Proposed

Does Underpitching Make More "Flavorful" Beer

Submitted by drew on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 22:16

In the never ending quest to find new ways to tinker with our beers and produce better flavors, it's been promoted that to produce more ester and phenol characters in a brew, one should pitch less yeast.

The theory is pretty simple - esters and phenols can be by product of poor yeast health or a stressful fermentation. This gets pounded into your head during BJCP training and is one of the reasons brewers have been recommended to make starters to ensure they have plenty of healthy yeast at the ready to tackle the job.

Subject:

Yeast

Experiment Status:

Proposed

Does intentionally underpitching a beer cause a change in perceived esters/phenols?

The Great Purge - Does a Full Liquid Purge of a Keg Protect Hop Aroma Better

Submitted by drew on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 21:16

It's time to test out the validity of another of Drew's favorite techniques - keg purging.

Breweries spend a lot of time worrying over removing as much oxygen possible from their packages (bottles/kegs). Why? It's pretty well established both in tradition and science that oxygen is destructive to beer flavor and aroma pretty quickly. So packaging brewers do everything they can to reduce O2 levels after their intial injection of oxygen post chilling.