We Still Have Hops

Hard to find hops can be found at SCBS!

Not sure what kind of beer to do next? Base it off of a hop you haven't used very much or at all. We have them in stock... at least for now.

Check out Citra, Mosaic, Motueka, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Palisade, Progress, Zythos, and Topaz online or in the store. 

We have a new addition as well: Australian Summer. It has a unique melon and apricot character. Limit 4 per customer.

Pedigree
Open pollination of a tetraploid Czech Saaz

Brewing Usage
Aroma

Aroma
Balanced citrus, melon and light apricot tones

Alpha Acids
5.6 - 6.4%

Beta Acids

4.8 - 6.1%

Fruit Wine Basics

Fruit wine is a popular alternative to the home winemaker since varietal grapes such as Merlot and Riesling are not usually grown in peoples backyards, And while wine grapes have been bred over thousands of yeast to have the right amount of sugar, bitterness, acidity, and flavor to make a full bodied and complex glass of wine, don't think that fruit wine is for hillbillies and prisoners. You can make incredibly good wine out of fruit with the right adjustments and time that rival the complexity of fancy bottle of chardonnay, or your favorite Merlot. The steps for fermenting fruit wine are the same as it is with grape wine, but there are some additional adjustments that are needed.

The main things to consider while making your wine are as follows: 

• How much you want to make
• How much fruit and sugar you want to use
• How long do you want to wait
• Adjusting bitterness and acidity levels

None of these Items are hard to do, and some refinement will probably be needed after your first batch, but be sure that great wine is possible at home.

How Much

You need to weigh the amount of fruit that is available to you with the amount of work you want to put into it, the equipment you have, and of course the amount you think you can drink.

Fruit and Sugar

Some fruits yield bigger flavor than others, but 2-4 lbs of fruit per gallon of water is a good base line. There is no “right” amount. The less fruit you use the lighter your wine will be, both in body and in depth. If you like deep, heavy dessert style wine, the more fruit you will want to use.

Again, there is no “right” amount of sugar to add to your fruit. The amount of sugar used determines the amount of alcohol in your finished wine, plain and simple. Some fruit has enough convertible sugar to make a good alcoholic drink. Apple juice for example will yield about a 5% alcohol by volume cider all on its own, but that is not wine. Adding additional sugar will boost the alcohol level above 9% which would be considered wine. What kind of sugar is up to you, but Cane sugar or Corn sugar gives consistent results without adding much to the flavor, and one pound of either will give you approximately 5%ABV in a one gallon batch.

The Wait

The addition of sugar increases the amount of alcohol, but the increase of alcohol also extends the amount of time needed to wait for the finished product to be “drinkable”. Much of the bathroom hooch style of home wine is a result of wine that has not had proper time to age. This is a result of the sharp solvent flavor of Ethanol produced by yeast that has not had a chance to blend and meld with the juice. The more Ethanol produced, the more time it needs to mellow out.

Bitterness and Acidity

Wine grapes have the advantage of having the right amount of bitterness and acidity built in for the most part, but you may want to adjust both of these for a fruit wine to attain the right mouth feel. Bitterness in wine comes from the tannin in the grape skin, other fruits have this too, but in most cases you will be removing the skin, so adding tannin back in will help balance the sweetness of the wine. Similarly, the lack of acidity in your fruit wine can give it a watered down, and flat taste. There are some fruits that don't need much additional acid, if any, like blueberries and cranberries, but adding a blend of tartaric and malic acids is good practice for most other fruits. This can be adjusted through trial and error, or by using an acid test kit.

The fermentation process will be the same from here on out. Just make your juice, add your sugar, add your tannin, and acid blend then your yeast. Ferment it for several weeks and you will be ready to bottle. Age for another several months and you will be ready to drink your wine.

A Yeast By Any Other Name

People always have their own preference of yeast. In a previous post, we went over the differences (or the lack there of) between the American Chico strain (Wyeast 1056, While Labs 001, and Safale US-05), but what happens when there is no dry equivalent and your recipe calls for 1968 London ESB Yeast, but you are not a fan of Wyeast. Or conversely, the recipe calls for 002 English Ale, but you don't like White Labs... well, good news, They are the same. You see, the same Brewer has allowed each company to package the same yeast under their own brand, and they often get named something different. So, if you have a Stout recipe and your local home brew supply store is fresh out of your 004 because St Patricks day is 2 months out, have no fear, they probably still have 1084 and since they are both from Guinness you can expect the same results with your beer. You can pour the 1084 into an old While Labs vial first if you would like (just remember to sanitize it first).

