Flying Dutchman yeast laboratory

Hi everyone.

After having gotten into home brewing and studied all I could study about brewing and yeast propagation I noticed that here in Ecuador there is a very meager selection of yeast available. The only kind of yeast currently available here is dry yeast in about 15 varieties.

This made me think of the possibilities of opening and running a yeast laboratory to meet the demand of high quality, high variety, liquid yeast.
After talking with a bunch of friends and brewers it became clear that if someone were to open a yeast laboratory, that person would get a lot of business. So I thought to myself, I have had a pretty extensive education in science and biology, all the necessary lab techniques are already second nature to me anyway... why not open a lab myself to meet the needs of the Ecuadorian brewers and home brewers?

So I set out to compile a list of all the needed equipment and find the most economic sources for all of it. The list of equipment and suppliers is now finished and am starting to build relations with a number of brewers and home brew shops to build a first group of customers.

I have also talked with a few yeast companies in the states about getting yeast strains from them in a form that will survive the rigors of shipping and found 1 company very willing to help out. Also I am still looking for any and all private yeast bank managers that want to share yeast in order to be able to quickly build up a good selection of yeast strains the moment the equipment arrives.

Anyone on here that maintains a yeast bank, I would love to have a chat with to see how we could benefit each other.

Currently I am faced with the next big challenge, finding out all the laws and norms concerning the cultivation of yeast and finding investors interested in investing in the yeast lab to cover the $14k bill for all the equipment.
It seems like I will be the first to open a laboratory of this kind in Ecuador, making it pretty difficult to track down any laws and regulations. So far I haven't found a single bit of information on the subject... even in the database of the INEN norms, which are norms and regulations for almost every single industry in the country, there are only norms&regulations for cases where the yeast is a contaminant of other products. No INEN norms for the cultivation of yeast. So that is going to be a nice challenge to find out the laws and norms so that I can make the lab compliant to the letter of the law. If there is anyone here from Ecuador that can help me shine a light on this subject, please send me a PM.

I will post updates here as this whole adventure enfolds.

If anyone that reads this has a yeast bank and would like to share their yeast in exchange for strains they might not have or to simply have me serve as a back-up for their collection, please do not hesitate to send me a PM.

Flying_Dutchman

 

good idea I am talking right now with a investor, if that falls through I will definitely start a kickstarter. I am offering any investors to double their investment within 2 years. Could also offer discounts on yeast or glassware with a couple of bottles of limited edition brews as an extra bonus. (will have to make brews anyway to assure that the yeasts will do what they are supposed to do. )

 

grrrrr, nevermind... To launch a kickstarter project, you must be within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. I am in Ecuador so I can forget about using kickstarter

 

My dream is coming closer to fruition every day. Just want to take a moment here to thank those that are helping my dream become a reality. (you know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.)

Flying_Dutchman

 

I might have a local investor willing to invest the entire bill and if that one falls through, I will still have a guaranteed investor that is a member of beeradvocate in Indiana that has graciously offered to pick up the tab possibly this month and else guaranteed in july next year. Now I only have to find out what the laws and regulations are and I am set to go asap.

anyone here that has a yeast bank, please contact me so we can figure out how we can benefit each other.

Flying_Dutchman.