[Bel Air Brewing]

Brewed 10 gallons of Premium Pale Czech Pilsner. Split batch, 5 & 5.

Two yeasts were used...my trusty and reliable Diamond (multi generation harvest slurry), and Wyeast 2124, two new smack packs.

The beer will go into serving kegs this morning. Based on a couple 2 ounce samples, the Diamond is more to my liking. It is also much more flocculant, with the finished beer being very clear now. The 2124 is still very cloudy, after 6 days at 32F.

Once the beer has a few weeks of aging and conditioning, a full report will be posted.

As of right now, I am leaning towards the Diamond.

edit: Just got both beers in the kegs. The 2124 is a little more soft. Very good. The Diamond is typical Diamond. Can't wait to get these conditioned, and do a round table taste test.

edit #2: The 2124 was very active, at 33F. Huge plumes of yeast kept percolating to the surface as the beer was flowing into the keg.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Update: With the two beers in kegs, and carbonated, I find the 2124 to be softer, smoother, a little easier to drink. The bitterness is more subdued.

Both the Diamond and 2124 produced excellent beers. They are both enjoyable to drink.

Does yeast affect the bitterness, or the hop character? I honestly do not know. But that is my early impression from the samples.

10 ounces of Saaz hops, 2.3% AA.

[Cliffs]

perhaps the yeast staying in suspension had something to do with the subdued bitterness?

[Bel Air Brewing]

perhaps the yeast staying in suspension had something to do with the subdued bitterness?

That might be. We just did another taste test, being a little bit of a blind test.

The taster liked the Diamond version much better. He is an experienced brewer, and had no info on the beer, other than it was two different beers and I wanted his input.

He did agree (as the beer warmed a little) that the 2124 was a little more "soft" in overall impact.

[Bel Air Brewing]

As of today, both of these kegs have become clear. The Diamond dropped clear right away, the 2124 took at least 7 days. Both were treated with gelatin.

But these two beers are very different in flavor profile.

The Diamond is slightly more dry, and more crisp / sharp. The hop character is a little subdued.

The 2124 is more soft, more rounded in flavor, with much greater hop presence. The hops really come through in the aroma.

The beer is a Premium Pale Czech Pils. Both beers are quite good, but my preference is for the 2124 version. And I am a huge fan of Diamond.