Here is a quick reference guide to the strains that, for the extensive research we have done, come from the same breweries packaged by the different manufacturers:
  

Wyeast	White Labs	Brewery
1007 German Ale	WLP036  Düsseldorf Alt	Düsseldorf (Zum Uerige)
1028 London Ale	WLP013 London Ale	Worthington White Shield
1056 American Ale	WLP001 California Ale	Sierra Nevada
1084 Irish Ale	WLP004 Irish Ale	Guinness
1098 British Ale	WLP007 English Dry	Whitbred – dry
1187 Ringwood Ale	WLP005 British Ale	Ringwood
1214 Belgian Ale	WLP500 Trappist ale	Chimay
1272 American Ale II	WLP051 California V Ale	Anchor Liberty
1275 Thames Valley Ale	WLP023 Burton Ale	Henley of Thames
1335 British Ale II	WLP025 Southwold Ale	Adnam's?
1338 European Ale	WLP011 European Ale	Wisenschaftliche Station
1388 Belgian Strong Ale	WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale	Duvel (Moortgart) via McEwans
1728 Scottish Ale	WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale	McEwan's
1762 Belgian Abbey II	WLP540 Abbey IV Ale	Rochefort
1968 London ESB Ale	WLP002 English Ale	Fullers
2001 Urquell Lager	WLP800 Pilsner Lager	Pilsner Urquell
2007 Pilsen Lager	WLP840 American Pilsner Lager	Budweiser
2112 California Lager	WLP810 San Francisco Lager	Anchor Steam
2124 Bohemian Lager	WLP830 German Lager	Weihenstephan 34/70
2206 Bavarian Lager	WLP820 Oktoberfest Lager	Weihenstephan 206
2308 Munich Lager	WLP838 South German Lager	Wisenschaftliche
2487 Hella-Bock	WLP833 German Bock	Ayinger Brewery
2575PC Kolsch II	WLP003 German Ale II	Weihenstephan W165
3068 Weihenstephan Weizen	WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale	Weihenstephan 68
3333 GermanWheat	WLP380 Hefeweizen IV Ale	Weihenstephan 66?
3522 Belgian Ardennes	WLP550 Belgian Ale	Achouffe
3638 Bavarian Wheat	WLP351 Bavarian Weizen	Weihenstephan 175
3724 Belgian Saison	WLP565 Saison Ale	Brasserie Dupont
3787 Trappist High Gravity	WLP530 Abbey Ale	Westmalle
3944 Belgian Witbier	WLP400 BelgianWit Ale	Hoegaarden/Celis

New Season, New Beers

Although the first day of Autumn isn't until September 22^nd this year, most people feel like the start of September is, at least, the start of the end of Summer. Days get shorter and the air is cooler, and when the seasons start to change, so do the drinks we enjoy.

Now there is certainly nothing wrong with drinking a light pale ale during the fall and winter months, but after drinking these over the long hot summer, it is nice to try something new. Here are some styles of beers that you might want to start brewing now for the months ahead:

• Pumpkin Ale – Low alcohol ready for Halloween, High alcohol ready for Thanksgiving

• Christmas/Holiday Ales – Big alcohol needs time for aging just in time for Christmas

• Bock or Dopplebock – Great to lager through Fall/Early Winter

• Scotch Ale – One of my favorite cool weather beers. Small versions can be ready fairly soon, while others will need some age

• Bitters and ESB – Great transitional beers from the big hoppy summer beers

• Rauchbier, Browns, Porters, and Stouts are nice this time of year also.

 Time to get the Imperial Oaked Pumpkin Saison started.

 

Reusing your yeast

Have you ever thought about reusing yeast instead of purchasing more every time you brew beer?

