Why do beers from the same brewery taste so similar?

I'll echo the chorus here: It starts with the yeast.

 

When it comes to Revolution I am not kidding all Chicago land beers have this baseline flavor to them. I think it’s the water. I like it so I don’t mind but cook County and it’s collar county breweries do have a similar taste profile.

 

I can’t drink Sky Fox hoppy beers anymore. They all have a “purple grape soda” taste that’s horrible. I think it’s the yeast.

Enjoy

 

Firstly, Two Hearted Ale vs PseudoSue is a bad comparison because those are drastically different takes on IPA/pale ale.

But to answer your question realistically, it has to do with ingredients. Primarily yeast. Most breweries are going to use the same yeast strain if they're brewing similar styles of IPA. A great deal of the uniqueness in flavor between breweries and brands is from their particular house yeast strain.
And secondly, brewers tend to have other "favorite" ingredients. I can't think of examples off the top of my head, but I know for a fact every brewer has a big bias towards or against certain hops or malt they like. A lot of them will feature Simcoe or Citra hops or pilsner or Golden Promise malt or flaked oats in nearly every beer just because that's an ingredient the brewer likes the taste of.

 

You should try Treehouse if you really want your mind blown. Dozens of "different" IPA brands that all taste relatively similar. The quality is there no doubt, as it is with a brewery like Revolution, but many of us have joked before; same beer, different label. Cheers.

 

I will echo the numerous comments with respect to the likelihood that the similar flavor of these brands may be due to the fact that these brands are all from the same brewery, and that it’s very likely that the brewery uses the same, proprietary yeast for the brewing of each.

However, OP states that the retailer was “offloading” these IPA sampler packs. My understanding of the English language is primarily centered on the American idiomatic usage, and so I am thinking that this sampler pack may have been either near or past code.

What are the chances that a handful (three? four?) of past-code “IPA” brands in a brewery’s sampler pack might be off their ideal flavor profiles?

We all know how sensitive IPA is these days, and if they’re even several months past their “born on date”, the flavor can change significantly.

 

I was just about to say this. One of the reasons I got burned out on hazies. I still enjoy them occasionally though.

 

As others have stated, yeast, but also, breweries aren't going be be purchasing a small amount of different hops and malts just for one batch of beer. They tend to have a few varieties that they have contracts for and will switch up ratios and one or two ingredients to make different beers. If well made and fresh, they will be similar but still have noticeable differences. If not, they'll probably taste about the same.

 

What are the dates on those “offloaded beers”? When hoppy beer gets old the oxidation flavor really takes over and it doesn’t matter what hops they used all you taste is oxidation. I’m willing to bet that’s what you’re experiencing.

 

Yeast must play a part (especially since brewers don’t tend to play with yeast as much as other ingredients barring water), but yikes, talk about an echo chamber. Do people really think that the yeast that American brewers are using for their IPAs universally vary that much from brewer to brewer? One would think that homogeny is king between brewing companies. There obviously isn't going to be a simple answer to the question. Yeast is probably a good answer for some brewers, but put the same yeast in two different breweries with different equipment and different practices, and those same yeasts might produce different results.

One major part of the puzzle that hasn't been brought up is the drinker. Yeast contributes a lot of the flavor to a beer, but drinker expectations can go a long way too.

 

This. I believe it’s the house yeast. Other Half, e.g., has new hazy IPAs every week, changing up the hops. Many, to me, taste similar yet different depending on the hops. I remember chatting a few years ago with a local fellow in line to get beers at Bissel in Portland, ME…I commented that the stout had a similar taste to the IPA…He said, “Welcome, you’ve been Bisselled!”
Cheers!

 

Yeast!

 

Totally!

 

1. Yeast is responsible for about half of a beers taste.
2. Big breweries use the same base malt for most of their beers. Sometimes they use the same crystal malt for all beers, just more or less of it.
3. Breweries often have hop contracts thst limit the varieties of hops on the shelf.
4. Water can be adjusted to any target. Some breweries have a favorite target profile
5. Process. Most breweries mash, boil and ferment the same for most of their beers.

 

If you find a yeast you like and a fermentation regimen that produces results you like, you stick with it. Dude ain't talking about using a plastic yeast like a Belgian, he's talking IPAs. For that, you're going to pitch X amount at Y temperature, and maybe allow it to rise to Z temperature once gravity hits A to clean up byproducts. You know it will work every time. It's not like a yeast driven-beer, where subtle changes in temperature and pitch rate will drastically change the beer.

 

Then maybe the answer to his question isn't "yeast."
Your initial post mentioned other possibilities.

 

I agree with you that most of the yeast used by American brewers is pretty similar, but two of the big west coast breweries, Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas are polar opposite’s when it comes to yeast character. S/N’s is pretty neutral while Lagunitas’ is very expressive and fruity. Many in this thread have mentioned noticing a “house“ character from both of these breweries and I would agree with that.

In general, hazy IPAs are more yeast driven than the classic West Coast style, but I think that’s a different subject.

 

Back in the day, it seemed like Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, and Anchor got the most talk about a house character. Yeast is always the first thing pointed to. The thing is, the "Chico" strain was also said to be the most widely used top fermenting yeast in the US. (I wonder if this has changed in the hazy era.) Granted, the "Chico" at one brewery might be quite different from what SN is using, but nonetheless, this should at least indicate there's more to it than that. I never drank much Lagunitas so I can't comment there, but to me the house character of Anchor was loud and clear and it was high levels of isoamyl acetate. People pointed to the yeast again, but I assume their fermentors and process (and targets) played a role. With Sierra, I think people underestimate the entire ingredient group and process - especially the whole cone hops.

 

Yes, there are multiple sources for the "Chico" yeast (e.g., Wyeast, White Labs, Fermentis, etc.) and while the yeast strains may not be 100% identical they have the common attribute of being yeasts that are flavor neutral.

Cheers!