So I always hear and read about how a beer fermented with champagne yeast will be terrible...it wont ferment enough or it will ferment too dry. But I cant find anyone who has actually tried to ferment a batch from start with champagne yeast, only people who add it at the end of fermentation of a ale yeast or for bottling. Everyone just repeats what they have heard. So tomorrow I think I am going to do a simple 1 gallon batch: -1 pound Muntons Amber DME (boiled 10mins) -1oz maltodextrin powder -.50 oz cascade hops boiled 20 minutes EC118 Champagne Yeast Probably will be fermented low 60s. I will post how it turns out. I think it should be: 1.045 OG 1.007 FG (According to software) - Any actual guesses? 35 IBU 7 SRM 4.98 ABV if we hit 1.007
My guess... about 1.020-1.025. Champagne yeast doesn't eat maltotriose. And it's not good at eating maltose. Assuming it eats about half the maltose in your wort (maybe an ambitious goal), you're looking at a lot of residual sugars/dextrins between half the maltose, all of the maltotriose, and all the higher dextrins (that ale yeast strains also don't eat) in the wort. .
So you recommend not adding the ounce of the maltodextrine? And maybe 3oz of cane sugar? 3x5=15oz (about a pound if it were a 5g batch)
Basically, he's recommending you not use champagne yeast, because it isn't suited to fermenting the sugars present in DME.
Probably going off what is proven with champagne yeast.. Generally people avoid doing things for a reason, it's because others have done it and it doesn't work better than an alternative. Feel free to experiment though. Thats the spirit of homebrewing and craft beer. I would drop the maltodextrin though. You are already using a loaded extract that won't get dry anyways.
Poke around the internet and you'll find people who have tried and failed. I suspect you'll also find scientific studies without looking too hard. It's not just a matter of opinion that Champagne yeasts can't eat Maltotriose. They don't have the genes to produce the enzyme to break it down. I'm as confident in saying that your beer will not be fully attenuated as I would be to say that pitching marbles will not attenuate your wort. No, I haven't tried to make beer with champagne yeast. Why would I?
