Handle Yeast at Home Like a Pro

Working in the cellar at Founders Brewing Company often finds me shoulder to shoulder with the Yeast Tech department. Their department, as you may have guessed, is entirely responsible for the care, maintenance, and practical application of any and all yeast used in the brewery. For emphasis, a beer is not released for consumption without their labor-intensive checks and balances that ensure the quality of a vitally important ingredient in the beer-making process. To make beer at home like a professional means we should emulate the practices of a professional. How can we do that? Or, how can we do that without the high-tech equipment and completely sterile work environment of a large scale brewery? To form a kind of answer to that question, I spoke with Jim Knight, Lead Yeast Tech at Founders, about his advice for home brewers.

“Clean, Clean, Clean,” were the first words out of his mouth when I broached the subject. In a past article, I talked about the importance of cleanliness and sa

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