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?

New England IPA Series - Is it the Yeast?

Submitted by drew on Tue, 05/24/2016 - 23:55

The IPA is the king of the current American craft beer scene and in recent years the new belle of the Hop Ball has hailed from New England. Heady Topper from Vermont's Alchemist was the first to catch beer lover's attention and since then many beers in the same vein have appeared. Skipping over a great many of the discussion of the style centering on the word "juicy" - a number of beer exhibit an intense hazy appearance. This murk is a controversial part of the equation (not every example has it for instance).

Subject:

Experiment Status:

Ready for Testing

Does the yeast choice generate the haze in a "New England Style IPA"

Olive Oil vs. No Aeration

Submitted by drew on Sat, 02/27/2016 - 20:17

In September 2005, Grady Hull of New Belgium, developed a new technique of strengthening yeast in storage by adding olive oil. The theory was that yeast use oxygen to synthesize sterols to build stronger, better cell walls so instead of introducing beer staling oxygen to the mix - why not add a tiny drop of cheap olive oil, a source of sterols, directly and let the yeast do it's thing. Cheap olive oil vs. expensive aeration equipment

Subject:

Yeast

Does the addition of olive oil to a fermenter replicate the organoleptic impact of aeration on a the beer versus doing no aeration at all?

Yeast Comparison of the "same" strain - Wyeast 1056 / WLP 001

Submitted by drew on Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:40

We've all heard over the years - "oh yeah, Wyeast 1056 and White Labs WLP001 are exactly the same". Well, are they? Is it true that they're close enough that we can just freely substitute or do they bring something different to the party?