Pouring your beer

Well, I'm not a yeast expert, but some years back I was told that since it is the yeast that gives the beer some of its flavors, the yeast itself carries with it some of the flavors it produces when fermenting. Supposedly the new yeast is chosen in part for it's tendencey to flocculate and create lees relatively quickly when finished fermenting. That, the new yeast, was said to give the lees themselves a different quality of flavor than the liquid has. The fermentation of the priming sugar that takes place in the bottle is not extensive enough to produce a noticable change in the overall flavors of the liquid but does have an effect on the flavor carried by the yeast as it flocculates and settles to the bottom. So supposedly pouring the the lees changes from a bottle conditioned beer changes the flavor of the beer in a different way than it would if they were from the original or primary yeast that fermented the beer.

Unfortunately this happened long enough ago that I can't provide a source or documentation. But in a way it's moot since for me since pouring the lees, regardless of their yeast source tends to "cloud" or "muddy" the flavors of the beer.

 

I do that for Hefe’s

 

I do it for Witbiers too.

But for Belgian beers hell no. It changes the beer in a way I don't enjoy.

My experience from being in Belgium, and at any proper beer bar here, is that they will decant, and leave the yeast in the bottle. They leave it up to you if you want to drink the yeast or not.

I decant, and then leave the last shot in the bottle. I'll add it to the beer towards the end to see how it changes the flavor profile.

I'm not sure where Unibroue is getting this from. And they're an experienced brewery too.

 

You can still consume it, but separately, as a last quick shot if you like. I don't like to waste it either .

 

That's exactly how I do it. I must admit I'm not good on choosing the correct glassware for the specific style of beer, though.

 

I think this factor is a bit overrated, honestly... a tulip works for anything imo. Flame away, ‘purists’!

 

I decant, then straighten up the pour to control the foam so I don’t spill over. I like the sediment and floaties, it’s there for a reason and this is to drink it. I usually opt for a slightly larger glass to account for a hefty pour. My palate isn’t sensitive to this, so it works for me, the only thing my palate balks at is older turning malty ipas. Those I don’t like, I can usually smell this before I drink it, and imo it’s just shy of horrible.

 

I just went back and checked my review for Allagash White and I added in the yeast the last time I had it, so I stand corrected. It also reminded me that it's been way too long since I've had Allagash White! I'm going to keep my eye out for those 16 oz cans. I agree with you on decanting the yeast for all other Belgian styles. Beers just have a cleaner taste and feel without it, which I prefer for most Belgians.

 

I'm an admitted glassware *****, but I only use the "proper" glassware because I like it how it looks, and because I have such a large collection of them.

But otherwise, to be totally honest a Duvel tulip works for any style. Even Hefeweizens with larger heads (the Duvel glass is designed to handle the large head of a Duvel).

Well, the yeast is technically there for bottled conditioning, not necessarily to drink.

You did remind me though one other thing I do when I pour Belgian beers. Since I'm trying not to pour the yeast into the bottle while pouring, I typically pour straight into the glass so that I can still create a decent head on the beer.

Because obviously if I aggressively pour it to get a decent head, I'll rouse the yeast.

Pro tip: Many Belgians come in 750 mL bottles, and you may want to share it (and you're certainly not going to pour this into one vessel if you're drinking it by yourself either).

You can decant into a pitcher and then split that with a friend (or split it with yourself ).

The new cans are awesome! Picked up a four pack myself. They're fresh too.

There's also a nice little blurb on the side of the can on how to rouse the yeast. It's even written upside down on the can!

 

I can't reconcile those two thoughts.

 

Thanks for the response. I was surprised by your original statement since I couldn't wrap my head around the logic of it. Obviously, I think you're a sensible guy, so I was really wondering what you'd come back with. The rational above is really one of the oddest things I've read here in a while... I mean that in a good way though, and I'm also not saying that I disbelieve the logic.

I'll add two things though. Belgian brewers don't add yeast to the bottle just for the sake of conditioning or longevity, (as far as I know) they mainly do it because they believe that it is the second step in the fermentation of the beer that is essential to the flavor of the beer. (I'm speaking about the work of the yeast being essential, not the yeast itself.) Also, there's been talk in the thread of Hefeweizen. In my very limited experience, I've found that adding the actual yeast results in a muting of the flavors that the work of the yeast contributes to the beer (rather than amplifying or complementing it). I'm not saying that these points invalidate the logic, I'm just trying to expand the conversation.

 

Well I've been told that one role of bottle conditioning and the secondary fermentation it creates is to assure adequate carbonation. So it sounds like we're looking at a case of a couple of options for the brewer's choice of yeast, a) continue to use the primary fermentation yeast for bottle conditioning or b) switch yeasts for bottle conditioning. (And of course there's always the possibility that I was misinformed or am misremembering about some using one yeast for primary and a second one for secondary.)

 

Haha, I realized that this morning and figured people knew what I meant, so I didn't clarify.

For all Belgian beers EXCEPT Witbiers, I decant. Even lambics.

I was also waiting for someone to mention this. Recent discussion (maybe the last year or so?) was the first I'd ever heard of not rousing the yeast in a Hefe. I've still been curious to try a Hefeweizen with and without the yeast.

@patto1ro was the one who first mentioned this on these boards. I also know that Sierra Nevada distributes their Kellerweis kegs upside down to rouse the yeast. To each their own I suppose?

Regarding Belgian beers (except Witbiers ) I'm going to trust the good people over at Orval instead of Unibroue.

http://www.orval.be/en/117/How-to-serve-Orval

 

You're probably misremembering.

I've heard the B-vitamins in yeast help with memory, and because you choose to decant..

 

Well, looks like I've been pouring my favorite Belgians wrong the whole time.

 

I just think that the majority of people drinking hefeweizens prefer to have the flavors muted that way.

 

I basically use a mason jar for everything. Hey, it still tastes good to me!

 

Excuse me? Did you say something???

 

Sounds like a sweet action cone bruh.