Adnams yeast

[Trefoyl]

It's too bad there aren't two single strain commercial yeasts we could mix for interesting results ... or are there?

[seymour]

Of course there are, I do all the time: Nottingham + Dupont Saison, Windsor + Whitbread-B, Chico + Wine yeast for high grav, W34/70 + Wheat strain, Duvel + sour blend, etc. But the point is, Adnams has got this dual strain fermentation thing down perfectly, and their beer tastes amazing in large part because of the yeast, so I wanna play around with the real deal.

[Dave S]

I couldn't justify getting two but who doesn't like a nice pair of jugs!

Orlando, I'd say the Adnams jugs are almost as nice as those to which your double entendre alludes - but not quite

[jmc]

I'm gutted.

I did a brew today and all went well until I went to add the Adams yeast.

I'd stepped up the half I kept (after sending other to Seymour)
I did the normal taste the starter wort before adding and its gone sour

Hopefully yours is OK Seymour but I'd test it out before adding it direct to a brew.

I suppose it could have been worse if I'd added it to my brew but still ....... ahhhhh!

[orlando]

I'm gutted.

I did a brew today and all went well until I went to add the Adams yeast.

I'd stepped up the half I kept (after sending other to Seymour)
I did the normal taste the starter wort before adding and its gone sour

Hopefully yours is OK Seymour but I'd test it out before adding it direct to a brew.

I suppose it could have been worse if I'd added it to my brew but still ....... ahhhhh!

Wow that is a blow and Seymour has to be panicking a little too. Can you remember what you might have done or not done to pinpoint the problem?

If Seymour knows about acid washing yeast he might possibly save it.

[Trefoyl]

If Seymour knows about acid washing yeast he might possibly save it.

I enjoy reading Seymour's posts, I hope he can save it

[jmc]

I'm gutted.

I did a brew today and all went well until I went to add the Adams yeast.

I'd stepped up the half I kept (after sending other to Seymour)
I did the normal taste the starter wort before adding and its gone sour

Hopefully yours is OK Seymour but I'd test it out before adding it direct to a brew.

I suppose it could have been worse if I'd added it to my brew but still ....... ahhhhh!

Wow that is a blow and Seymour has to be panicking a little too. Can you remember what you might have done or not done to pinpoint the problem?

If Seymour knows about acid washing yeast he might possibly save it.

I can't think of anything out of the ordinary I did. 1st and 2nd sets of wort were both boiled for 20 mins in flask with aluminium foil lids prior to yeast addition. I left 1st step completer for a couple of days prior to stepping up. My guess is some acetobacter came in with air as mini cask was emptied
And eventually flourished when temps a bit warmer in flask and some O2 available. Just a guess though. 2nd step didn't look right nor clear in 4 days like 1st.

Maybe acid washing will help Seymour. Good suggestion.

Yesterdays brew going well with Fullers yeast but I'm still annoyed at lost opportunity. Ho hum.

[seymour]

...I did the normal taste the starter wort before adding and its gone sour. Hopefully yours is OK Seymour but I'd test it out before adding it direct to a brew...

Wow that is a blow and Seymour has to be panicking a little too...If Seymour knows about acid washing yeast he might possibly save it.

No panic yet, still hopeful. In any case, it was a highly noble effort on jmc's behalf. Thank you again. I have a good conceptual understanding of acid washing from reading the White/Zainasheff Yeast book, but I haven't done it personally. I know guys at several local breweries with their own yeast labs, so maybe they can help if my half turns out infected too.

I have a theory: perhaps Adnams partnered with Monsanto to genetically engineer their yeast to self-destruct upon attempted regeneration. Just kidding, hopefully it'll all be fine.

[Rusticus]

My son spent Christmas in a rented holiday cottage with his in-laws who took a mini keg of an Adnams beer to share.

They are not big drinkers, so the beer came home with him and was undrinkable fairly quickly. So, I decided to try and keep the yeast until the next brewday which was last week.

The dregs were put into a sanitised Kilner jar and rinsed with cooled boiled water several times. I took a teaspoon of the yeast from the bottom of the jar and added it to the first runnings from the mash tun after boiling for about 15 minutes. After about 48 hours a krausen had formed, which dropped after a few days leaving the "beer" fairly clear. The yeast on the bottom of the "fv" looked quite normal and I felt pretty optimistic.

The smell was quite strong and the taste sweet vinegar, would've gone well on fish and chips. I've seen pictures on here of acetobacter infections, and at no time did it look like that.

Disappointed and will not be using the rest for my next brew, I know it was a long time to try and keep it but does anyone have success with the yeast?

Incidentally, my son's wife used to work next to Adnam's brewery and when they got married she was given a horseshoe from the brewery for good luck on the day.

[Hogarth]

Rusticus, I think the long gap between the keg being opened and you using the yeast might have been the problem.

I successfully revived some Adnams yeast from a keg last autumn. The procedure was:

Drank keg, keeping the top vent covered with a paper towel soaked in sanitizer, and spraying the tap with sanitizer after each use.

With just a bit of beer left, I shook it up, and poured out through tap (I think) into a conical flask sterilized in a pressure cooker.

I let the yeast settle out, and decanted the beer.

I stepped up the yeast on a stir plate in 600ml and then 2.3litres of wort.

This gave me more than I needed for a single brew, and I made a very nice beer out of it.

[jmc]

Rusticus, I think the long gap between the keg being opened and you using the yeast might have been the problem.

I successfully revived some Adnams yeast from a keg last autumn. The procedure was:

Drank keg, keeping the top vent covered with a paper towel soaked in sanitizer, and spraying the tap with sanitizer after each use.

With just a bit of beer left, I shook it up, and poured out through tap (I think) into a conical flask sterilized in a pressure cooker.

I let the yeast settle out, and decanted the beer.

I stepped up the yeast on a stir plate in 600ml and then 2.3litres of wort.

This gave me more than I needed for a single brew, and I made a very nice beer out of it.

Glad to see its possible. If I do this again I'll buy a mini-cask myself and keep it sanitised while its being emptied. (Something I couldn't do this time)

[Rusticus]

Hogarth:
Thanks for the info. I'm sure you're right about the long delay. My sanitation wan not quite as rigorous as yours and my method simpler.

Now I know that it's possible I will try again when I get the opportunity. Southwold is a long way from West Yorkshire!

[Hogarth]

Hogarth:
Thanks for the info. I'm sure you're right about the long delay. My sanitation wan not quite as rigorous as yours and my method simpler.

Now I know that it's possible I will try again when I get the opportunity. Southwold is a long way from West Yorkshire!

They do mail order at a reasonable price, but you have to buy two at a time.

[orlando]

I couldn't justify getting two but who doesn't like a nice pair of jugs!

Orlando, I'd say the Adnams jugs are almost as nice as those to which your double entendre alludes - but not quite

Pretty eh?

[Dave S]

It is indeed. Might have to consider one of those for the long hot summer afternoons in the garden to come - yeah, right!