Pacman yeast

[MNHazmat]

If you like pacman, try the San Diego Super from White Labs. From what i understand they are quite similar.

[Ozwald]

I was living in Cambridge last year, and I tried building up a Pacman yeast starter from the bottom of Dead Guy Ale bottles that I found at the Beer Warehouse in King's Lynn, and it didn't work for me. A friend of mine had a yeast lab with a microscope, and he looked at the yeast from the bottom of the bottle and found no movement. I'm not saying don't try, but I didn't have any luck.

Hmmm .... yeast don't swim, they more ride the currents. Motility is not an indicator of viability for yeast and most bacteria. Vital staining (new methylene blue) will help judge viability, as will adding wort to the dregs and then identifying budding under the microscope.

+1. That was my first thought as well.

As for growing it up, be very gentle with it. I'd start with a very small starter (100-200mL, perhaps less depending on what you're able to collect) around 1.015-1.020 & do very small steps until I got a decent colony going. Also, I'd make sure every step finished out completely. Yeast nutrient would almost be necessary. I've done it successfully with several different beers from that side of the pond. As long as there's yeast in there, you'll be able to get it with a bit of patience.

[BeaverBarber]

I was living in Cambridge last year, and I tried building up a Pacman yeast starter from the bottom of Dead Guy Ale bottles that I found at the Beer Warehouse in King's Lynn, and it didn't work for me. A friend of mine had a yeast lab with a microscope, and he looked at the yeast from the bottom of the bottle and found no movement. I'm not saying don't try, but I didn't have any luck.

Hmmm .... yeast don't swim, they more ride the currents. Motility is not an indicator of viability for yeast and most bacteria. Vital staining (new methylene blue) will help judge viability, as will adding wort to the dregs and then identifying budding under the microscope.

+1. That was my first thought as well.

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Did I just step into an episode of Big Bang Theory? Just kidding. It definitely sounds plausible. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Brew Strong.

[Ozwald]

Did I just step into an episode of Big Bang Theory? Just kidding. It definitely sounds plausible. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Brew Strong.

Love that show. And definitely not plausible, factual. I stare at yeast under a scope almost daily.

[BeaverBarber]

Did I just step into an episode of Big Bang Theory? Just kidding. It definitely sounds plausible. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Brew Strong.

Love that show. And definitely not plausible, factual. I stare at yeast under a scope almost daily.

No kidding. What do you learn when you look through the microscope? Can you actually learn about yeast counts or yeast health? I'd like to start a little home lab, but once I had the microscope, I'm not sure what I'd learn by looking through the microscope.

[spiderwrangler]

Staining, counting, and looking at shape and size can all give you information about the quantity and quality of your yeast... Movement of yeast is usually due to movement of the liquid they are in.

[BeaverBarber]

Staining, counting, and looking at shape and size can all give you information about the quantity and quality of your yeast... Movement of yeast is usually due to movement of the liquid they are in.

Cool. Thanks.

[Ozwald]

Staining, counting, and looking at shape and size can all give you information about the quantity and quality of your yeast... Movement of yeast is usually due to movement of the liquid they are in.

Every once in a while 1 farts & goes rocketing off the slide, but otherwise...