Yeast...the "secret ingredient" for beer

Moving from grain to hops, yeast seemed the next logical step...

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Did you know that brewers don't make beer? It's not just the brewers at Mully's, ALL brewers don't make beer. For that, we rely on someone (or something) else entirely:

YEAST!

Yes, it's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek joke, but it's technically true. Producing beer, which always includes alcohol, is the job of yeast. Our brewmaster, Mike, makes something else: a liquid called wort (pronounced WERT). As we talked about in our first Beer Knowledge 101 article, to start the beer-making process you need to rinse sprouted grain with hot water to extract the sugars, then boil that liquid with hops. But the result of all that work isn't beer, it's wort. Sugary sweet with a malty flavor and some hop bitterness, you can think of wort like "pre-beer."

There's some resemblance between wort and finished beer, but not much. Think of it like the difference between cake batter and a finished wedding cake. You might get some idea of what it will look and taste like, but they're very different things. You need YEAST to make the step from wort to finished brew.

The yeast used to ferment [most] beer is called Saccharomyces cerevisiae (see, we really are scientists here), and is incredibly similar to the yeast you might have in your kitchen for baking. In fact, they're almost identical! There are slight differences in the organism, but you could substitute brewing yeast for your loaf of bread with no problems (something we've done in a pinch once or twice). Using baking yeast for beer would probably work, but not well...

You see, yeast is one of the major components in the flavor of beer. There are different varieties of yeast for hazy and clear IPAs, stouts, porters, Belgian brews, German fest biers, blonde ales, and any other style you can imagine. They've been selected over many years to give specific beers the smells, flavors, and appearance you expect from each one. In fact, if you take the same brew that includes the same barley, water, and hops...but them separate them into two different vessels with two different yeast strains, you would get two entirely different tasting beers!

On a side note, baking yeast has been selected for its ability to give baked goods a sustained, even rise. A specialized tool for a specialized job!

So next time you sip your favorite brew, give a shout out to the yeast that made it possible! Cheers!