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There is always lots of beer chatter about a new hop varietal even when given an unappetizing name like Anchovy but less attention to yeast unless it is Thiol Boosted.
But premiere Yeast Lab, White Labs has found a new and rare yeast….
…strange to have a yeast from rare cacao. Hope to find a beer with it.
It is common to see posts about new hop varietals on this blog. Sometimes malt gets a high five but yeast and water rarely factor in despite their massive importance which is why I though this Instagram post from White Labs was cool…
WLP631 is in town. There’s probably won’t be any beers promoting that title on a label but it is important to see yeast terroir in action. Maybe there will be a Great Lakes Tart yeast or Big City SoCal version. The fact that science can cut these up into distinct little products is great because each time we gain a little more understanding of beer.
White Labs will be selling cans but with their dual twist. And their first release is their signature, Tabberer IPA® The twist being that you will buy a four pack with two different yeasts, WLP001-California Ale and WLP008 – East Coast Ale.
The IPA is named after “Horace Tabberer Brown, a British chemist, who shared a passion for science and brewing. While working as a brewer in the late 1800s, he set up a small lab on-site, which became the first record of a scientist using a microscope in a brewery.”
If you are in California or North Carolina you will be able to buy this and future releases.
White Labs supplies yeast to breweries practically everywhere but they are also known for their education. Their tasting room and same beer, different yeast trials are well known and now they are “launching an online education portal”. Mostly for brewers these “videos are released every month and cover a range of topics.” But maybe the casual beer fan might enjoy while hunkered down at home. Check out the videos HERE.
If you reside in California, sheltering in your place, then you can order up White Labs beer! The prices are a little steep but consider it an educational expense. You can get a pair of crowlers of the same beer except for one, kinda major difference, the yeast. They have some hazy IPAs on their menu that would be really interesting to compare. If you are home brewing during this time, you can also purchase a pack that includes yeast!
The California Craft Beer Summit started yesterday but the first full day of events in Long Beach start today and to celebrate 30 years of California brewing, there is a celebratory beer, 30 Years Strong brewed with a group led by Three Weavers.
96 yeast strains but the …. Well, if I was a rapper I could continue but let’s instead move on to my recommendation that you visit White Labs down in San Diego (north) and their Brewing Co. because you can lay your hands on the 2016 version of Frankenstout. It is the first time since its inception that this will be in bottles and will be available for purchase at the San Diego Tasting Room beginning on St. Patrick’s Day. Oh, and it will be for charity too!
Basically White Labs (whose yeast is in A LOT of the beer we drink) asked then answered the question, “What would happen if we pitched 96 yeast strains into one beer?” Here is what they say of the beer, “Each strain struggles for dominance, with twists and turns in every sip. The beer pours black with a thick brown head. Robust coffee and dark chocolate aromas and flavors abound. Belgian yeast strains are evident through spicy and clove like notes. The beer finishes with a strong cherry oak finish.”
Tomorrow’s FoodGPS post under the Brew & You banner is all about my recent trip to San Diego and the very important White Labs.
You will read about why they are important but for now, here are some photos by my beer compadre Richard taken during the beer adventure….
I saw this article over on the Brewbound site and nearly leaped for joy.
And what could make me do that? THIS. “The White Labs Tasting Room, featuring beers created on site, is open! The lineup of experimental beers change regularly and feature brews created with different yeasts and different brewing and fermentation techniques. The custom built tasting room features 35 taps.”
I checked out a tap list and it had 7 different IPA’s with yeast’s ranging from Australian to San Diego Super to Irish. What a great way to see the effect of yeast in a beer.
This tasting room sounds like a beer education you don’t want to miss.