Yeasts are strains that are used for the fermentation of beer, wine, or any beverage. They belong to the classification of fungi and are part of the genus Saccharomyces (called “sugar fungus”). In traditional brewing, ale yeasts are used in top fermentation as top strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while lager yeasts are used as bottom strains of S.carlsbergensis. But in modern brewing, all brewing strains like S.cerevisiae and ales are produced through fermentation with what were initially top strains.
Yeasts make up a large part of the fermentation process that depends on so many factors to work well and produce a good beer.
There is a difference between baking yeast and brewing yeast. Although they both have different strains, they belong to the same species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The primary thing that distinguishes baking yeast from brewing yeast is the way they are cultivated.
They are explicitly groomed for the final product they will be used in as ingredients. For beer yeast, the well-known strains have been grown for many years to hone their spectacular features like the attenuation and the produced beer flavor. It is also made to produce less carbon dioxide and more alcohol, while baker’s yeast was created to have less alcohol and more carbon dioxide.
Below is a list of the most yeast beers. Do well to check them out.
1. Ale yeast
Ale yeast has been brewed for a long time since Egyptian times. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the Latin name for ale yeast, and this species is made up of bread yeast, distillers yeast, and a lot of laboratory yeast strains.
One thing you can use to differentiate ale yeast is its distinct flavor production.
Like lager yeast, ale yeast does not produce phenolic tasting beer because of their natural mutation that hinders them from making phenolic off-flavors.
You should also know that ale yeast does what you want it to, like tolerating moderate alcohol levels, consuming the right profile of sugars, and surviving the anaerobic conditions of fermentation
There are various types of ale yeast strains. All wheat and Belgian strains are called ale yeast. They all accentuate and flocculate separately and all produce a lot of flavor profiles. They are pretty similar; most of them have their average fermentation temperature around 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees celsius.
There are different types of flavors that ale yeast produces. Usually, when they produce just a tiny amount of these flavor compounds, they are referred to as “clean fermenters. They are pretty famous because they are known to make lager-like beers utilizing ale techniques and fermentation times. The period of their fermentation is slower than other ale yeast. They depict medium flocculation properties that ensure that they stay for long on the beer to condition it very well. They are also known to manufacture trace sulfur, but it is not usually up to more significant yeast strains manufacture.
Many brewers know that ale yeast is known for being able to top ferment. They usually take over twelve hours to ferment before moving to the surface and ferment there for about four days. With this, homebrewers can gather the yeast from the top. You have to be careful when you do this, though, so you don’t contaminate your beer.
For ale yeast that produces beers with a fruity flavor, they are not that versatile but impressive. Some examples of fruity group 2 yeasts are the British ale, English ale, and Irish ale. They compose more compounds excreted from the yeast cell as they ferment at the same temperature with clean fermenters. They easily flocculate, and this results in allowing acetaldehydes and diacetyl to remain in the solution. You will see many chunks as your produce a beer with a high flocculent yeast contained in it. The look of it fermenting is quite different. Immediately fermentation is over; the yeast goes down. After this, you can go ahead to either consume your beer or bottle it. Because the ale strain doesn’t top crop, they easily flocculate.
In producing ale yeasts, you will require a pitching rate of, say, five to ten million cells per milliliter to enhance cell growth and excellent beer flavor.
2. Lager yeast
Lager yeast also belongs to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae family. Lager yeasts ferment perfectly in a cold temperature than ale yeasts.
Lager beer became very famous because when lager yeast was discovered, many ale fermentations that had plenty of yeast and bacteria limited the shelf life of the beer. Lager beer was fermented cold, and this aid in reducing the growth of wild yeast and bacteria. Also, lager beer had a longer shelf life than ale yeast. This led to an increase in sales of lager beer more than ale beer, and this got a lot of breweries to switch to lager brewing so their sales can be boosted.
Lager yeast is different from ale yeast because they are bottom fermenters. After all, they can ferment from the bottom of the tank. Lager beers are not high flocculation. A more significant portion of the yeast remains in suspension, and many lager strains are low to medium flocculation. Your lager yeast needs to stay in rest so that it can “lager” the beer and he it with some yeast to reduce the sulfur and diacetyl levels that are manufactured during the cold fermentation.
There are a lot of repercussions for carrying out a cool fermentation for your larger beer. And cool temperature helps to keep an additional sulfur in the solution, making it difficult for yeast to digest diacetyl. This is not good for your beer.
For lager beer, the optimal pitching rate is usually twice the rate of ales and can fall between fifteen to twenty million cells per milliliter.
3. Wheat beer
The traditional European wheat beers utilize unique yeast strains that produce plenty of flavors. These specific flavors are classified with phenolic, clove, and wild yeast. And these flavors blend easily with other wheat beer ingredients. There are various wheat beer strains, and their unique flavor is the primary thing that distinguishes them.
Do not go ahead to cap your fermentation if it is not complete because wheat strains produce sulfur. Please do not join the brewers who cap fermentation close to the end to trap the remaining carbon dioxide to carbonate the beer. If you do this, sulfur will be trapped in your beer, and it will never leave, and if this happens, you will need about 24 hours to remove the sulfur out of the solution.
