3 ms·

Yeast also dies, and then is broken down, and consumed by the other yeast. Yeast also consumes other proteins and sugars in the fermenting liquid. It leaves b

by retrac 3y ago

Yeast also dies, and then is broken down, and consumed by the other yeast. Yeast also consumes other proteins and sugars in the fermenting liquid. It leaves behind a protein-enriched liquid with a unique taste. It's actually a useful culinary trick in general; allow some yeast to grow aggressively and then boil it. If you concentrate it, you end up with something much like sold commercially as Vegemite or Marmite. It's savoury and tangy. Often described as mushroom-like. Can be used to thicken, and otherwise add some flavour to, a flat stew or sauce. Different yeasts eat themselves, and metabolize sugar, with different efficiencies and slightly different chemical pathways. It would not surprise me if this has an effect on the overall end product. Anecdotally, based on my cousin's home brewing experiments, beers brewed with standard baking yeast compared to specialized brewing yeasts are significantly "yeastier" tasting -- they start to die at relatively low alcohol concentrations and so more yeast mass ends up in the final product, I think.

2-718-281-828 3y ago
> they start to die at relatively low alcohol concentrations and so more yeast mass ends up in the final product up until that very insightful. but this seems rather counter logical. if the yeast dies earlier it grows less and hence mass should be also less. having said that i guess less yeast activity means more sugar and starch in the final product.
- MarkMarine 3y ago
  There are tons of living yeast after a fermentation. Once the sugar content goes down and they’ve converted the long chain fermentables, they go into sleep mode. I re-use my yeast, I have about 10x more yeast after a ferment than I threw in at the start. They are very much alive.
- MarkMarine 3y ago
  Most beers are not considered finished if they are hazy, dead yeast or byproduct do not end up in the finished beer except for a few styles that allow it.
  - 2-718-281-828 3y ago
    i tend to choose hazy over clear beer. i associate hazy with more rugged, natural, manly ... clear seems industrial, commercial. hazy beer also seems to taste more complex. is that just bullshit? is properly brewed beer always clear?
    - MarkMarine 3y ago
      There is a style guide for every beer type, and you have to meet it to compete in beer competitions and do well. Until the hazy IPA craze, pretty much every beer was supposed to be clear except for a Hefeweizen. Pro brewers crash cool and/or filter the final product to get a consistent product. You don’t want active yeast making it into the package and creating little bombs. Consumers also expected a clear drink. Home brewers have always had a more flexible scale in the clarity of beer, leaving traditionally clear styles hazy has been the mark of a home made (and therefore better) beer to a lot of home brewers. The hazy IPAs have flipped this logic on its head. These styles can be brewed with oats, lactose, all kinds of adjuncts that would never clear and add to “mouth feel” for this style of beer. This change in the industry seems to have left some room for the pro brewers that are local sized (like a brewpub + some distribution in the region) to leave their beers hazy for many styles. It does save a step, and running a small brewery is done on razor thin margins. So, long way to say, yes hazy beer can have more complex flavor, it’s probably the mark of something produced on a less industrial scale, and to many that would be better. Large commercial beer really shoots for the middle, and if your tastes are more complex it won’t do it for you. I only clear the German traditional styles I brew. Kölsch, Helles, etc. The rest is hazy if it wants to be.

by retrac 3y ago

2-718-281-828 3y ago

> they start to die at relatively low alcohol concentrations and so more yeast mass ends up in the final product up until that very insightful. but this seems rather counter logical. if the yeast dies earlier it grows less and hence mass should be also less. having said that i guess less yeast activity means more sugar and starch in the final product.

MarkMarine 3y ago
There are tons of living yeast after a fermentation. Once the sugar content goes down and they’ve converted the long chain fermentables, they go into sleep mode. I re-use my yeast, I have about 10x more yeast after a ferment than I threw in at the start. They are very much alive.
MarkMarine 3y ago
Most beers are not considered finished if they are hazy, dead yeast or byproduct do not end up in the finished beer except for a few styles that allow it.
- 2-718-281-828 3y ago
  i tend to choose hazy over clear beer. i associate hazy with more rugged, natural, manly ... clear seems industrial, commercial. hazy beer also seems to taste more complex. is that just bullshit? is properly brewed beer always clear?
  - MarkMarine 3y ago
    There is a style guide for every beer type, and you have to meet it to compete in beer competitions and do well. Until the hazy IPA craze, pretty much every beer was supposed to be clear except for a Hefeweizen. Pro brewers crash cool and/or filter the final product to get a consistent product. You don’t want active yeast making it into the package and creating little bombs. Consumers also expected a clear drink. Home brewers have always had a more flexible scale in the clarity of beer, leaving traditionally clear styles hazy has been the mark of a home made (and therefore better) beer to a lot of home brewers. The hazy IPAs have flipped this logic on its head. These styles can be brewed with oats, lactose, all kinds of adjuncts that would never clear and add to “mouth feel” for this style of beer. This change in the industry seems to have left some room for the pro brewers that are local sized (like a brewpub + some distribution in the region) to leave their beers hazy for many styles. It does save a step, and running a small brewery is done on razor thin margins. So, long way to say, yes hazy beer can have more complex flavor, it’s probably the mark of something produced on a less industrial scale, and to many that would be better. Large commercial beer really shoots for the middle, and if your tastes are more complex it won’t do it for you. I only clear the German traditional styles I brew. Kölsch, Helles, etc. The rest is hazy if it wants to be.