Verdant vs Pomona results

[tyrub42]

Hey everyone! So most of us heard about Pomona and immediately wondered how it would compare to Verdant. I run a small brewery in Taiwan, where liquid is expensive and hard to get, so this was huge news to me as well. I got a friend to bring some Pomona over and set up a side by side brew for comparison. The beers finished and are sitting in kegs, so I wanted to post my results. Here's some basic info:

-Basic hazy IPA recipe, nothing paradigm shifting. No whirlpool hops, and bagged bittering hops just to keep everything identical between them.

-One large batch split into two fermenters so it was the exact same beer.

-fined both with .1g/liter of gelatin to test long-term haze stability and reduce hop burn

-Both beers finished at the same FG (1.012), but Pomona fermented faster. Verdant is always slow to ferment the last 10-20 percent for me.

-Pomona didn't have the giant krausen that Verdant gets

-Verdant is noticeably hazier, showing outstanding haze stability as always

-Pomona is overall fruitier and has a ruby red grapefruit vibe to it

-Verdant has an overall softer mouthfeel

-These are both fantastic yeasts and I don't think I have a favorite between them.

-Verdant has the usual London iii vibes. Pomona reminds me a little of Conan in the sense that it's less haze stable and fruitier with a less pillowy mouthfeel, although the flavor profile is pretty distinct with that ruby red grapefruit vibe.


I'll post more details and pics when I have a chance, but just thought I'd get this up while I have a minute

 

[day_trippr]

Basic hazy IPA recipe, nothing paradigm shifting. No whirlpool hops

No whirlpool hops in a hazy IPA seems like the ground moving a little

Cheers!

 

[tyrub42]

No whirlpool hops in a hazy IPA seems like the ground moving a little

Cheers!

Haha true enough. That was just to ensure both batches had the exact same makeup, and also get some beer samples before any dry hops were in there, to get to know the yeasts a little more

 

[tyrub42]

Some quick specs:

Grist: 80 percent pils/pale, 10 wheat, 10 oats and 2 points of lactose

OG: 1.059
FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.3ish
Mashed at 67.5c for 60min
Mash and sparge pH: 5.2
Post boil pH: 5.1
Final beer pH not measured yet
82 percent AA (when deducting 2 points of lactose from the OG and FG)

Fermentation temp: 20c, raised to 21 for second dry hop, and 22 for the last few days

Dry hopped twice: one small charge on day 4 and a big one on day 7 (krausen comparison pics are from day 4 before dry hops were added)

Last pics are just fermenter trub comparisons between the two (Verdant is the hazier one).

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask

 

[TBA]

Thanks for sharing! I was planning on including Pomona in my next order. Now I can’t wait…

 

[BongoYodeler]

I just received two packs of Pomona in the mail yesterday, to be used in an upcoming hazy.

Similar to the OP's experiment here's a yt video comparing the same yeasts in a split recipe.

 

[deVeer]

Could you talk a little about your fining with gelatin?
Pre or post dry hop?
Is the fining effective on reducing hop burn? Reduction in flavor or aroma that you have noticed?
I never heard of fining being used for that purpose , I would love to reduce hop burn, had a bad case on my last batch using Eclipse and Vic secret

 

[CodyRonan]

Overall were they more similar than different? Or did they seem like different beers?

 

[tyrub42]

Could you talk a little about your fining with gelatin?
Pre or post dry hop?
Is the fining effective on reducing hop burn? Reduction in flavor or aroma that you have noticed?
I never heard of fining being used for that purpose , I would love to reduce hop burn, had a bad case on my last batch using Eclipse and Vic secret

Sure! I used it at this dosage specifically to help with hop burn. It definitely did the trick and after the particulate dropped out, haze has been stable. It's only been about a week so far but if the haze drops out now I'd be pretty surprised.

All added post cold crash while the beer was at 1c

 

[tyrub42]

Overall were they more similar than different? Or did they seem like different beers?

They were more different than I was expecting. About as different as Conan and Verdant would be in terms of haze, mouthfeel and ester profile. Both make great beers. I've been enjoying the Pomona a bit more but in side by side tests all 5 people I shared with preferred Verdant