Just how different is the new Das Wunderkind?

If that first one you tried didnt have a batch # listed, it could have been pretty old, thus contributing to a change in taste and color.

I wouldn't be surprised between variation in batches, given the way JK is making their beer. Just like in a wine label, the variation between vintages can be stupendous.

 

It's a different color than all of the old Das batches, I can attest to this.

 

I had it this past weekend at the brewery and thought similarly. I was surprised that it was lighter than when I had it in the bottle with the first batch (albeit that was a while ago). I liked the new batch, less tart, still has that barnyard funk, very light and refreshing for summer. I agree, this new yeast they are using is really producing some nice beer.

 

They are not really using new yeast per se, just a new blend of yeast and bugs. So essentially they are using more yeast then they were before. I think the biggest reason for the variation in Das and other JK beers comes from their blending. If they use a larger portion of old beer it will be more sour then if they use a lower percentage.

 

Sorry, professor, maybe 'different yeast blend' would have been more of the appropriate vernacular. Either way, the guy giving the tour on Saturday sure made it sound like it was more of a yeast thing giving the new flavors than the blending of old/new, barrel-aged/non-barrel aged beer, and how much sugar they add to the beer just before bottling.

 

Batch 1 Wunderkind was superior in my opinion to the following blends as well as Uberkind. Though uberkind I enjoyed much more than the more recent Wunderkind's. I prefer sours that at intensely sour though. For me batch 1 Wunderkind was a completely different beer in taste.

 

To me, this last batch tasted just like Batch 2. I was disappointed both times. I'd like more tartness. No embers batch of Noble King was more sour I thought.

 

Do you know if Das always had bugs in it? I think it always did. I'm assuming the guy on the tour was referring to Noble King and Commercial Suicide. If you're getting more funk then yes its certainty from Brett, but most people are saying Das is less tart/sour then batch one, which would come from the bugs. If JK is blending old and new barrels, the older barrels would have more time for the bugs to sour the beer and it would thus be more sour then the new barrels. So if the beer is less tart/sour then it would be due to proportions of blending old and new beer. The sugar before bottling would pretty much only affect carbonation, generally it is not enough sugar to produce a change in flavor, except possibly Brett, but I think its effects after being bottled comes from it metabolizing esters already present in the beer.

 

I drank another bottle of the recent batch of Das last night, and while I would agree that its less tart than the first bottling, its a lot more flavorful and complex, in my opinion. The citrusy notes are amazingly fresh, with just a little bit of tartness to back it up. To me, this is the best version of this beer yet, and I'll be drinking a lot of it this summer.

 

He was referring to Das, because that was the specific question that was asked, not by me, but by another person drinking the recently poured Das from the tap.