White Labs Yeast & Fermentation

In this episode we're doing a CRAZY yeast experiment - a smash ale, 4 way split batch by separating a single batch of wort into 4 different fermenters and pitching 4 different yeasts. We then taste them side by side to see how much of an impact just the yeast has on the finished beer. The beer we make is fairly simple, just Maris Otter and Zula hops (a new hop!). Our assistant brewer in this video is Jo Doyle, the Education & Engagement Curator at White Labs. She's a BJCP Certified Beer Judge and Certified Cicerone, so she's a real pro when it comes to beer. If you're a fan of White Labs, yeast, craft beer, or homebrewing this video is for you.

We turned to packaging solutions experts at Landsberg Orora to bring you an improved shipping package that outperforms our previous boxes AND is good for the planet.

Introducing the next level of fermentation - inside the development of PurePitch Next Generation. ????Stay tuned weekly for more on the features & benefits of our latest and greatest innovation!????

Description 15 Likes 158 Views 2023 Mar 29 PurePitch Next Generation for Homebrewers makes brewing easy! ???? Access to your perfect pitch rate is simple - the QR code on the back of each package leads you to our pitch rate calculator, providing a fully customizable tool at the touch of your fingertips. ???? And if math isn’t your jam, just follow the guidelines on the package for that foolproof fermentation! ????

PurePitch Next Generation packaging is not just here to look good! ????The beautiful sleek film serves a purpose: keeping your yeast viable as long as possible!????

Is PurePitch Next Generation the best thing since sliced bread? ???? That’s up to you, but we think these pouches are pretty special! Like sliced bread, you know exactly what you’re getting with PurePitch Next Generation Homebrew. Consistent pitch rate = foolproof fermentation.

Cell counting doesn’t need to be intimidating! Make it easy with our new series on some of our favorite cell counting tips and tricks! ???? ????Leave a comment below if you have a great tip to share or if you have cell counting questions and tune in for our next installment!

????Started from the bottom, and we’re counting. Make focusing easy by starting with the slide deck at the bottom and the lowest magnification. That means the only way to go is up! At 10x, a 5x5 grid should appear, at 40x, individual countable squares and cells will be counted. Stay tuned for next installment of cell counting tips!

Light changes everything????Have you tried these 3 quick tips of getting the most optimum light/view for cell counting? Stay tuned for more cell counting tips!

A Law of averages. Cell counting is all about being reproducible and accurate. Save time while still maintaining an accurate count. Perform counts on only 5 of the 25 squares! You’ll multiply by 5 later on to get the 25 squares????

A Law of averages. Cell counting is all about being reproducible and accurate. Save time while still maintaining an accurate count. Choose 2 sides of the border and keep them consistent on all 5 counting squares!

Don’t be so blue????! We have another round of quick tips to make cell counting easier! Check out whitelabs.com under product & services and lab services; we have a bunch of lab supplies ready to be ordered and used! Be on the lookout for more tips and tricks????

When to count and when not to count is the question????? Good SOPs with pictures can help standardize dye color and cell size for staff to differentiate live/dead cells and mother/daughter cell. As long as the team does it the same way, it will lead to more consistent results!

Having trouble counting flocculant strains? Use EDTA at a concentration of 0.01% or 0.5M as a deflocculating diluent to help break up those clumps. Be on the lookout for more cell counting tips ????

Whitelabs.com offers a plethora of lab supplies to start counting or start your own microbiological program. Don’t want to do your own testing just yet, we also offer 3rd party QA/QC analysis through our analytical lab.

I’m not dead yet ???? Why not save a batch of beer by calculating the viability. Viability can help determine if it’s alive enough to be repitched or if it’s time for new yeast. Also keep an eye on the fermentation kinetics as that can also be an indicator for poor performances from yeast generations.

Slurry calculations don’t need to be blurry ????. We’re here to help you figure out how much yeast was counted for a yeast slurry concentration. Just in time for repitching! Watch til the end to see our cheat sheet on the math with a 1:200 dilution ➕➖➗✖️⁉️

????How many yeast cells are you adding to your brew? Is it total number of cells, per volume size of tank, or factoring in both Starting Gravity and Volume? ????Pitch with our PurePitch Next Generation recommendations and stay tuned to learn about other parameters to make some happy yeast!

Have you ever eaten way too much and feel totally bloated? ????Or had way too little food and needed another meal right after? That’s just like yeasts role when introduced to different starting gravities! ????Keep yeast happy by providing enough cells adequate for each brew. This will help control their growth curves as well as reduce some risk of unwanted flavors or even worse stuck fermentations. Happy brewing ????

