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Many beers are filtered to remove the yeast since it's not really desirable once fermentation has completed. BUT - and a big "but" - there are styles like hefew

Many beers are filtered to remove the yeast since it's not really desirable once fermentation has completed. BUT - and a big "but" - there are styles like hefeweizen and other unfiltered beers that deliberately leave the yeast in for flavour.

redblacktree 3y ago
Many (most?) craft brewers also skip this step. "Desirable" is in the eye of the beholder, and crucially, it saves effort/time/money to leave it in. You can even market it as "bottle conditioned," if you allow the final bit of fermentation to do the carbonation. (i.e. add a bit of sugar at the bottling step, rather than bottling carbonated beer.
humbleferret 3y ago
Really interesting point about yeast being left in beers. I always assumed yeast was removed at one point in all beer due to its role in fermentation. The idea that styles like hefeweizen intentionally keep the yeast for added flavour surprised me. On a similar note, as someone who only drinks non-alcoholic beer, I've noticed that while most use yeast, some opt for 'simulated fermentation' without it. Yet, to my taste, there isn't much difference between the two. This makes me curious about what specific flavour characteristics yeast is supposed to add. What should one look out for?
- kevinmchugh 3y ago
  If it doesn't taste like hops or grain, it's a yeast flavor. At different temperatures it contributes different flavors. Banana and clove flavors are hallmarks of a hefe yeast, and are produced at relatively higher fermenting temperatures. The chemical categories are esters (the fruit flavors) and phenols (the spice flavors). Many esters are reminiscent of fruits because fruits in nature begin to ferment with the same yeast. Beers are also sometimes fermented with organisms other than Saccharomyces. These organisms contribute a wide variety of flavors, generally funky or sour. Many beers are unfiltered because the filtering process can remove other, desirable flavors (mostly hops). Filtering used to be very rare in American craft beer for this reason.
  - tharkun__ 3y ago
    This sounds funny "a hefe yeast". Hefe literraly means yeast in German. So a Hefeweizen translated literally would be a "yeast wheat". Very tasty beer though. And I have the same issue. Still my favorite beer: Erdinger Weizen. Preferably the dark one. But it has a ton of yeast on the bottom. And I get gastro issues very quickly when I start drinking them again. Non alcoholic versions don't help.
    - humbleferret 3y ago
      Wheat beers are my favourite, but agree they cause gastro issues fast, particularly the Erdinger Alkoholfrei. I've discovered that Schneider Weisse 0.5% and, to some degree, Rothaus Hefe Weizen 0.5% are less likely to provoke gastro issues while closely mirroring the taste of their alcoholic equivalents. If you like lagers and don't drink alcohol, I've found those from Fee Damm (Estrella)[1] and Luckysaint[2] to not cause any issues either, particularly the 'Tostada Amber' from Free Damm and the larger from Luckysaint (Their Hazy IPA is great too!). [1] https://www.damm.com/en/beers https://www.damm.com/en/beers [2] https://luckysaint.co/ https://luckysaint.co/
  - humbleferret 3y ago
    Cheers for the brew wisdom! Really opens up a new world next time I'm sipping a beer.

redblacktree 3y ago

Many (most?) craft brewers also skip this step. "Desirable" is in the eye of the beholder, and crucially, it saves effort/time/money to leave it in. You can even market it as "bottle conditioned," if you allow the final bit of fermentation to do the carbonation. (i.e. add a bit of sugar at the bottling step, rather than bottling carbonated beer.

humbleferret 3y ago

Really interesting point about yeast being left in beers. I always assumed yeast was removed at one point in all beer due to its role in fermentation. The idea that styles like hefeweizen intentionally keep the yeast for added flavour surprised me. On a similar note, as someone who only drinks non-alcoholic beer, I've noticed that while most use yeast, some opt for 'simulated fermentation' without it. Yet, to my taste, there isn't much difference between the two. This makes me curious about what specific flavour characteristics yeast is supposed to add. What should one look out for?

kevinmchugh 3y ago
If it doesn't taste like hops or grain, it's a yeast flavor. At different temperatures it contributes different flavors. Banana and clove flavors are hallmarks of a hefe yeast, and are produced at relatively higher fermenting temperatures. The chemical categories are esters (the fruit flavors) and phenols (the spice flavors). Many esters are reminiscent of fruits because fruits in nature begin to ferment with the same yeast. Beers are also sometimes fermented with organisms other than Saccharomyces. These organisms contribute a wide variety of flavors, generally funky or sour. Many beers are unfiltered because the filtering process can remove other, desirable flavors (mostly hops). Filtering used to be very rare in American craft beer for this reason.
- tharkun__ 3y ago
  This sounds funny "a hefe yeast". Hefe literraly means yeast in German. So a Hefeweizen translated literally would be a "yeast wheat". Very tasty beer though. And I have the same issue. Still my favorite beer: Erdinger Weizen. Preferably the dark one. But it has a ton of yeast on the bottom. And I get gastro issues very quickly when I start drinking them again. Non alcoholic versions don't help.
  - humbleferret 3y ago
    Wheat beers are my favourite, but agree they cause gastro issues fast, particularly the Erdinger Alkoholfrei. I've discovered that Schneider Weisse 0.5% and, to some degree, Rothaus Hefe Weizen 0.5% are less likely to provoke gastro issues while closely mirroring the taste of their alcoholic equivalents. If you like lagers and don't drink alcohol, I've found those from Fee Damm (Estrella)[1] and Luckysaint[2] to not cause any issues either, particularly the 'Tostada Amber' from Free Damm and the larger from Luckysaint (Their Hazy IPA is great too!). [1] https://www.damm.com/en/beers https://www.damm.com/en/beers [2] https://luckysaint.co/ https://luckysaint.co/
- humbleferret 3y ago
  Cheers for the brew wisdom! Really opens up a new world next time I'm sipping a beer.