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Author Topic: Purposely stressing yeast  (Read 5247 times)

Online denny

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #15 on: February 22, 2014, 12:50:01 pm »
I would counter that all your questions can be applied equally as well to pitching "the right amount". I do agree that I would chose other options before I start playing with pitching rate, but it is certainly another factor that you can control as a brewer.

I think of pitching rate similar to how I think of IBU's - the calculators out there aren't going to give you exact predictions that can be verified by a lab. But if you are consistent in how you use them, then they can give you a good enough ballpark to be able to make adjustments within a given recipe on your own system.

Good points.  But what about the varying opinions on how pitching rate influences ester production?  Some say less yeast equals more esters, others say the opposite.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #16 on: February 22, 2014, 01:36:43 pm »
I would counter that all your questions can be applied equally as well to pitching "the right amount". I do agree that I would chose other options before I start playing with pitching rate, but it is certainly another factor that you can control as a brewer.

I think of pitching rate similar to how I think of IBU's - the calculators out there aren't going to give you exact predictions that can be verified by a lab. But if you are consistent in how you use them, then they can give you a good enough ballpark to be able to make adjustments within a given recipe on your own system.

Good points.  But what about the varying opinions on how pitching rate influences ester production?  Some say less yeast equals more esters, others say the opposite.

I guess my main point is that adjusting your pitching rate is just another factor you can use to dial in a recipe. I don't have an answer to the ester production question. For the one recipe I intentionally pitch at a lower rate (dunkelweizen), I've found that it tilts the ester/phenolic balance a little more toward the phenolic side. That's as much as I'm going to claim. Everyone else is free to experiment for themselves :)
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #17 on: February 22, 2014, 03:09:11 pm »
You can control the speed of a vehicle with the clutch but it's probably better to use the brakes or the throttle. On occasion use all three. But I'm not sure how far to take the analogy because you also can just steer it into a concrete wall to control speed...

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #18 on: February 22, 2014, 09:21:06 pm »
Good points.  But what about the varying opinions on how pitching rate influences ester production?  Some say less yeast equals more esters, others say the opposite.

Even BLAM argues within itself about this -- sometimes less yeast leads to less esters, or more esters.  I agree with erockrph that it is something worth more experimentation.
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #19 on: February 22, 2014, 10:36:25 pm »
I'll bet it's strain dependant, temp dependant, O2 dependant, pitch rate dependant, sugar type and amount dependant, probably a few others. I go back to it also depends on what your end goal is.

Another option, if you want a beer that is more ester forward, use less roast and hops.

Offline yso191

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Re: Purposely stressing yeast
« Reply #20 on: February 23, 2014, 12:20:07 am »
Another option, if you want a beer that is more ester forward, use less roast and hops.

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