Dry Yeast vs Liquid Yeast

[boomslang]

Hi folks,

Almost every batch of pale beer i've brewed has resulted in a strange umami taste and I'm 90% sure its because of the yeast I'm using/how I'm using it.

I know leaving your beer ontop of the yeast for too long can create such flavours, but I'm not by any means ageing mine ontop of it, but somehow I just can't shake it.

I've only ever used dried yeasts, but I was wondering if switching to liquid might help? I know the yeast you use impacts a huge flavour on the beer and this might be the problem. Could anyone shed some light on what's causing this and why it doesnt appear so much in my darker brews?

Cheers x

 

[Yooper]

It could be yeast- but it also could be water chemistry since you're only experiencing it in lighter colored beers.

What's your water like, and which yeast strains have you been using? And lastly, how are your fermentation temperatures?

 

[Smellyglove]

Hi folks,

Almost every batch of pale beer i've brewed has resulted in a strange umami taste and I'm 90% sure its because of the yeast I'm using/how I'm using it.

I know leaving your beer ontop of the yeast for too long can create such flavours, but I'm not by any means ageing mine ontop of it, but somehow I just can't shake it.

I've only ever used dried yeasts, but I was wondering if switching to liquid might help? I know the yeast you use impacts a huge flavour on the beer and this might be the problem. Could anyone shed some light on what's causing this and why it doesnt appear so much in my darker brews?

Cheers x

Are you using dry yeast from Mangrove Jacks? Imo Umami can also come from carbonating light beers with sucrose. I've tried this several times. White sugar gives a sensation of "fat" in a light beer. A dark beer masks this better.

 

[kh54s10]

I have no idea what umami is but you can leave beer on the yeast for many months and not get off flavors from autolysis. That is something more concerning with big breweries where there is so much beer on top of the yeast there is also pressure.

I would look at water and fermentation temperature.

The only way to know whether liquid yeast would alleviate the taste is to try it. But, you should make a starter when using liquid yeast. There are not enough yeast cells in most liquid yeast pack for any but the lower gravity beers.

 

[boomslang]

It could be yeast- but it also could be water chemistry since you're only experiencing it in lighter colored beers.

What's your water like, and which yeast strains have you been using? And lastly, how are your fermentation temperatures?

I usually stick to US-04 and US-05 in the past because of what i've been brewing (Safale) and I usually always ferment at around 20 degrees C.

 

[Lefou]

Try adjusting your water and brewing temperatures first, then decide which yeast might be suitable to your tastes.

Light-colored beers favor a water profile with low hardness levels, so a soft bottled water low on carbonates as a base brewing water would be a good choice.
You could also try dropping your fermentation temperatures a few degrees. Some yeasts will produce beers with fewer esters and phenolic flavors when fermented at lower temps, so get to know the characteristics of your yeast. I've gone to doing light lagers and ales with liquid yeast and soft water and my beers are definitely much better. Plain tap water and dry yeast doesn't cut it if you want to really improve your beer.

 

[FVillatoro]

It may be entirely brewing process that's causing the off-flavor you described.

The only thing (flaw) I ever pick up from dry yeast is a more pronounced "tang" flavor - I'm very sensitive to tart/tangy flavors so this could be why. However I also get this from liquid yeast and even commercial beers, but I have made overall very clean blonde ales and pale ales using US-05 and also a good NEIPA using S-04. Never picked up umami from it.

 

[BrewZer]

Brew your next batch with bottled water. If the flavor's gone, you'll know what the issue is.