Yeast

[brahn]

I just finished reading Yeast - The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White. I found it very interesting although the structure made it hard to follow sometimes. I think a lot of homebrewers put too much emphasis on brewday and not nearly enough on the fermentation process. This book has a ton of information about fermentation and about getting yeast ready to ferment a batch of beer. I think it gets muddled in some places because it really has two audiences: home brewers and small commercial brewers. In quite a few places I found myself saying something like "this is interesting, but I don't really think this applies to me" only to find that at the end of the section there was another section about doing the same thing on a homebrew scale.

There's a really cool chapter (don't be fooled, it's nearly 90 pages!) on creating your own yeast lab. It's really piqued my interest in this, however I'm not exactly sure what the best starting point would be. I'm debating between testing for infections and being able to isolate and store yeast strains. Either way, I'm excited to try making plates and plating various cultures.

There's also a great reference section on troubleshooting, which could really help with isolating the cause of an off-flavor.

While it's not perfect by any means, I think this would be a great book for any home brewer to have on their bookshelf. With the holidays coming up, this would be a great thing to put on your wish list.

[DrDually]

Perhaps Eric will put this book and many others in the store

[jward]

I have been reading the Yeast book too. Did you catch the stirplate photo? Did it look familiar?

[backyard brewer]

I need to get a copy of that book. I've heard my plate is in there, bit haven't seen it. I'd like to read it as well. A little love woulda been nice.

John I have quite a few screw cap test tubes I bought for slants but never really used. You're welcome to them.

[BrewMasterBrad]

I bought a signed copy of the book back in when it first came out, but I have only read the introduction so far. I keep meaning to get to it, but I just can't find the time.

[DrDually]

I need to get a copy of that book. I've heard my plate is in there, bit haven't seen it. I'd like to read it as well. A little love woulda been nice.

John I have quite a few screw cap test tubes I bought for slants but never really used. You're welcome to them.

Derrin
I just bought a copy...when done reading it, would you like to borrow?

[jward]

Hey Derrin, will you sign the photo of the stir plate in my book?

That section of the book cautions that one of the stirplates can add 5F to the temp. Does your design do that?