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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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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