Yeast
Comprehensive guide to managing yeast in Brewgenix.
Yeast strains are a core part of your brewery's ingredient library. Brewgenix lets you maintain a catalogue of yeast strains - dry packets, liquid vials, cultured house strains, and slurries - with fermentation characteristics that feed directly into recipe attenuation, ABV, and final gravity predictions.
Quick Start
- Open Yeasts from the Inventory menu.
- Click + Add Yeast to open the create form.
- Enter at minimum a Name and Type.
- Add fermentation specs (attenuation, flocculation, temperature range) for accurate recipe predictions.
- Click Save - the strain is now available across your recipes.
UI at a Glance
- The main list shows each strain with its type, form, laboratory, flocculation, and attenuation range.
- Use the search box to filter by name and the Filters panel to narrow by Type, Form, Flocculation, and whether the strain attenuates complex sugars.
- The detail view shows Quick Stats and Characteristics including all fermentation parameters.
- Global yeasts are read-only reference strains maintained by Brewgenix - they can be used in recipes but cannot be edited. Only system administrators can modify global entries.
- Custom yeasts belong to your brewery account and can be edited or deleted at any time.
Filters
The filter panel lets you narrow the yeast list by:
| Filter | Options |
|---|---|
| Type | Ale, Lager, Hybrid, Wheat, Wine, Champagne, Other |
| Form | Dry, Liquid, Culture, Slurry |
| Flocculation | Low, Medium-Low, Medium, Medium-High, High, Very High |
| Attenuates Complex Sugars | Toggle to show only strains that can ferment complex sugar molecules (e.g., dextrins, starch-derived sugars) |
Field Reference
Basic Information
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Strain name or commercial product name. Example: SafAle US-05, WY1056 American Ale. |
| Laboratory | No | Manufacturer or supplier. Example: Fermentis, Wyeast, White Labs, The Yeast Bay. |
| Product ID | No | The lab's own identifier for the strain. Example: US-05, WLP001. Useful when searching supplier catalogues. |
| Type | Yes | Fermentation style of the strain. See Types below. |
| Form | Yes | Physical presentation of the yeast. See Forms below. |
| Unit | No | The unit used to measure pitching quantities. Options: g (grams), ml (millilitres), pkg (packet), billion cells, oz (ounces). |
| Flocculation | No | How strongly the yeast clumps and settles out of suspension after fermentation. See Flocculation below. |
| Description | No | Free-text notes on flavour contribution, beer styles, behaviour, and any known characteristics of the strain. |
Types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Ale | Top-fermenting strains that work at warmer temperatures (typically 15–24 °C). Cover most English, American, Belgian, and similar styles. |
| Lager | Bottom-fermenting strains that work at cooler temperatures (typically 7–14 °C). Used for pilsners, bocks, märzens, and other lager styles. |
| Hybrid | Strains with characteristics of both ale and lager yeasts. Includes Kölsch, California Common, and similar. |
| Wheat | Hefeweizen and other wheat beer strains. Often produce distinctive esters (isoamyl acetate - banana) and phenols (4-vinyl guaiacol - clove). |
| Wine | Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains bred for wine fermentation. Occasionally used in high-gravity or fruit beers. |
| Champagne | Highly attenuative strains used for sparkling wines and to dry out strong beers. Very low residual sweetness. |
| Other | Any strain that doesn't fit the above categories, including Brett, Lacto, Pedio, and wild cultures. |
Forms
| Form | Description |
|---|---|
| Dry | Dehydrated active dried yeast (ADY). Long shelf life, no starter required for most beers, pitched directly. |
| Liquid | Fresh liquid yeast slurry in a smack-pack, vial, or pouch. Wider strain selection, shorter shelf life, often benefits from a starter for larger batches. |
| Culture | A propagated or house culture, often maintained in-house or sourced from a specialist lab. |
| Slurry | Harvested yeast slurry from a previous fermentation. Requires careful viability assessment before repitching. |
Fermentation Characteristics
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Attenuates Complex Sugars | Toggle indicating whether this strain can ferment complex sugar molecules (e.g., some dextrins and limit dextrins). Super-attenuating strains like certain Belgian or dry-hopping-culture strains will have this enabled. |
| Min Attenuation (%) | The lower end of the expected apparent attenuation range. Used to calculate the highest likely final gravity (FG) and lowest ABV. |
| Max Attenuation (%) | The upper end of the expected apparent attenuation range. Used to calculate the lowest likely final gravity and highest ABV. |
| Max ABV (%) | The maximum alcohol by volume the strain can tolerate before fermentation stalls. Important for high-gravity recipes. |
Attenuation and FG - Brewgenix uses the attenuation range together with the recipe's original gravity to predict a final gravity range and estimated ABV. Keeping Min and Max Attenuation accurate gives you reliable pre-brew estimates.
Temperature Range
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Min Temperature (°C) | The lowest temperature at which this strain ferments reliably without stalling, producing off-flavours from stress, or flocculating prematurely. |
| Max Temperature (°C) | The highest temperature the strain tolerates before producing excessive esters, fusel alcohols, or other fermentation by-products. |
Flocculation
Flocculation describes how readily a yeast strain clumps and drops out of suspension once fermentation is complete.
| Level | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Low | Stays in suspension long after fermentation ends. Hazy beers, often requires fining or filtration for clarity. |
| Medium-Low | Settles slowly. Common in many Belgian and wheat strains. |
| Medium | Moderate settling. Balanced clarity without aggressive fining. |
| Medium-High | Settles well under normal conditions. |
| High | Clears quickly and reliably. Compact yeast cake. Common in English ale strains. |
| Very High | Extremely compact cake, may stall early if over-flocculated. Often needs rousing during fermentation. |
Notes
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Brewing Notes | Personal observations for this strain - fermentation behaviour, repitching history, preferred pitching rates, pairing recommendations, or batch-specific experiences. |
Recipe Integration
When a yeast strain is assigned to a recipe, Brewgenix uses its parameters to:
- Predict final gravity (FG) from the OG and the attenuation range (Min and Max Attenuation).
- Estimate ABV from the OG/FG difference.
- Flag alcohol tolerance warnings when the recipe's estimated ABV approaches or exceeds Max ABV.
- Show temperature guidance in the recipe summary so brewers can plan fermentation chamber settings.
Tips & Best Practices
- Enter both Min Attenuation and Max Attenuation rather than a single average - the resulting FG range helps set realistic expectations before brew day.
- Keep Max ABV set accurately for strains you use in high-gravity beers; recipes that push past the strain's tolerance will be flagged.
- Use Product ID consistently so you can quickly cross-reference Brewgenix entries with supplier datasheets or Brewfather imports.
- For harvested Slurry entries, add the harvest date and generation count in the Notes field so you can track viability over time.
- Strains with Very High flocculation may need rousing during fermentation to prevent premature stalling - note this behaviour in the description.