Juicy West Coast IPA with Omega Yeast OYL-404 Party Star

[bguzz]

Looking to break from NEIPA's and do a variation on WC IPA and was intrigued by Party Star and Thiols.

5.25 Gallons into Fermenter
OG 1.064
FG 1.011
ABV" 7%
Color 6.6 SRM

Grain Bill
80% Rahr 2 Row Pale Malt
8% Carafoam
8% Munich 10
4% C-40

2L Starter of Party Star

Hops:
3 oz Cascade Mash Hop
.75 oz Columbus@60 Min
2 oz Simcoe@10 Min
2 oz Amarillo @ 5 Min
No Whirlpool
2 oz Simcoe Dry Hop
1 oz Citra Dry Hop

Pretty basic, but I'm going back and forth on the dry hop...wondering if I should let the thiols do their thing since I should be setting them up real nice with the mash hop. What I've been reading is the more hops added in, the more it pulls away from the precursors standing out. I'm hoping for pine and dank guava w/citrus.

Anyone have any experience with this new yeast and the effects of mash hopping? First timer using Party Star.

 

[AzOr]

I am not an expert on thiols but I ran across an article by Janish that makes a brief mention of dry hops potentially covering up thiol character.
The article seems to push whirlpooling.

I’m not sure his article is the definitive thiol instruction manual, but it is one data point (from someone who knows his stuff).

I still have not brewed a batch using this yeast or cosmic punch but am very curious and follow threads pertaining to it.

Good luck and please report back

 

[bguzz]

Yeah, I will definitely report back as I can't find much experience with this and this forum has been so valuable...I owe it. I have a pack of Cosmic Punch for my next experiment with this.

I think the Janish article is of his Locksmith brew? I will take a look at that. I'm getting the idea that the more hops added, the less the thiols show their stuff so restraint may be in order. My stirplate starter of Party Star has a very Guava and slight passionfruit/stone fruit aroma to it, which makes sense since it is supposed to do that from the malt...though it is very oxidized no doubt.

I'm really curious as to how this will come out.

 

[Arminius757]

I have been wondering the same thing recently. I got some Star Party and made a 1 gallon starter to split up for a few different batches and see what happens.

The recipe I am currently using comes from Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine titled "A New Swing at an OG IPA" by Randy Mosher. Its all about using Star Party to revamp the OG American IPA. His recipe is as follows:

5 Gallon
OG: 1.066
FG: 1.015
IBU: 65

7.5 lbs pale malt (I am using Maris Otter)
3.5 lbs lager malt (I am using a German Pils)
11 oz crystal 20
10 oz Vienna
4.5 oz crystal 80

1.9 oz Cascade mash hops (7 IBU)
1.9 oz Cascade @ 60 min (the same used for the mash hop - 35 IBU)
1.4 oz Calypso for Whirlpool - 30 mins
1 oz Chinook DH (post fermentation) - 3 to 5 days

I took the base idea for this recipe and decided I wanted to add some more hops (mostly to clear out some odds and ends floating around). So this is my planed hop schedule using Yakima Chief's Survivable Hop Compounds chart as a guide:

1 oz Cascade (Whole Cone) mash hop
1.1 oz Cascade (Pellets) at 60 mins
1 oz Chinook Whirlpool (194 F for 30 mins)
0.85 oz Cryo Simco Whirlpool (194 F for 30 mins)
1 oz Chinook Active Fermentation DH
0.85 oz Cryo Simco Active Fermentation DH
1 oz Azacca Post Fermentation DH
0.6 oz Amarillo Post Fermentation DH

Might seem a little more complex, but I am hoping that Star Party just bumps up the flavor a few notches. I am trying to add hops to as many parts of the brew day as possible, to load the wort up with survivable compounds and trigger biotransformation and thiol reactions. Fingers crossed it comes out well. I have never used close to 8 oz of hops in a single batch before....