????How many yeast cells are you adding to your brew? Is it total number of cells, per volume size of tank, or factoring in both Starting Gravity and Volume? ????Pitch with our PurePitch Next Generation recommendations and stay tuned to learn about other parameters to make some happy yeast!

Fermenting on a schedule is all about balance ⚖️ ⬆️Higher temperatures will lead to faster ferments but will also increase esters, fusel alcohols, and other maybe unwanted flavors ⬇️Lower temperatures help reduce some of these flavors and aromas while slowing down cell growth and fermentation timelines We typically recommend starting most ferments at 68F(20C) for ales and 50F(10C) for lagers as a starting point. Just like humans, do you function better at warmer temperatures☀️ or colder❄️? But have you tried a pitching a saison yeast and letting it free rise? How about a Kveik yeast and fermenting hot as it evolved to produce a “clean” beer at higher temps!

❌ DO in a packaged beer. ✅ DO at the beginning of fermentation. Dissolved Oxygen helps allow yeast cells to be hardy and withstand environmental stresses. Adequate DO levels help lead to improved cell growth, improved attenuation, improved fermentation rates as it minimizes cell stress and helps control flavor compounds!

????Improved Yeast Health for Better Fermentations! Zinc Buddy™ comes as a????‍???? Sterilized, Acidfied, and Ready to Use zinc concentration that stimulates protein synthesis and yeast growth. Resulting in the improvement of yeast viability and overall yeast health. Just mix well before using, spray with sanitizer and carefully pour desired volume of Zinc Buddy™ into the fermenter before or during knockout for adequate mixing with the wort. Learn more at whitelabs.com

Train your yeast like a proper workout regime ????️‍♂️ Start lower generations at lower gravities, IBU, and color and work your way up! ????Track everywhere your yeast goes from what generation, fermenter, previous beers, viability/previous fermentation timeline and how long it was stored! It’s always good to have a beer in the portfolio that’ll be the “yeast prop” beer, something quick and easy for the yeast with a great yield for beers to come!

????What Fermentation parameters do you track? Gravity and pH, how’s the yeast look and smell, is the lag time longer?

⏰Timing counts! When are you adding your brewing enzymes and nutrients? For proper mixing and homogenization, adding enzymes during knockout with wort being pumped in helps provide adequate physical force to help mix and increase surface area for enzymes to do their thing!

How many generations do you get out of your yeast? ????Check out @craftbeerbrew podcast EP348 for Keys to Successful Beer Fermentations to optimize your yeast generations!

Faster ferments and better attenuation! With better efficiency, Zinc Buddy can help save money on overall ingredients costs ???? and lessen fermentation tank time ⏰! Which means more beer sooner ???? Check out the benefits of Zinc Buddy at whitelabs.com and try it in your next brew day????

✅Reach proper and accurate levels of zinc for fermentation by adding Zinc Buddy on the cold side. Get improved yeast health and better fermentation and don’t get bound up with the little things.

????Ever wonder how sensory threshold numbers are quantified? VDK numbers can be correlated with sensory results to help standardize and set a baseline for beers and sensory panelists????‍????. Some gas chromatographs even have an olfactory detector where you can smell and characterize the peaks as they elute

What’s the difference between sanitizing and sterilizing? ???? Sanitation is great for brewing but not enough when working with pure cultures or doing microbiological tests. Even if you don’t have a huge autoclave, there are alternatives that can be used to create your own small microbiological QA/QC lab. It's best practice to validate the sterilization with swab plating and other means. *Look for canning/stovetop autoclaves, that can exceed 1 bar (15psi)

Do you have a dedicated lab area? If you’re building out a Micro QA/QC program????, aseptic technique is crucial! Find a nice secluded tabletop area free of high traffic or errant air flows. Work as close to the flame ???? as possible and limit outside exposure

????Aseptic practice can also be done in the brew house????. Be cautious of what is around the flame ???? when using a blowtorch. As well as clean the area and close any high traffic flows when taking the sample ???? *We like to put a butterfly value before the zwickel for easy switching for positive hits on the zwickel itself ????

What plates ???? are good for growing bacteria ????? Let’s explore two great industry-standard plates and how they help identify organisms! ????Get these premade plates at Yeastman.com under Lab Supplies! *This doesn’t encompass all the great micro plates out there. Stay tuned for even more! What media does your micro program use?

????What about wild yeast plates ????? Two of our most commonly used ones include industry-standard LCSM and LYWM for helping identify wild yeast in brewing????. How do you identify wild yeast? ????These premade plates are available at Yeastman.com under Lab Supplies!

????Here’s our favorite media to get started for a QA/QC microbiology program! HLP is a great place to start as no autoclaving is needed and it detects two very common beer spoilers, Lactobacillus and Pedioccous. ????Try out easy premade HLP kit (TK3100) at yeastman.com under lab supplies!

