Dark Mild - Multi-Yeast Experiment

A little while ago, Greg, a fellow CAMRA club member, and I started talking about doing a cooperative brew. We share a number of common interests: brewing, breadmaking, cooking, kids; so it seemed a great idea to share a brewing session. We both enjoy English session ales, so we figured we would brew a dark mild, as they are not commonly available here in the U.S. and are best drunk fresh. Additionally, to make things interesting, we decided to do a yeast experiment.

I have often heard people state that the liquid yeast products that brewers pay a premium for are far superior to the dry yeast equivalents. Some things about the two yeast forms can definitely be attributed to fact. Liquid yeast strains can be designated as pure and without contamination, which means with proper sanitation, a brewer has very little chance of getting wild yeast contamination. Dry yeasts always have some wild yeast contamination as part of their manufacturing process. This is minimized, but how great is the risk of infection? Several podcasts and homebrewing magazines have done experiments on the dry versus liquid yeast packages, but Greg and I wanted to do our own.

The plan was to use one common wort source, split in half, and then to use two different yeasts to determine the yeast form's impact. Further, we wanted to use dry and liquid yeast strains that came from the same historical source. So, we picked Wyeast 1968 London ESB and Safale S-04 Dry English Ale. Both of these strains are based on the Whitbread yeast strain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitbread). This should provide us with a situation where the dry versus liquid yeast difference would be maximized, if any existed at all.

The following stats applied to both beers:
SG: 1.039 (both yeasts)
FG: 1.011 liquid, 1.012 dry
Starter Size: 1 L liquid, no starter dry (10 gram pack)
Pitching Temp: 72 F (both yeasts)
Fermentation Temp: 68 F (both yeasts)
Fermentation Length: 4 days liquid, 3 days dry

The results were extremely close. The liquid yeast beer (Duval glasses in picture) was slightly lighter in color than the dry yeast batch. The liquid yeast beer also had a slightly more definable aroma, but it came from a keg, so the aroma could well be from a slightly higher carbonation rate. The most definable difference was in the intensity and length of flavor. The liquid yeast batch's flavor lasted longer and was more intense than the dry yeast, but not by a large factor. I did not get any off flavors from the dry yeast, and I think it was quite comparable to the liquid offering.

Bottom line was that they were VERY close. Given that the dry yeast is much cheaper and it is easier to use, I think I would recommend using dry yeast when a version that has been well received by the brewing community is available.

Thanks for a great brew day and tasting, Greg. It was a lot of fun.

90 Seconds of Goodness Imperial IPA

Spring, for some unknown reason, has gotten me into a hoppy beer mood. I am normally a English session beer kind of person, if I were to pick a favorite set of styles. However, with winter starting to loose its hold over Central Virginia (compared to where I grew up in New York, winter never has a "hold" over Virginia at all), I am feeling in the mood for hops. So, when I had the opportunity to get some commercial Chico yeast from Starr Hill Brewing Company, I decided to go hog wild and make an Imperial IPA.

One of the biggest challenges that you face when doing big beer recipes is to get full attenuation. Because there is so much sugar in the wort for these beers, it is absolutely crucial that you have a HUGE slug of yeast to get the resulting beer down to a reasonable terminal gravity. If you don't, you risk having a sweet and unpalatable beer. The Starr Hill yeast samples we got were HUGE slugs of very active yeast. They gave me the perfect excuse to try one of the biggest beers I have ever contemplated (ABV of 8.5%).

This beer recipe is from a series of clone brews done by Brew Your Own Magazine. 90 Minute IPA by Dogfish Head is one of my favorite big hoppy beers. It has a great hop nose and a complex flavor, but is dangerously drinkable because it finishes dry. Even with all the alcohol, it does not leave a lot of sugar on the tongue, so you can easily finish a pint. This clone brew recipe was done in colaboration with the brewers at Dogfish Head, so I definately wanted to give it a try.

So, without further a do, here is the review:

Brewed: 2/15/2009

Kegged: 2/24/2009

Original Gravity: 1.083

Final Gravity: 1.016

IBU: ~92

Alcohol By Volume: 8.5%

Carbonation Volume: 2.8 (15 psi at 40 degrees F)

The beer pours a dark orange color with huge coarse white head. The most immediately apparent thing is the aroma. The beer is a hop aroma bomb. The aroma is complex and multi-dementional. It starts off with an herbal quality and then moves to a slightly sweet citrus orange/lemon smell. The dry hopping (2.5 ounces of amarillo, millenium, and simco) is really pronounced and I find myself just sitting and smelling the beer for a good while.

The initial flavor is a hint of sweetness. This is followed by some of the hop complexity with flavors of orange, pineapple, and mint. I then get a bit of bitter bite on the tongue, which is followed by a slickness that I attribute to the simco hops. The taste ends with a drying quality similar to belgian tripels or other very low terminal gravity belgian beers, though the IPA also has a twinge of burnt sugar. I do also get a very faint warming from the alcohol, though nothing like drinking a scotch or other whiskey.

All and all it is a very good beer, certainly my best so far this year. I took it to a homebrew tasting recently and was strongly encouraged to enter it in the National Homebrew Competition (NHC). So, we shall see how it does and what feedback I receive. Regardless, this is a beer I will definately make again.

Cheers.

Congratulations to Jeff - Gold Medal

Just a quick note of congratulations to my brother, Jeff. His first brew ever (discounting the Mr. Beer kits) won a gold medal at the 2009 Boston Homebrew Competition for his Irish red ale! I previously reviewed this beer on the blog. I am very proud my brother and hope that he continues to enjoy this wonderful hobby.

http://www.wort.org/bhc/winners.shtml