Our Favourite Wild Yeast

Finding and sampling your own yeasts can be a challenge, especially when you don’t know what you’re looking for. How do we know what will yield and what won’t and if we collect a sample how can we know if we’re wasting our time or not. All of these are crucial questions to ask ourselves when participating in the Wild Yeast Zoo Project, but for now, we’ve done the research and compiled some of our favourite wild yeast’s that have already been used in practice.

Brettanomyces

Brettanomyces is often referred to as “Brett” and is one of the most found forms of yeast, and it is widely used by brewers and winemakers due to its versatile sensory compounds. Brett is mostly used by winemakers, who tap into its compounds to make a vast variety of different flavours and experiences. Brett is often unwelcomed in beer brewing, except for a few styles that look to harness its unique flavour profiles to create some wild and whacky flavours.

Saccharomyces pastoranius (Lager Yeast)

This yeast is extremely common in the brewing of lager-type beers, named after Louis Pasteur, this yeast appears to be a hybrid between two species of saccharomyces yeast. This yeast is particularly interesting due to its constant evolution and development as a tool for brewing. As recently as 2015, a different strain of saccharomyces was developed by hybridising yeasts and yielding properties from both strains including cold tolerance, higher alcohol yield and faster fermentation. This yeast is being constantly researched and developed in new ways, that make it a truly fascinating one to behold.

Pichia Kluyveri

Pichia is one of the less commonly used yeasts when it comes to brewing, but its particularly interesting due to its ability to create alcohol-free beers with rich flavours. Pichia yields beers with a very low alcohol level and is uniquely poised to quickly ferment glucose. Pichia is mostly used for genetic analysis and genetic crossing, as well as creating proteins, which makes it particularly useful in the production of cheese. Pichia is a useful and interesting wild yeast, and is multi-faceted in the ways that it can be used, from brewing to lactose and everything in between, Pichia is somewhat of a jack of all trades.

So, there we have it, these are some of the wild yeasts that are commonly used in industrial practice, and each of them has its own interesting story to tell. Will you find these in the wild? Or will you be one of the lucky ones to find something completely brand new? Only one way to find out!