A lot of wheat beer strains don’t flocculate easily. As for the pitching rate of wheat yeasts, it is the same as that of ale yeasts.
4. Belgian strains
These beers are uniquely brewed with some unique yeast strains that cannot be generalized.
Belgian strains manufacture plenty of phenol and clove flavors like wheat beer yeast. They also produce fusel alcohols, earthy flavors, and many esters; if these compounds are well balanced, they g a long way in determining the flavor profile of these strains used to produce the Belgian-style Trappist beers.
A lot of Belgian strains do not flocculate well like wheat beer strains, so it is good you use a higher pitching rate that is within ten to fifteen million cells per milliliter.
You must get creative when you try making Belgian-style beers. Don’t trivialize it for any reason if you want to be very good at producing excellent beers.
Characteristics of yeast
There are different characteristics of yeast that will probably influence your desired choice of yeast strain. Check them out below.
1. Attenuation
Attenuation is simply the degree to which yeast ferments the sugars that are fermentable in your wort.
You can measure the level of attenuation from your hydrometer readings, but the required level of attenuation you need depends on your choice and your beer style. While some beer styles will require a high attenuation level, others will require a low level of attenuation. If the attenuation level is more than 78%, it is considered as high; if it within the range of 73% to 77%, it is medium, and if it is less than 72%, it is considered as low.
2. Flocculation
Flocculation has to do with the clustering of yeast cells that usually occurs at the end of fermentation. The level of flocculation goes a long way in determining how quickly your beer will clear. So, as soon as your beer clears, the high flocculating yeasts go to the bottom of the fermenter quickly.
For any yeast you choose, it is good you use the optimal fermentation temperature to ferment your beer. Take it upon yourself to ferment your beer at whatever temperature your yeast prefers to perform its job. Your fermentation may not attain its peak, or it may take a long while to start if the fermentation temperature is too low. It is then too warm; you may end up manufacturing off-flavors that you will eventually not be able to consume after production.
3. Flavor profile
The flavor is another thing that matters in brewing, and you will need to get an indication of the kind of flavors you want your yeast to add to the final product of your beer. If you know what kind of flavors you want, it will help you understand how your beer will finally come out. Yeast can do a lot to change the taste of your beer. It can accentuate its maltiness or hoppiness, or it could even give it a sweet, fruity flavor.
Beer with the most yeast
Hefeweizens is a beer that has deficient flocculating yeast, and most of it remains in suspension. Any beer that is bottle conditioned will have living yeast in it so.
Hefeweizens is a German kind of wheat beer that is gotten from Bavaria, Germany. Hefe is a German concept for “yeast” while “weizen” means “wheat,” which means a Hefeweizen is an unfiltered wheat beer that has yeast in it. The hazy and cloudy appearance that the ale has is given to it by the yeast. Also, the unfiltered yeast and wheat contribute to the additional bitterness of its flavor.
Hefeweizen is quite different from other kinds of wheat beers.
The wheat beers is a type of beer that is brewed with a large amount of wheat. It is made up of a large quantity of wheat malt within the range of fifty to seventy percent, while the remaining ingredients are basic barley malt. German Weissbier and Belgian wheat beer are the various kinds of wheat beer you can find worldwide.
The German Weissbier can be further divided into four categories on the proportion of wheat, hops, and yeast used, namely Kristallweizen, Dunkelweizen, Weizenbock, and Hefeweizen. Kristallweizen means ‘clear wheat’ because it is heavily filtered, resulting in an obvious beer. Dunkelweizen is brewed with very dark malts and results in a very dark, bready beer.
Weizenbock is a style of German lager that is traditionally malty, somewhat sweet, strongly alcoholic, with little or no hop flavor or aroma. It combines the characteristics of the two styles. Thus, It is the heartiest of the wheat beers.
Hefeweizen is the most popular of all its Weissbier siblings. This is an unfiltered ale, meaning the brewer’s yeast is left in suspension, making the beer cloudy and slightly white looking. The heavy wheat profile gives them a uniquely refreshing flavor. As you smell your Hefeweizen, you will notice a mixture of fruity and spicy aroma. You can also taste banana, clove, and vanilla flavors.
The Hefeweizen tastes best when it is cold and served in a particular kind of glass called the Weizenbier glass. The Weizenbier glass looks like a modified tulip with a narrow base that opens up to a large middle and tapers at the rim slightly. The shape of the glass forms the white head where the beer is poured into.
Conclusion
Yeast is a high determining factor in making good beer. Yeast aids the fermentation process. It is an ingredient that most homebrewers cannot do without when they are making beer.
Beer yeast is white different from baking yeast because they are both cultivated for what they will eventually be used to produce.
Various yeast beers were listed out with their unique features.
Yeast has various characteristics like accentuation, flavor profile, and others.
Hefeweizen has a lot of yeast in it. That is how it is produced. And it is good you serve it with its special Weizenbier glass.
Allow your yeast do its job so you can enjoy drinking your healthy fermented beer when it is ready.