Hey all, I am wondering if anyone is aware of a compilation or resource for the flavor of various strands of yeast. I am not talking about the flavor profile that the yeast imparts on the beer, but what the actual yeast itself tastes like. I see and hear a lot of debate on clear versus hazy beers, and I am wondering how much of this is the "perception is reality" and how much is truly reality. I've had hazy beers that have something else going on (good or bad), but I don't know if it is the conditions (eg pH, amount of hop resin, etc) or the yeast just tastes different. I also wonder if it is a very similar flavor and just more offensive in some styles than others (like other components). If nothing else I would also like to discuss anecdotal information, I've used a lot of different yeasts and I will reserve my "reality" later (I'll just say that I don't focus a lot of effort to completely clear too many beers!)
I had the recent opportunity to taste a sample of Bell's house yeast during a brewery tour, and I was surprised at a tartness that was there. I occasionally bake bread and am also a homebrewer so I know the smell of yeast but have never tasted it, and the base flavor of the Bell's yeast was what I expected from my experience with the aroma, but the tartness was unexpected.
Hmmm... I've tasted many yeasts: English, Belgian, French and German ale and lager strains and although there are differences I'd say they're mainly the same, or at least close enough that you're not going to be able to find differences on the surface - HOWEVER, I think I know what you're getting at but those differences are also highly influenced by the beers that they're in so I don't think you can come up with any information based just on the yeast. To be clearer, I don't think that you can "find" the flavors of the yeast "en masse", I think it needs to be diluted. If you want to try that for yourself by diluting it in parts per million in distilled water or whatever you might find something, but again, those findings will change once they're in whatever beer you put them in. It's an interesting idea.
The tartness and the bread yeast is exactly what I've heard from many others. It seems that all yeasts share the same characteristics. I wonder if it is to different levels or if it is just coincidence and everyone that I've ever talked to had the same, or substantially similar yeast. I don't think that you can get enough yeast into a glass to taste the tart, and if you put it into a solution and tasted it I don't know if it would be representative of the imparted flavor in a beer. Probably the most common flavor that I've heard in a glass of beer is muddy and sometimes earthy. I interpret these two different based on nothing else but human observation. I interpret muddy as simply off or something that is muting some of the other flavors, and when people say earthy mostly they mean dirty. I am not sure if the yeast changes flavors in beer, or if it is getting blamed for a flaw somewhere else, or if our eyes are deceiving our taste buds. It is interesting to think about, and I am sure that it is more complex than I am making it out to be.
You're jumping into a complex subject here, and some of your assumptions are incorrect. I know that some types of yeast do change the flavor of beer (specifically Belgian strains come to mind), and maybe it should be said that ALL yeast changes flavor in beer; I'm not educated enough here to say for sure. Besides the 'normal' expected flavor that different yeasts impart into a beer, yeast can also be blamed for releasing esters that become off-flavors in beers simply because the brewer fermented the beer at a temp that was higher than ideal for that specific yeast strain that was used. Thus the yeast gets blamed although it was the brewer's error that caused those off-flavors. If you want to get deeper into understanding yeast, here is a link to a book that probably will answer your questions: https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
I absolutely get that. I know that yeast changes the flavor of the beer through different biological and metabolic pathways based on the composition and conditions of the wort. I probably could have used that statement in a better context. I haven't yet read the yeast book, it is on my shelf and is one of my next reads. My thoughts are more along the lines of if you make a yeast burger and ate it what would it taste like? Then you make another yeast burger with a different strain, would you be able to tell the difference? It's a bit obscure of a thought, just trying to clearly define my thought process. I am sure if you put those yeast flavors into different beers, they would show up differently in good or bad ways. I am trying to figure out why some brewers focus intensely on clarifying and others don't care or even don't want to. I know that the answer is preference, but what exactly is in the hazy beers that forms this polarity? Maybe it's something as simple as the people who focus on clarity had a bad experience in a style that doesn't allow for errors?
If you were to conduct this 'experiment' it would be critical that you maintain exactly the same fermentation conditions. You made mention of "conditions of the wort", and yes having the same grain bill/wort is important but also important is: Exact same fermentation temperature profile Exact same aeration/oxygenation conditions Exact same pitch amount Exact same.... Cheers!