It is a great way to save a little money and get a really good pitch rate, so here are a couple of options to get you started:

The easiest way to reuse the yeast is to just pour your new beer onto a yeast cake from a batch you just moved to secondary. This of course requires you to have a beer ready to ferment at the same time you are ready to move a previous beer to secondary. This technique also creates a HUGE pitch rate, which can actually lead to off flavors, or what can be referred to as being “too clean”, meaning there is no esters at all and makes for a strange flavored ale. Use this technique mainly when lagering, where you need a lot of yeast and are trying for a super clean flavor anyway. A popular use is going from a light lager, such as a pilsner, to a big alcohol lager like a bock or double bock.

The second easiest way is to pour or scoop a quart (or so) of your yeast cake from a finished batch into a growler, mason jar, or whatever you can easily sanitize and use for collection. This technique will allow you to put the airlocked container in a refrigerator and use it up to 10 days later without any issues. You can however go longer with this technique, but much like the liquid yeast you get at your home brew supply store, the cell count diminishes over time. You should be able to do a yeast starter within about a 6 month period of packaging, but your changes diminish over time.

Notes:

-- Always move from lighter colored (less hoppy) beers to darker, so your yeast doesn't impart any color (flavor) to the new beer.

--  Only use yeast from primary fermentation any time after fermentation has dropped your O.G in half.

--  Do not use yeast from secondary fermentation because they are fatigued and contain mutations that you don't want to start in another beer.

--  Only reusing your yeast to many times can also lead to a variant strain of yeast, that might be good, but possibly not as good as the original strain, so try and limit your reuses to 6 or less.

White Labs 001, Wyeast 1056, or Safale US-05?

This is a very common question. It seems there are two types of people; those who don't know that these are 3 brands of the same yeast strain, and the others that know, but have either some kind of brand loyalty for one or prejudice against the others. This post is mainly for those who do not know these are the exact same thing.

Yep it is true. All three yeast brands are derived from Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and are, for all purposes, the same yeast. Even John Palmer, author of How to Brew references them as the same:

“American, Californian, or Chico Ale,

A very "clean" tasting yeast, less esters than other types of ale yeast. Good for just about any type of ale. This strain usually derives from that used for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Medium attenuation, medium flocculation. Suggested fermentation temperature is 68°F.”

So is there a benefit to one over the other? Well it depends who you ask. If you ask a home brewer that has been brewing for 20+ years, they will probably tell you to stay away from dry yeast at all costs. If you ask a home brewer that has been brewing for 10+ years they will tell you that White Labs or Wyeast is the only way to go, depending on what they started out on, but if you talk to a new brewer, they will tell you that you should use whatever you would like. But who is right? Well, in my experience, nobody is really wrong.

The truth is if you home brewed 20 years ago, you probably struggled to get a good yeast, and or cultivated it yourself for something that was high quality and had predictable results. Dry yeast didn't have the quality or diversity that it has today.

According to their websites Wyeast started selling yeast almost 10 years before White Labs, but it is my impression, that for whatever reason many home brew supply stores carried White Labs almost exclusively during the late 90s, and I think this led to some brand loyalty from the home brewing community that finally had both a good supply and good variety of quality yeast.

These days most home brew supply stores carry both brands of liquid yeast, plus dry yeast strains, which have come a long way since the early 80s, both in quality and in variety, so how do you know what to pick.

Well, if the same strain is available in all three, let me give you the benefits of all the brands, so you can choose for yourself.

#1. Pitch Rate (how many yeast cells are available in a pack)

- Wyeast 100 billion (at time of packaging)
- White Labs 100 billion (at time of packaging)
- Safale US-05 200 billion (does not degrade over time)

Why you should care. Pitching the correct amount of yeast cells into your beer will help you with a few things. It will give you a good quick and healthy start to your fermentation which helps protect it from infection, helps to provide a thorough fermentation, and limits the amount of fruity esters created in your beer. The recommended pitch rate for a 1.048 starting gravity is 180 billion cells. So, since the cell count of liquid diminishes over time, by the time you get a packet or vial, you are probably around 80-90% of the viability, meaning it is a really good idea to buy two packs, or do a yeast starter. The cell count of dry yeast does not diminish noticeably over time, so you are good to go with one pack.

#2. Price (The amount of money you spend on the same strain of yeast)

- Wyeast $6-8
- White Labs $6-8
- Safale $3-5

Why you should care. Well, money doesn't grow on trees, and dry yeast is roughly half the price for twice the product.

#3. Viability (Is there live and active yeast available to start fermenting beer?)

