I have been wanting to do an asian influence beer fermented with sake yeast. Any problems using this type of yeast in beer?
I’m assuming the rice is not malted in sake, though I really don’t know for sure. So the only problem I can see is possibly the yeast will finish high if it is not genetically selected to ferment malt. You could finish off with a secondary yeast though.
Yeah I honestly am not too familiar with it. When making sake, I know you have to add some type of enzyme to convert the starches in rice to sugar. Below it does say for rice base fermentations. I suppose I should contact white labs…
WLP705 Sake Yeast
For use in rice based fermentations. For sake, use this yeast in conjunction with Koji (to produce fermentable sugar). WLP705 produces full body sake character, and subtle fragrance.
Alcohol Tolerance: 16%
Attenuation: >80%
Flocculation: N/A
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: >70°F (21°C)
Most wine yeasts can’t ferment maltotriose, so I’d guess Sake yeast couldn’t either. Keith’s right about using a secondary yeast for proper attenuation, assuming sake yeast isn’t a killer type.
Got a quick response from white labs:
“Yes, you can use the Sake yeast to make beer. If you need any more technical help please contact Neva in our lab at nparker@whitelabs.com. Thanks and have a nice weekend!”
Let us know how this works. I don’t know if I’d make beer with it myself, but cider season is just around the corner and my interest is piqued.
I think it is an interesting experiment. Are you planning on rice as an adjunct? Spices like lime leaves and ginger? Lemon grass perhaps? Maybe tripe? 
I did something similar to this before with US05. Last time I used mint, ginger, and green tea along with a healthy portion of Flaked Rice. I overdid it with the ginger so may just keep it simple with the majority of the grain bill being Pilsner malt and rice.
I too would love to hear how this turns out. There is a local cider maker (Crispin) that uses sake yeast in one of their ciders. It is one of my favorite ciders.