Yeast, far from least

In terms of weight, or volume Yeast is the least when it comes to beer, however if you think that a teaspoon of yeast powder can contain many millions of yeast cells, it starts to become obvious how important it is in the beer making process. Apart from anything, no yeast, no alcohol.

Yeast is the micro-organism that takes the fermentable sugars from the wort, eats it, respires and excretes alcohol. So I decided to take a closer look at what makes my favourite drinks alcoholic. First thing i did was to google "How many strains of yeast can make beer?" From my quick research its almost impossible to get an accurate answer. What is widely accepted is, there are two main types of yeast, that which does its fermentation at the top, also knowing as Ale Yeast. And, you've guessed it, that which prefers to do its fermentation at the bottom, known as Lager Yeast. Lager yeasts prefer a cooler temperature to get their work done, usually somewhere between 10 and 20 Celsius, Ale ferments between 18ish and 24ish. That's the very very basics of yeast.

So as i already said, Yeast is a living organism, and like you or I each individual strain of yeast has its own unique characteristics. It was Louis Pasteur in the 19th century who first discovered yeast was a living organism, and then we started to realise how important it was in the beer making process (and by extension, wine, and grain spirits such as whiskey). Of course like every other living organism that man could bend to his will during this time in history, selective breading of favourable characteristics shown by the yeast, mean today there are more strains of yeast than you can shake a stick at. Even if you and I brewed identical beer, with the same strain of yeast, if we kept re-using the yeast over and over, eventually your yeast would diverge from mine, and the beers would be unique. This is known as the "House Character," my yeast adapts to the environment that i provided, the equipment i use to brew, if its glass, stainless steel, plastic, or some combination, any variances in my technique compared to yours. These all influence the yeast.

Yeast is so powerful it can accentuate the maltiness, or hoppiness, can add a dry finish, fruit flavours. Equally it can inhibit these flavours.

I have in my possession two beers, which have been made to identical recipes, but fermented using different varieties of yeast, so, when am I ever going to have the opportunity to put this theory to the test. Now these beers are not commercially available having been brewed by beer membership club, Beer52. They have called these beers Zig and Zag.

Zig And Zag?

Zig, is using a Belgian Abbey Yeast, (M47). It is described as having less phenol's than Belgian Ale Yeast, and is exceptionally fruity with hugely complex esters. From a home brew point of view, this yeast has high attenution, and high Flocculation, basically means it clumps like a cake on the top, and reproduces plenty, for efficient fermentation.Zig and Zag are described as Belgian Blonde Ale, and both come in at a respectable 5.2% ABV.
 Zag is using T-58 Yeast, which is known for its high ester, and has a spicy peppery flavour profile. It is produced by Safale.

Zig and Zag, or Zag and Zig??

ZIG:

On opening Zig there was a low pressure release, and very little in the way of aroma from the bottle. On pouring the beer however, it formed a good head, about an inch and a half of small tight white bubbles, to form an almost solid looking barrier to the beer. The glass is rated at 330ml which was the amount in the bottle but even with a careful pour the head space took up so much space that it required a sup and second pour. My first impressions on the nose were that I wasn't getting a huge amount, I had to go looking. I did find a fruit nose, but I would not describe it as fresh fruit like I would be used to with massively hopped IPA's. As I took my first mouthful of Zig, my immediate reaction was that this was a massively fizzy beer. I described it as a massive explosion of carbonation in your mouth, and a real silky feel, which when looking at the head when poured is what you would have expected. There was fruit flavours there, but again I would not describe it as fresh or ripe fruit, but on the other hand it was not stewed fruits either. The beer encouraged salivation while drinking. The lacing on the glass was prominent as I made my way down. My summing up of this beer, was to say that it was very enjoyable, refreshing beer. I went on to say that I would like to have a few more of these with a BBQ some evening. 

ZAG:

As with Zig, the opening of the bottle was a little bit underwhelming, low pressure hiss although for me this was slightly more powerful. Again my glass was a 330ml rated glass and the bottle was also 330 ml. There was little carbonation on the pour and I comfortably poured the full bottle into the glass, with little care. The head poured at less than an inch, and disappeared relatively quickly. On the nose I did get pepper very easily, but I struggled to identify anything else, and the more I thought about it the more I thought about pepper. Whereas Zig was an explosion of carbonation, Zag, had a more old fashioned silky mouth feel. As I sampled more of Zag I was getting some red cherry flavours, (to the point i was convinced that i had mixed them up). The pepper is not overwhelming but it is the main flavour of the beer clearly. There was little or no lacing on the glass as I went down. I could detect a bitterness on the finish of Zag, that just wasn't there with Zig. 

I have to say I was very surprised at just how different these beers were, considering the malt and hop profiles are allegedly identical, and I have no reason to suspect that Beer52 are pulling a fast one. If i had to pick a winner, for me personally, it was Zig, but bare in mind it was the tale end of the first properly sunny day of the "summer" so perhaps my mind was already in that mode. 

The tasting done, there were no leftovers.