Donald Hellen <t2000kw@nospam.invalid> wrote:[color=blue]
> Dick Adams wrote:[/color]
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Champagne yeast will start eating the unfermented sugars, raise
>> the ABV, and put a hell of a lot of CO2 into the bottle.
>>
>> Nothing like lighting the fuse on a bottle bomb![/color][/color]
[color=blue]
> If you allow enough time for the beer to completely finish
> fermenting, and only then add the priming sugar before
> bottling, there should be no problems with bottle bombs.[/color]

Agreed.
[color=blue]
> ... Use of a hydrometer is recommended for beginners to see if
> there is any change in final gravity readings over a 3 day
> period (to make sure fermentation is complete).[/color]

Brewing without an hydrometer is akin to driving a car blindfolded.
[color=blue]
> Champagne yeast will allow you to make a higher alcohol beer, but
> at some point the overall balance of the beer flavors go too far
> toward an alcohol bite (that some people like, however). It also
> tends to ferment rather dry and is a quick starter, which might
> be useful to some people.[/color]

Ale yeasts do not ferment "all" sugars. The residual sugars
Ale yeasts leave behind are the reason Ales have sweetness.
OTOH wine yeasts will ferment every sugar they find except
Lactose (which no yeast of which I am aware will ferment).
Using a wine yeast in a beer will, as you have noted) hurt
the balance and possibly push an alcohol bite. Even worse
it may contribute both a fusel aroma and a fusel taste to
the beer - akin to pouring distilling mash into the beer.
[color=blue]
> Personally, I would prefer to stick with regular ale yeasts,
> and you can get some decent dry yeasts for very little cost.[/color]

Words to live by.

Dick