- Wyeast smack pack (Yeast nutrient in inflatable pack will start live yeast producing CO2, which lets you know there is still viable yeast for pitching, or making a starter)
- White Labs vial (Clear vial lets you see yeast, but exposes yeast to light also. No way to tell if what you see is viable)
- Safale US-05 vacuum sealed package (Light and oxygen barrier pack keeps freeze dried yeast stable and doesn't need to be refrigerated, and will last a long time)

Why you should care. While there are dates printed on each brand, you don't know exactly what kind of conditions the yeast has been exposed to before you got it. Knowing that you have viable yeast can save you a lot of time and heart ache. There are few things worse than pitching your yeast, even in a starter, and having nothing happen.

 

#4. Flavor (This is, after all, why we brew beer in the first place)

I have personally tasted two identical beers brewed at the same time with the same kind of equipment with a similar pitch rate, fermented at the same temperature for the same amount of time, and I have tasted no difference between US-05 and 1056. I have also read countless threads of doubting brewers experiencing the same thing between all three brands. However, don't take my word for it, do a small batch of light beer yourself and see if you can notice a difference. Remember to do a blind taste test, if you are currently prejudice against other brands of yeast.

Why you should care. Because you want to have predictable and consistent results, so you can make your favorite beer again and again.

 

 

So, for my time and money, paying $7 or so for two packs of US-05 for an Imperial IPA vs, doing a two step starter, or paying roughly $35 for 5 packs of liquid, just can't be beat.

Want to save even more money and have the correct pitch rate? Just start saving some of your yeast from the trub of your last batch of beer. Use it over and over again... more on that to come.

Wine Stabilizing

Why and what is Stabilizing?
Different yeast strains have different alcohol tolerances, meaning that at some point there is too much alcohol in their environment that the cells start to die due to alcohol toxicity. Once this point is reached it is unlikely that fermentation will start up again (unless a more alcohol tolerant yeast or bacteria is introduced) however, it is possible for some fermentation to continue unless you stabilize your wine. If you want to assure that no corks start popping out of bottles down the road, or you would like to “back sweeten” your wine, stabilizing is an important step to finishing your wine.

 



What is happening?
Stabilizing consists of two steps; stopping the current fermentation, then preventing further fermentation. This is done with wine additives, starting with a sulfite, usually either sodium or potassium metabisulfite (Campden). This produces sulfur dioxide gas that will kill yeast and bacteria (although a small amount of yeast will go dormant to survive the hostile environment). Use Potassium Sorbate in conjunction with Campden. Sorbate will work better with sulfites present, and the combination works better than sulfites alone. Sorbate will stop the reproductive cycle of yeast, so any cells that may have survived both the alcohol and the sulfur dioxide have no real chance of fermenting anything.

How to do it:
Crush 1 Campden tablet along with ½ teaspoon of Sorbate, per gallon of wine, and stir up into roughly a cup of warm water or your wine. Make sure any clumps are dissolved and then add cup to your batch of wine. Stir in well. You can now sweeten to taste and bottle, or wait a week or two to allow any of the dead and dying yeast to fall out of suspension. This will make for a clearer wine in your bottle.

Back Sweetening:
Sweetening your wine to taste, or “back sweetening / back blending” is the process of adding juice or sugar back into your wine to give it more pronounced flavor, body, sweetness, or all three. Since many wine yeasts will eat enough sugar to “dry” out your beverage, you may want to add back to it. You can only do this if you stabilize first. Table sugar is common, but it is recommended to use whatever you fermented (strawberry juice for strawberry wine, grape juice for grape wine, apple juice for apple wine or cider, honey for mead, etc.) This will be to taste, so it is hard to give an amount. It is whatever YOU think tastes good. Just add a little bit to your stabilized batch of wine, taste, and repeat till you get it right. White grape juice or apple juice can be used as an all purpose sweetener and is recommended in most cases over table sugar.

Carbonating stabilized wine:
Because active, live yeast is necessary to bottle condition (carbonate naturally), once you have stabilized your wine, cider, or mead you can no longer carbonate unless you keg and force carbonate with CO2.

Next, how dry/sweet do you want it? 
The commonly accepted final gravities for each level of dry/sweetness are:
Dry:   0.990 – 1.006
Medium: 1.006 – 1.015
Sweet:  1.012 – 1.020