Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Saxony, not Bavaria  (Read 999 times)

Offline robettoplaste

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Saxony, not Bavaria
« on: August 18, 2018, 10:46:02 pm »
edited by mod
« Last Edit: September 07, 2018, 12:01:45 pm by denny »

Offline Robert

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4214
Re: Saxony, not Bavaria
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2018, 06:17:17 am »
Here's how I read it:

"The Frohberg yeast originates from the Frohberg Brewery in Grimma, Saxony, and is a bottom yeast. The Saaz yeast, which was included in the working yeast of a brewery in Saaz [Žateč] as a distinct strain, and from there was isolated as a pure culture, while showing all the morphological characteristics of brewery culture yeast (including sporulation,) in practice produces an abnormal fermentation and cannot therefore really be considered culture yeast."

Here "culture yeast" or "brewery culture yeast" clearly means top yeast.  Type Frohberg and Type Saaz have for at least 120 years represented the two main classes of bottom yeast, a parallel classification (esp. in the US) being Carlsberg vs. Tuborg.  One is powdery and clean, the other highly flocculent and less attenuative. Here the author (and what is the source, BTW?)  is noting that Saaz shares characteristics with ale yeasts, but behaves oddly:  it ferments cold and relatively cleanly, for instance. 

All of this of course is superseded by genomics.

As for the relation between 34/70 and Frohberg, 34/70 falls into the Frohberg/Carlsberg class based on phenotype.   It was bred/selected by Prof Narziss and colleagues during his tenure at Weihenstephan, beginning in the 1970s, as particularly well-suited to the modern, rapid fermentation program he developed for the commercial production of Pils-type beers.  Perhaps there is some record of the original accession, but the numbering itself indicates much change over time in the strain (I take it to denote var. No. 70 of accession no. 34 or something like that.)

I love old, arcane books and brewing history.  Thanks for a fun start to my Sunday.
Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Re: Saxony, not Bavaria
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2018, 07:48:17 am »
34/70 refers to strain/station 34, isolate 70. There is also a 34/78 from the Weihenstephaner Hefebank, that I a less flocculant isolate. On my phone, you can look for the Hefebank, or some discussions from a couple years back here.

Good translation.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!