Plate, plate, plate ????! Just like brewing, there are multiple ways and methods to plate to help identify brewery organisms. Each has its own pros and cons. Is there a certain plating method that you prefer? ????

Did you know? Not only can you be selective with different types of microbiological plates ????. Promotion of this selectivity can be enhanced by incubating under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. ????️To grasp a full picture of a mixed culture, we plate on all different types of media as well as incubate under both conditions to promote certain types of organism growth. ????Check out LS6725 Mixed Culture Isolations at whitelabs.com under our analytical lab services. To learn more about this complex testing!

????Keep Yeast Happy! Our R&D department researched some of our top strains on the impact of osmotic and organic acid stress ???? By screening for this, we can help brewers make more educated decisions on more robust strains needed for particular brews ???? Read more at whitelabs.com!

Nutrients & Nitrogen ???? Yeast need sufficient nitrogen to carry out fermentation efficiently, and lower than optimal levels can inhibit this process. The presence of FAN in a beer affects vital aspects such as fermentation rate, attenuation, aroma, and yeast vitality.

Acetaldehyde in beer ???? is usually considered a major “off-flavor” with aromas and taste similar to a green, apple or pumpkin rind. Zinc can help speed up the enzymatic conversion of acetaldehyde into ethanol, which means shorter beer maturation timelines ????

Thanks to our friends at Browar Grodzisk in Poland, White Labs is excited to be part of reviving the iconic Grodziskie style, a 100% smoked wheat ale in the sessionable 2.5-3.3% ABV range. Introducing, WLP548 Original Grodziskie Yeast Blend! The Grodziskie style is celebrated for its clean fermentation profile, with just a hint of pear-like esters. ????To honor this tradition, we meticulously recovered the original yeast strain from pre-1993 bottles. Collaborating with scientists in Łódź and Warsaw, we succeeded in isolating a remarkably resilient yeast strain.???? This strain ferments rapidly and cleanly, producing ales up to 12% ABV. Its exceptional ability to ferment at low temperatures makes it unique, offering a depth of flavor rarely found in other strains. ????Join us in celebrating Grodziskie’s renaissance. Each sip is a tribute to the enduring legacy of a beloved brewing tradition!

????Na Zdrowie! Cheers to our newest yeast strain ????WLP548 Original Grodziskie Yeast Blend! Collaborating with Marcin at Browar Grodzisk, we helped bank the iconic yeast blend so everyone can brew the iconic Grodziskie style! Learn more about our R&D at Whitelabs.com!

Nicknamed the champagne ???? of Poland, our newest yeast blend ????WLP548 Original Grodziskie Yeast Blend was collected and collaborated with Marcin and the revived Grodziskie Brewery!

Dial in your attention???? Something is brewing over at White Labs ????????

Happy Halloween From White Labs!

We recently collab with Wendlandt Cerveceria ???? on brewing a Pacific Ale, picking between two strains, ????WLP041 Pacific Ale Yeast ????WLP067 Coastal Haze Ale Yeast Blend

????NEW FERMENTATION SOCIETY STRAIN DROP! ????WLP037 Yorkshire Square Ale Yeast Named after the famous fermentation vessel found in Northern England, this yeast produces a beer that is malty and well-balanced. Expect toasty flavors with malt-driven esters.

White Labs is celebrating its 30th anniversary, with 13 of them being as White Labs Brewing Co! We've had so many employees bud off to new ventures. With our latest collaboration with Abnormal Beer Co, our alumni brewer, Paul, joined us on a crushable West Coast IPA. With very unique yeast strains and some very new varieties of hops, this IPA is a complex fruit salad of flavor and aromas! West Coast IPA WLP077 Tropicale Ale Yeast Blend WLP090 San Diego Super Ale Yeast

This collaboration was sparked during Cerveza México, in the midst of a lively conversation among friends, beers in hand, with Chris White. This beer is a true representation of Alsatian Pilsners (Al-say-shn), the "lost sister" of German and Czech Pilsners, known for its elegance and the unique character of noble hops like Strisselspalt. We chose WLP833 German Bock Lager Yeast to provide the solid backbone this beer needs, complementing the light body contributed by the corn. Its ability to balance malt and hop character aligns perfectly with our goal of creating an elegant yet authentic Pilsner that pays homage to the Alsace brewing tradition. Additionally, we decided to use WLP4062 La Fleur Ale Yeast on a portion of the wort. This allows us to reimagine how a truly French Grisette might have been, offering a creative interpretation that highlights the versatility of the ingredients and the region’s rich brewing heritage. Both strains bring something unique to the table, making this