On the Streets with White Labs As a bunch of beer geeks with roots in homebrewing, we decided to take to the streets and geek out at one of our favorite LHBS. A sunny spring day led White Labs Education & Engagement Curator Jo Doyle to Asheville Brewers Supply to talk shop with homebrewers picking…
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What is kombucha? Kombucha is a popular fermented drink traditionally made of sugar, black tea, and a SCOBY. What is a SCOBY? A SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. These SCOBYs consist of microorganisms that differ greatly depending on the environment. Typically the SCOBY or “mother” are transferred batch to…
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The market for gluten-free products is ever increasing. Beer has traditionally not been a product available for the gluten-intolerant crowd. Using a specific enzyme, drinking gluten-reduced beer has now become a reality. Clarity Ferm® Clarity Ferm® is an enzyme containing proline-specific endo-protease derived from a selected strain of Aspergillus niger. Clarity Ferm® IS INTENDED FOR…
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Compound Spotlight: Diacetyl Category: Usually undesirable Aroma: Butter, butterscotch Threshold (in beer): 50-100ppb Introduction to Diacetyl Diacetyl is a chemical compound produced by brewer’s yeast which can be reminiscent of butter or buttered popcorn. While a few styles (e.g. some English ales and European lagers) have low levels of diacetyl, it is generally considered undesirable…
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Cell counting provides two vital metrics: the total amount of cells in a storage vessel and a culture’s viability (amount of living cells). This information can then be used to decide if a culture is capable of another healthy fermentation. In addition, it can be used to calculate the exact volume needed to achieve a…
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We enjoy surrounding ourselves with beer nerds of all caliber. For this yeast experiment, we found ourselves partnering with Clawhammer Supply to explore split batching homebrew and pitching four different yeast strains. Splitting up a base wort with different yeast strains we looked at how each strain could turn the same wort into completely different…
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Making a Kettle Sour with Lactobacillus Cultures Kettle souring can be a convenient method for creating a crisp, clean, tart beer. Sour beers add variety to the beer menu and can attract new clientele. There are multiple ways to achieve a sour beer. One of the easiest is by using a Lactobacillus culture pre-fermentation in…
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What is the Hazy IPA? Hazy IPA’s are known for their intense fruit flavors and aromas, a soft body, and smooth mouthfeel, and often opaque with substantial haze. Less perceived bitterness than traditional IPAs but always massively hop forward. This emphasis on late hopping, especially dry hopping, with hops with tropical fruit qualities lends the…
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Proper nutrient levels are important for complete and healthy fermentations. Mead must lacks the necessary nitrogen needed for fermentation, therefore nutrient additions are a critical component of mead making. Most mead makers add their nutrients to the mead must in an incremental fashion, a process known as staggered nutrient additions (SNA). To explore this further,…
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The Stressful Life of Brewers Yeast Think back to last summer, that hot day of yard work breaking a sweat and quenching your thirst with that satisfying blond ale. How was that beer created? What ingredients and processes went into crafting its perfect balance and complex flavors? The yeast used to ferment that beer had…
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