permo
Well-Known Member
Two weeks ago I decided to whip up a beer, quite quickly. I made the starter the night before, and I knew it was too small even when I pitched it. But hey, underpitched beer is better then no beer!
So it was a simple american wheat beer, half wheat, half two row. There are no specialty grains.
I pitched most of an actively fermenting 1 liter pacman starter. Obviously the yeast were still propogating and I didn't have full cell count. The beer started perfectly normal, but the fermentation took far longer than a normal pacman fermentation when pitched properly, especially on a 1.045 OG beer. I did aerate and use nutrient.
So two weeks later, I tasted a sample, the beer is good, quite good, but not at all the clean wheat beer that I was expecting. It has very faint, almost belgian like, estery undertones to it. They are not harsh, or unpleasant, but I think they move the beer from American Wheat to Heffe........so I dry hopped with Ammarilo!
With minimal hopping and specialty malts to mask the flavor, I did learn first hand that stressed yeast producre more esters! I think if I would have accidently let the fermentation rise in temperature I would have had a very unpleasant beer, instead I have a very unique american wheat.
So it was a simple american wheat beer, half wheat, half two row. There are no specialty grains.
I pitched most of an actively fermenting 1 liter pacman starter. Obviously the yeast were still propogating and I didn't have full cell count. The beer started perfectly normal, but the fermentation took far longer than a normal pacman fermentation when pitched properly, especially on a 1.045 OG beer. I did aerate and use nutrient.
So two weeks later, I tasted a sample, the beer is good, quite good, but not at all the clean wheat beer that I was expecting. It has very faint, almost belgian like, estery undertones to it. They are not harsh, or unpleasant, but I think they move the beer from American Wheat to Heffe........so I dry hopped with Ammarilo!
With minimal hopping and specialty malts to mask the flavor, I did learn first hand that stressed yeast producre more esters! I think if I would have accidently let the fermentation rise in temperature I would have had a very unpleasant beer, instead I have a very unique american wheat.
