Similar Beers From Same Brewer

Not sure if they really changed it, but all I know is that it was awesome when it first came out, then disappeared for a while, and when it reappeared it wasn't nearly as good. Still a pretty good beer by itself, but nothing compared to what it was. Many other people have noticed this that I've talked to.

 

Do other breweries that use the Chico yeast taste similar to Sierra Nevada to you? It is one of the most widely used yeast strains.

 

All of Anchor's beer has a similar and very distinct malt taste. Very tasty though, especially in their porter.

 

Of all beers I've ever tried, Southern Tier's stouts (Mokah, Jahva, Chokolat, Crème Brulee) all have a distinctively similar roasted malt profile.

Beyond that, it's worth noting that many abbey ales have similarities:

Kasteel Cuvee du Chateau is derived from Kasteel Donker.
St. Bernardus Christmas is merely a different quad similar to Abt 12.
More recently, Valar Morghulus is merely a different take on Ommegang Abbey Ale.

 

Very true also of Brooklyn Brewing, IMO. To me all their beers taste very similar except the Black Chocolate Stout.

 

I'd say it's true though for 90% of all Belgian ales, they all seem to have that raisiny clovey taste.

 

Rogue beers all taste the same to me.....they all taste like crap !

 

Thats one I haven't had. I had the IPA, Pale Ale, White Ale, and Kolsch. All of them tasted terrible to me, kind of watered down and overcarbonated

 

That's a really good point. And not particularly, to answer your question. In fact, Chico yeast/Cal Ale yeast is so often used because it doesn't impart much flavor and provides kind of a blank slate for the other ingredients to really shine.

So maybe I don't know WTF I'm talking about. But I was talking to one of the brewers up there a few years ago and he suggested the yeast was the common thread among their beers. So I don't know if their particular house strain has been tweaked over the years to make it unique, or if their fermentation temperature plays a role. Whatever the case, I can't help but notice a commonality through many of their beers.

 

I agree % 100 with this. The first batch that came out and hit here was amazing, it disappeared and returned a shell of the first batch. Now it's just a middle of the road "meh" dipa.

 

From a homebrewing perspective; all ingredients have an impact on the flavor profile of a finished brew, but the most important impact is made from the water profile and yeast strain/health/handling of fermentation.

Brewers using the same yeast can end up with very different products based on the health of the yeast as well as how many generations they use the yeast to ferment.

 

August Schell's Zommerfest and 89.3 kolsch's
Every wheat beer BBC has produced
Prost brewing company has a Frankonian-style dunkel which almost tastes just like a marzen, and they also have a marzen.

 

Yeast is important, as are the other ingredients. Equipment and process are just as important.

Founders uses Wyeast 1056. Russian River uses WLP001. Both are Chico strains.

 

It is popular for BAs to 'concentrate' on ingredients (e.g., house yeast strain) but as Jeff posted: "Equipment and process are just as important."

Given that the beers in a given brewery are brewed on the same brewhouse by the same brewers there is a lot of commonality there.

Cheers!

 

After reading some of these posts all I can think of is that some of these brewing companies are great businessmen as well as brewers - tweak a recipe, call it something different, and then watch the net gain capital rise on same investment.
That being said, I am easily knocked off my high horse b/c I will go and buy every new release from Stone even though blindfolded I probably couldn't tell most of their beers, especially one-offs, apart. When I saw this topic "Stone Brewing Co." was first brewery to pop in my head.
Still, it's not like the beers are bad and sometimes it's worth trying these alternative from regular line-up beers for the discovery of a unique beer.

 

HA... Pretty much all of the pipeworks IPA are similar in taste. Every once in a while there is one the shines though.

 

Interestingly, many breweries focused on hoppy styles use the same yeast, and it is not the Chico strain. IIRC Lagunitas, Stone, Firestone Walker, and Three Floyds all use the same yeast. It's Wyeast 1968/White Labs 002. Allegedly it is originally from Fullers and passed through an old craft brewery in the Pacific Northwest (Widmer?) before finding a home in several breweries.
One of my favorite strains. Probably was a lot funkier in the UK and cleaned up a bit after a couple decades here. Nice and clean with a cool ferment.
Brewers all have unique habits and favorite ingredients that also probably contribute heavily to 'house' flavor. Stone loves Chinook hops and ferments beer warmer under heavy pressure; Three Floyds mashes high and adds melanoidin malt to many of their beers; Firestone double-dry hops; Sierra uses leaf hops and lots of Cascad; etc.

 

They're all really good, but most of Lagunitas' six-pack offerings taste basically the same to me. Sweet and hoppy.

 

Any FFF DIPA for that matter.

 

Victory and Sierra Nevada are two of my favorite line-ups. Like a previous posted pointed out, I can definitely tell that I am drinking something from either of their line-ups. I don't believe that any of them really taste exactly the same though. It seems more pronounced in different styles as well. I noticed it in the SN Oktoberfest. Like a malt-forward version of their pale ale. It tasted familiar, but different and overall I thought it was great. I agree that you have to condition yourself for it a bit and adjust your tastes, especially on something like Narwhal. I generally love both companies take on different styles with a recognizable base. I agree that Dirtwolf may not seem as magical as when it first came out, but it is still seems pretty solid to me. My latest obsession with either of these companies was the Victory Harvest....I could not get enough of that one. Cheers!