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The idea of cultivating yeast for brewing is critical. Before people had any concept of microbiology or yeast, they were still able to maintain a quality yeast
by jly 9y ago
The idea of cultivating yeast for brewing is critical. Before people had any concept of microbiology or yeast, they were still able to maintain a quality yeast strain. The same material was used for successive beers, and excess yeast would accumulate on the brewing medium, which could be a fabric used in the brewing vessel, or a stick used to stir the mash. It was quickly learned that re-using these objects led to better beers that started faster, and these objects may have been passed down for generations.
- peterwwillis 9y agoA good example of having the right yeast is sourdough bread from San Francisco. Boudin Bakery was founded in San Francisco, and used a french baking process with fermented dough. All of their bread has continued to be made with the same starter dough and yeast from 1849. It even survived the great SF earthquake and fires of 1906, as Louise Boudin threw some starter dough in a bucket and got the hell out of town. The particular yeast and lactobacilli they use interacts with the environment of the SF bay and produces a bread unique to that starter and that area. Making beer is a bit like baking bread in this way, but has more complex steps to achieve different results, so controlling the brewing environment is necessary for consistent results.