When do Yeast grow and multiply?

Question

Do yeast multiply in the initial aerobic phase or do they continue to multiply all the way through the entire anaerobic phase?

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 22 '14 at 08:17

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During the aerobic phase there is a presence of oxygen in the brew, during this phase there is a rapid increase in yeast and an almost exponential growth of yeast. During the anaerobic phase there is an absence oxygen, this causes the yeast growth to slow down and almost come to a halt. This since yeast does not grow well 'anaerobically' but needs the presence of oxygen to grow.

answered Jan 22 '14 at 08:17

Sander

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So they just about get by anaerobically, but are not thriving enough to multiply. I guess this really shows the importance of aerating your wort. – Another Compiler Error Jan 22 '14 at 12:14
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Yupp, it is really important to provide enough oxygen for the yeast to grow. I wonder if there is a possibility to increase the aerobic phase by introducing extra oxygen from, let's say, a tank...? Will have to do some more reading :) – Sander Jan 22 '14 at 12:58
http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/2725/how-to-properly-oxygenate-wort – Another Compiler Error Jan 22 '14 at 13:03
Thanks! (I will just place some more text here so that I am able to comment and thank you for the link.) – Sander Jan 22 '14 at 13:30

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 24 '14 at 00:51

You might be interested to look up Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain which yeast follow when in its aerobic respiration phase. This is when the yeast can create a ton of energy and that surplus of energy is used to replicate.

After the oxygen runs out, it goes into anaerobic processes where the yeast produce CO2, ethanol, and sometimes lactate depending on the yeast or bacteria.

When do Yeast grow and multiply?

2 Answers2