Its That Time of Year Again.......

[Consiglieri]

Low and slow has quite different meaning w/ fermentation, huh?  Probably ought to be talking about how smoking day is complimented by brewing day (making the new, sampling the old).  Pilsner, porter and prime rib this weekend!

[Habanero Smoker]

HS:  I'm wondering if restricted amount of yeast, combined with cellar temperatures didn't inhibit fermentation.  I'm pretty sure my recipe called for baker's yeast, rather than brewer's yeast, which might explain the shelf life.  Otherwise, as Manxman can attest, the little yeasty plant or animals just keep on eating the sugar and producing CO2 along the way until the bottles break.  Little risk of the rootbeer turning hard since the bottle will break before fermentation is complete

With beer, an ale yeast can convert 5 gallons of wort to beer in 5 to 10 days at 70ish F.  Drop the temperature down to 50F and fermentation slows dramitically.  A lager yeast, however, will still ferment at the cooler temperatures. 

Interesting.

I couldn't tell you what type of yeast was used. I only remember that back in those days it was pressed together in a  solid cake, and wrapped in foil.