Same beer (essentially) fermented with 6 different yeast strains

Wife says "You better not bring home more beer before that beer comes in the mail."
I then added a cold brew sampler pack.... now I am buying coffee...

 

If anyone’s ever in Asheville, White Labs does this within several different styles. It’s amazing to see the huge impact yeast can have.

 

Well, it’s not beer right?

 

They’re listing a 12 pack of 1-6 (2 of each) and the four pack of 1-4.

 

I'd say that's basically every brewery that focuses on hazy IPAs. Treehouse, Other Half, etc.

Just endless iterations with new names but that are only slightly different.

 

Got all 7 today. Trying to work out a strategy to try them at the same time while not getting S faced and also not wasting any. Might have to take one for the team...

 

I like when this is done with wild ales, Upland did a set of like six different Brett beers a while ago, Speciation does it with the Laurentian series.

 

A man of principle.

 

I was going to get the four pack a couple weeks ago but they ran out. I’m not going to get the 12 pack. Please let us know how it is if you “take one for us”.

 

Mikkeller did this many years ago….they called it Yeast Series.

 

The results of being shitfaced, that is @Qu3st

 

OK, so I completed the gauntlet today and offer up the report. Cleared my pallet with water and pretzels between tastings. Cleared my nose with coffee beans. I only drank about a third of a can at a time and paused when alcohol started to be obvious. Took about 4 hours to complete.

Starting with 3 and 5 they were similar but clearly different. This is true for the entire run as it was clear differences existed with some being stark and others being more nuanced.

3 English Ale
Notes of pine, sweet fruits, and Meyer lemon on the nose.
Lemon drop candy and general citrus flavors on the tongue. Mid-tier bitterness.
The bitterness surrounded my tongue and hung out like an unemployed teenager (far too long). Low level, but noticeable chalkiness. Left heat at the back.
Clearing my pallet I went back to check for anything else I missed before. Some paint thinner or lacquer notes were found hiding.
Familiar NEIPA profile. Not a type I prefer, but a common encounter.

5 English Ale
More robust and sweeter nose. Noyes of dried orange peel and warm citrus. Towards oranges and away from lemons.
Orange, sweet, candied orange peels, low bitterness.
Bitterness rolls off and does not linger. Soft with no warmth after drinking it. No chalkiness.
Not massively different from 3, but clearly better. Flavor notes are warmer and balance better. I'd be happy to encounter this one.

4 Thiolized
After 3 and 5 I was anticipating more subtle differences and smaller variations. Then 4 showed up and kicked down the door.
Sweet, massive fruit bouquet, mango. Clean and alluring; I could breathe this all day.
Citrus rock candy, grass, oranges at halftime at a youth soccer game. Huge smiles in the sunshine.
Coats the tongue well, but it doesn't linger. Very refreshing.
Well then; pretty damn great. This must be the yeast brewers are using to make those beers that you are convinced has fruit juice mixed into them. This is the yeast I am looking for in hop-heavy IPAs.

2 Wild
Where did the smells go? Very light citrus and dried hay notes.
Low bitterness. subtle sweetness. Something reminds me of sugar moving towards brown sugar. Pineapple more than citrus.
Clean and doesn't linger.
This is a chill IPA. It is nice and easy enough to drink. Like a muted version of #5.

1 House
Lemon with a hint of butter cookies on the nose.
Pith and lemon. It is not distinct, but it reminds me of white pepper and salt. Has a sharpness to it.
Grabs the tongue and holds on until it taps out.

6 Nordic
Yuzu, dry white wine, drying leaves, ocean air
Limes, salt, gravy, green veggies, sundried tomato. All over the place.
Astringent, sour, some chalkiness returns.
It may sound like it is vastly different from the rest, but it is more the presentation that is different than the total package. I don't like it that much here, but I am very curious to see it used in other recipes.

7 NEIPA
At this point, I was just too tired to find the nuanced differences. Very similar to 3, but moving towards 5.

Overall this was an interesting experience. The #4 yeast was clearly my favorite and #3 was my least. It is very cool to see how these small and large differences can be introduced and then utilized by a skilled brewer to make magic. People seem very focused on hop content, me included, but yeast makes a clear meaningful difference.

 

Awesome write up man!