All the recent discussion about feeding yeast, and several mentions of
"brewer's yeast," raises an interesting question for some of us
"small-timers" lurking here in the background:
 
In addition to beekeeping, I also enjoy home brewing ales and meads in
small 5 gallon (US) batches.  Many home brewers "rack" (siphon) the
fermenting liquid out of the primary (initial) fermentation container into
a secondary fermenting container in order to improve the clarity of the
brew.  This leaves behind a considerable amount of "spent yeast" that has
settled to the bottom of the primary container -- anywhere from a 1/2 inch
to 1+ inch thick paste.
 
Most homebrewers I know just rinse this residue down the garbage disposal,
but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't try to dry it and feed it to my bees
as a pollen substitute to stimulate early spring build-up?  (Hobbyist
beekeepers who don't home-brew could easily find home brewing enthusiasts
through beer-making supply stores, and one pound of honey could be traded
for a lot of spent yeast...) I, too, hate spending money unnecessarily, and
like the idea of utilizing a "waste" product, if there's some benefit.  (A)
Would this work?  (B) Would there be any benefit in mixing the dried yeast
with sugar and Crisco to form feeding patties?
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> From: MR GA CAMBRAY <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Yeast - some other info
>...my advice to a beekeeper, which is probably dangerous advice
> as it is practically untested (I have fed brewing yeast to my bees
> and they were there two weeks later) would be to go to the local
> brewery and get their spent yeast - find some way of heating it to
> 80C for twenty minutes - which will kill it and then feed it directly
> to the bees together with a bit of sugar - this is a highly
> nutritious, easily degestable sort of  thing  - and because it has
> not been heated to about 95C most of the fats and vitamins will be OK
> still - this is similar to pollen - I am sure cooked pollen would be
> bad for bees.