Graham Wheeler - Yeast

[MonsieurBadgerCheese]

Good Evening,

I have been reading, with great interest, Mr Graham Wheeler's book 'Brew Your Own British Real Ale'. I know that it is a very well respected reference and am looking forward to trying many of the recipes.

Have I missed something, or does the author not specify a particular yeast strain for each/any of the recipes?

Having read (more than once) the 'yeast' chapter, I see that he makes reference to Safale-S04 as well as Danstar Windsor.

Am I right in thinking that he recommends the use of either of these yeasts for any/all of the recipes in the book?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Regards,

MBC

[Jim]

When Graham wrote his book the home brew supply industry was still in its infancy, so a wide range of yeast strains wouldn't have been available to his readers. I would guess you were just meant to use whatever yeast you could get your hands on.

He was doing a rewrite of the book, but it wasn't finished when he sadly passed away last year, and I don't know if it will ever come out now.

[MonsieurBadgerCheese]

Thank you for the reply, and sorry to hear of Mr Wheeler's passing.

I will experiment with yeast and am sure that many of the recipes in 'Brew Your Own British Real Ale' will be enjoyed in the future.

MBC.

[Sadfield]

When Graham wrote his book the home brew supply industry was still in its infancy, so a wide range of yeast strains wouldn't have been available to his readers. I would guess you were just meant to use whatever yeast you could get your hands on.

He was doing a rewrite of the book, but it wasn't finished when he sadly passed away last year, and I don't know if it will ever come out now.

You'll be pleased to know the revised book has just gone to print and is available to order on the CAMRA website. The book is co-authored by Graham Wheeler and Andy Parker, one time winner of the national homebrew competition and owner and brewer at Elusive Brewery, Finchampstead (and all-round nice guy).

The new version contains a load of recipes provided by breweries (listed below).

[Jim]

When Graham wrote his book the home brew supply industry was still in its infancy, so a wide range of yeast strains wouldn't have been available to his readers. I would guess you were just meant to use whatever yeast you could get your hands on.

He was doing a rewrite of the book, but it wasn't finished when he sadly passed away last year, and I don't know if it will ever come out now.

You'll be pleased to know the revised book has just gone to print and is available to order on the CAMRA website. The book is co-authored by Graham Wheeler and Andy Parker, one time winner of the national homebrew competition and owner and brewer at Elusive Brewery, Finchampstead.

The new version contains a load of recipes provided by breweries.

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That's excellent news.

[Kev888]

It will be very interesting to see how much of this is actually based on the significant revisions Graham was writing. I wasn't aware that he had handed over very much before passing away, and see that he is not the first author; I wonder if it is largely other people's revision of his previously published book, or even something completely different?

[Sadfield]

It will be very interesting to see how much of this is actually based on the significant revisions Graham was writing. I wasn't aware that he had handed over very much before passing away, and see that he is not the first author; I wonder if it is largely other people's revision of his previously published book, or even something completely different?

I've just gone back through Andy Parkers twitter feed for the info. This tweet was from early in the year, so not sure if any of Graham Wheelers new work had been provided in the interim.

"I was given the text of his old book to work from as a base. The recipes will all be different plus there's some new content with other areas being brought up to date with modern practices (e.g. dry-hopping is only explained in the context of adding hops to casks)."

I think it should work quite well having a fresh perspective on the old text. Whilst the base process side of the original is excellent, probably the best, the book doesn't really inspire creativity in brewing or exploring of ingredients and techniques.



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[Kev888]

Yes, so the old book was used as the base, but it seems to have been rather independently revised. I can't see any suggestion that GW's (quite extensive) new work went into it, or even that he had much input to the revision at all; what a sad loss.

[Sadfield]

Yes, so the old book was used as the base, but it seems to have been rather independently revised. I can't see any suggestion that GW's (quite extensive) new work went into it, or even that he had much input to the revision at all; what a sad loss.

As a posthumous project there's going to be limitations on involvement.

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[Kev888]

It wasn't posthumous; GW put a huge amount of work into an extensive revision. That may mean nothing to some, but I find it sad that this appears to have all been lost at the last hurdle.

Whatever this alternative release is, and however good it is or isn't, it surely can't be considered 'his' revision or next book. At best, it is CAMRA's attempt at a continuation.

[Sadfield]

Yes, sad. One would guess GW's new work was never submitted, as it would be a simple task for an editor to merge the old and new work, then publish as a new book.

The alternative is a reworking of the old book, which would have been a posthumous project. I'm not sure anyone is claiming it is 'his' revision.

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[Aleman]

Graham would have had NO confidence in CAMRAs ability to edit any of his work. He used to be extensively scathing about the amendments the editors at CAMRA made to his books.

[Sadfield]

So, it's was always going to be down to GW himself whether or not his work saw the light of day. Sadly, fate intervened.

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[guypettigrew]

You'll be pleased to know the revised book has just gone to print and is available to order on the CAMRA website. The book is co-authored by Graham Wheeler and Andy Parker, one time winner of the national homebrew competition and owner and brewer at Elusive Brewery, Finchampstead (and all-round nice guy).

Any chance of a link, please? I can't find it on the CAMRA site.

Thanks.

Guy

[Sadfield]

You'll be pleased to know the revised book has just gone to print and is available to order on the CAMRA website. The book is co-authored by Graham Wheeler and Andy Parker, one time winner of the national homebrew competition and owner and brewer at Elusive Brewery, Finchampstead (and all-round nice guy).

Any chance of a link, please? I can't find it on the CAMRA site.

Thanks.

Guy

https://shop.camra.org.uk/books/essenti ... ewing.html

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