sulphur, and Oxygen. Yeast responds well to magnesium. However the sulphur content can have negative effects. Incorrectly calculated Epsom Salt quantities as a fermentation nutrient will produce cloudy or coloured products. Excess sulphur and oxygen during fermentation can also produce off aromas and bitter flavours. Home brew store yeast nutrient is often a blend of vitamins, minerals, magnesium, potassium, phosphates, zinc, nitrogen, and other organic matter. It will help the yeast to reproduce efficiently as alcohol levels rise in your wort with minimal side effects.
Question:
Do I need a hydrometer to make a brew?
Answer:
A hydrometer is considered an essential piece of home brew hardware. Without it you can not determine what is happening with your brew. It will reveal if a brew has finished primary fermentation, if it has stalled, if it is ready to bottle, and it will help you calculate the alcohol strength of a brew. A hydrometer indicates the density ie Specific Gravity of your beer wort, wine must, or spirit wash. Sugar and water solution is denser than alcohol and water so the Specific Gravity decreases as alcohol is produced. A simple formula to calculate ABV is: (Start Specific Gravity – Finish Specific Gravity) x 131= %ABV approximately.
Example: (1.048 SG – 1.008 FG)=.040 then .040 x 131= 5.24%ABV
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