Sam Cecil Talks About The Beam Family.

[p_elliott]

By 1929, although it was at the old Stitzel plant, Pappy had control by then and would have sent his guys, in this case Joe and Roy.

If you look at the picture on page 42, that's Roy Beam on the left. Don't know who the man on the right is, but he doesn't look like a Beam. Perhaps a Stitzel.

For anyone who is interested in this subject, this conversation inspired me to make a blog post that is a bit more detailed. It's funny, actually. I thought I would make a nice, short blog post out of the post above, but it got a bit out of control.

Very nice blog Chuck I find how they did the yeast very intriguing.

[fussychicken]

Great post Chuck. Many thanks for sharing the information with us. It is pretty amazing to think how many of today's bourbons have some sort of Beam yeast in it. And yes, while I know it isn't all the same, it sure sounds like there is at least some sort of similarity between them all.

As you mention in your blog post, it seems like the sctoch guys have even less variation. I wonder why this is. In the beer world, yeast is a HUGE part of the "formula." While 4 Roses talks about their 5 different strains, it doesn't seem like many bourbon producers experiment with this much. Maybe an area for innovation?

Speaking of 4 Roses, your post mentions that the Beams were involved there as well. Do you know if their current 5 yeast strains are mutations of the original Beam yeast? Or maybe this was something they developed during the Seagram's years?

[p_elliott]

Great post Chuck. Many thanks for sharing the information with us. It is pretty amazing to think how many of today's bourbons have some sort of Beam yeast in it. And yes, while I know it isn't all the same, it sure sounds like there is at least some sort of similarity between them all.

As you mention in your blog post, it seems like the sctoch guys have even less variation. I wonder why this is. In the beer world, yeast is a HUGE part of the "formula." While 4 Roses talks about their 5 different strains, it doesn't seem like many bourbon producers experiment with this much. Maybe an area for innovation?

Speaking of 4 Roses, your post mentions that the Beams were involved there as well. Do you know if their current 5 yeast strains are mutations of the original Beam yeast? Or maybe this was something they developed during the Seagram's years?

I think I can answer that the 5 yeast strains that four roses uses are left over from the Seagram years. I believe if I'm not mistaken Four Roses has many more strains of yeast in their lab.

[cowdery]

Four Roses has something like 300 proprietary yeasts. I'm sure Beams were involved with some, but not all, of them.

[camduncan]

Thanks for the great blog and post here Chuck - very interesting, and very informative! A question though.... how do you propogate yeast from a wild source?

[cowdery]

Yeast is everywhere. Old time distillers all had their own recipe for a yeast mash that they believed would capture the right kind of yeast. They would mix it up in a bucket and set it outside or, as in Jim Beam's case, inside a screened porch. Some would choose a particular spot, under an apple tree, for example. Then they waited. When a yeast took hold it would begin to ferment. If the fermentation looked right (seemed robust enough) and smelled right, a portion of it would be transferred to a fresh bucket of yeast mash. If it continued, then it would be used to make a batch of whiskey. Think of it as sourdough starter. The principle is the same. "Jug yeast" is preserved in this way, transferring it to a fresh medium before the fermentation completes.

[HighInTheMtns]

Thanks for the great blog and post here Chuck - very interesting, and very informative! A question though.... how do you propogate yeast from a wild source?

Reading this thread got me interested in this question also and I did some reading last night. There are pages and pages of conversation on homebrewing forums about attempts (many failed, some successful) to homebrew using wild yeast. Most of these yeasts aren't capable of producing high-alcohol beer and the people using them are using light, low-gravity mashes. They describe a lot of flavors in their beers that seem like they'd work well in whiskey. Really intriguing, especially in the context of Jim Beam being able to capture a yeast that was so good that it's gone on to such an illustrious history.