 

[bguzz]

I like that combo. I brewed mine this AM. Modified the recipe and decided to shift from dry hopping to whirlpool based on Janish's article (not that he indicated not to dry hop). I want to see what this is like without dry hopping. I dropped the crystal too as I'm liking it less and less. Here's what I wound up doing:

5 gallons
OG: 1.063
Color: 6 SRM
IBU: 85

Grain Bill
77% Rahr 2 Row Pale Malt
16% Munich 10
7% Flaked Wheat

2L Starter of Party Star

Hops:
4 oz Cascade Mash Hop
.6 oz Chinook@60 Min
2 oz Simcoe@10 Min
2 oz Centennial@ 5 Min
1 oz Columbus @KO
1 oz Cryo Simcoe 20 minute whirlpool @170F
1 oz Centennial 20 minute whirlpool @170F

Water Profile: 98Ca, 7Mg, 174 Sulfate, 67 CaCL
Mashed in at 151F w/ph at 5.3 (at room temp)
Starting ferment at 65F

Will report back how this came out

 

[stealthfixr]

Very interested in how this turns out with Star Party--thank you for sharing. I am about to use Cosmic Punch for the first time this weekend, but my next WC IPA will use Star Party.

 

[bguzz]

Reporting back. Fermented at 65F for 4 days and then let raise to 70F under 1 psi total 11 days. OG 1.063, FG 1.012. Cold crashed for 2 days under pressure prior to kegging.

The result was interesting. The bitterness is exactly what I wanted, slight bite with nice body. Flavor and aroma are not quite what I was going for. I maybe get a little Columbus dankness, which I like, but no pine at all. Very strong guava aroma with a very slight yeast scent to it.

Not a bad beer, but I wouldn't try to make it again. I think the thiols are a one trick pony and essentially a guava blast that you might be able to control by the precursors you add in--just my guess. I'm not the biggest fan of guava in my beer, but maybe paired with the right hops in a NEIPA it has a place? Won't be using this again for a West Coast IPA. I have a pack of Cosmic Punch to do a NEIPA, curious to see how that pairs.

 

[Dgallo]

Reporting back. Fermented at 65F for 4 days and then let raise to 70F under 1 psi total 11 days. OG 1.063, FG 1.012. Cold crashed for 2 days under pressure prior to kegging.

The result was interesting. The bitterness is exactly what I wanted, slight bite with nice body. Flavor and aroma are not quite what I was going for. I maybe get a little Columbus dankness, which I like, but no pine at all. Very strong guava aroma with a very slight yeast scent to it.

Not a bad beer, but I wouldn't try to make it again. I think the thiols are a one trick pony and essentially a guava blast that you might be able to control by the precursors you add in--just my guess. I'm not the biggest fan of guava in my beer, but maybe paired with the right hops in a NEIPA it has a place? Won't be using this again for a West Coast IPA. I have a pack of Cosmic Punch to do a NEIPA, curious to see how that pairs.

This was the same thing I experienced with star party. I made a WCIPA with Columbus, Simcoe t90/cryo, Strata T90/cryo, and Citra LUPOMAX. Not one of the hops came through. Pure guava and maybe slight passionfruit. Completely took over and was even slightly perfumey on the noise. I was not a fan.

A few breweries in my area did a collab where they used the thiolized lager yeast and besides the bitterness of my ipa, the two beers were pretty identical in terms of nose and flavor.

Even though my beer medaled in a comp out in Chicago a few weeks ago, I’m not a fan of the thiolized yeast. I genuinely don’t think I’ll use them again

 

[Nick Poggetti]

This was the same thing I experienced with star party. I made a WCIPA with Columbus, Simcoe t90/cryo, Strata T90/cryo, and Citra LUPOMAX. Not one of the hops came through. Pure guava and maybe slight passionfruit. Completely took over and was even slightly perfumey on the noise. I was not a fan.

A few breweries in my area did a collab where they used the thiolized lager yeast and besides the bitterness of my ipa, the two beers were pretty identical in terms of nose and flavor.

Even though my beer medaled in a comp out in Chicago a few weeks ago, I’m not a fan of the thiolized yeast. I genuinely don’t think I’ll use them again

Piggybacking as well - I made a Pale Ale with Star Party. I may have let it ferment a little too warm, garage was 70 ambient, so it was probably in the mid seventies and I didn't use any cooling.

Aroma is musky, almost body odor-esque. It's drinkable but can't get over the muskiness. My guess is my issue of just letting it ferment ambient, but I did a Cosmic Punch IPA with temp control at 68 and I wasn't really into that one either.

Not bad, but wouldn't do again.

I'm thinking I'll let the thiolized strains go for now.