Summer - Hopunion

Volume 6, Issue 3/Summer-Fall 2007Chris White discusses the cold side of brewingBy Chris WhitePresident, White LabsAt the Craft Beer Conference in Austin, Texas, earlierthis year, I gave a talk called “Hot vs. Cold.” I discussedthe differences between the hot and cold side of brewing,and made the case that the cold side (i.e. fermentation)is often the most neglected yet the most importantside of brewing.Each phase requires high skills and expert techniquesto achieve optimal results. However, as important as thehot side of brewing is, many of the issues that come upon that side of the process can be corrected or alleviatedthrough cold side manipulation. The cold side is whereCrop update as of July 2007By Ralph OlsonHopunion, LLCMost brewers are now aware of thehop shortages that are occurringthroughout the industry. These shortagesare happening for various reasonsthat are beyond a simple solution.The acreage world-wide for hopgrowing has decreased in 1/2 from 10years ago. Although the acreage hasdecreased, demand has continued torise, especially for the high alpha hops,thus putting pressure on aroma hopacreages.In Europe most hops aren’t evenbeing quoted for until the harvest isbrought in, and requests are alreadybeing received for crop years 2009-Turn to pages 4-5 for morenews on yeast and White Labs.Turn to pages 6-7 formore news on hops andHopunion CBS.2012. However, Hopunion, LLC hasbeen able to contract and secure themuch demanded hops.The past low rainfall in Europe wasalso causing problems; however, therainfall is reaching its normal levels again.Another problem is the rising demandfor hops from China. China at one timehad been in the top 5 for hop produc-See “Hops,” page 6beer becomes beer. And this is why brewers should putmore knowledge, efforts and resources into this phase.This does not always happen in modern breweries,however. Frankly, the cold side is just not as “sexy.” Breweriesspend gobs of money on copper equipment for thehot side, in part because it shows well to customers butalso because of tradition. And often, after these greatinitial expenditures, little money is left for the productionprocess and many corners are cut. The beer sufferstremendously, and in some cases, so do the businesses.The hot side involves the combination of two veryimportant ingredients, hops and malt, and these steps arevery important. The cold side, on the other hand, involvesone ingredient, yeast, but many key factors, including:yeast strain selection, yeast growth, oxygen content,esters, potential contamination, and yeast health.Mastery of all these cold side factors is critical to the successof your brewing process.A detailed description of all these factors would takeup an entire book, but for now we can talk about whySee “Cold” page 4An analysis of AC AndrewBy Cargill MaltAC Andrew, otherwise known as “AgricultureCanada Andrew” was bred by R.S. Sadasivaiah of Agriculture and Ag-FoodCanada Lethbridge Research Centre. ACAndrew belongs to the class of WesternCanadian Wheat Varieties known as SoftWhite Spring (CWSWS) because it isplanted in the spring time and harvestedin the late summer/fall.Soft refers to the texture of the wheatand under traditional circumstanceswould be destined to the milling industryto produce cookie, cracker, noodle andcake flour. This milling characteristic islargely due to the fact that its protein contentis lower than other wheat varieties,therefore its starch content is proportionallyhigher, provided it is a normal cropTurn to pages 2-3 formore news on malt andCargill Malt.year without drought. Most recently ACAndrew has been sought after for its ethanolproduction potential.AC Andrew is one of 6 registeredWestern Canadian Soft White Spring varieties(CWSWS) along with, AC Meena,AC Nanda, AC Phil, AC Reed, andBhishaj. What sets AC Andrew apart is itsbetter yield potential for the farmer andgiven normal growing conditions, willSee “AC Andrew,” page 3Style Matters: Options for making Golden or Blonde AlesIn each issue, CBQ spotlights a particular beerstyle and provides tips from an ingredient and fermentationperspective. In this issue, we look at GoldenAles.Malt Notes: Of all the beer styles brewed in theUS, perhaps none is as common as Golden, orBlonde, Ale. Simple, unassuming, and easily approachable,Golden Ales are the most popular beer atmany breweries, and serve as a gateway beer for drinkerson their way to more robust beer styles. To a brewerthey, like all the lighter styles, present unique challenges.The subtle flavors associated with this style allow anyerror in fermentation, sanitation, brewing technique, orraw materials, to stand out. On the other hand, whencrafted well, the balanced elegance of this style can bevery rewarding.Because Golden Ale is a very malt prominent style,the choice of base malt is very important. Any of the basemalts Cargill currently malts or distributes would workwell in a Golden Ale, but the different barley varietiesused in the different malts as well as the kilning processwill influence the final beer’s flavors. As a startingpoint Cargill Two Row, a blend of Kendall and Metcalfebarleys, will provide a moderate malt flavor, pale color,and make readily quaffable Golden Ale. If a beer withmore of an herbal, grassiness is desired we would sug-See “Style Matters,” page 6

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 2Malt PagesSponsored by Cargill MaltAsk the Maltster: Tips on storing maltQ. I have been having intermittentproblems on my filter lately. Sometimes Ican get an entire run completed on a singlesetup, but other times I have to breakdown and restart to complete the run. Thefinished beer clarity also varies more thanI would like. I was wondering if the causeof my problems might be malt related?Any insights would be appreciated.A. The answer is maybe. Malt can contributeto both throughput and clarityissues, but there are also many non-relatedmalt factors that can have a similar impact.The true cause can be difficult to determine,but a little homework can probablyconfirm or deny malt as the problem.We’ll look at the throughput issue first.Throughput is usually limited by blindingthe filter bed. When the surface of thebed is overwhelmed by filtrate materials(yeast, haze components, etc.) it is possibleto bridge the porous surface of thebed and create an increasingly impermeablelayer. Eventually increasingbackpressure reduces throughput to thepoint where the filter bed has to be reestablishedor backwashed, dependingupon the type of filter being used.If the soluble protein of the malt isvery high this can contribute to theamount of chill haze proteins in the beer.If the beer is filtered at cold temperature,as it should be, these proteins will be insuspension and removed by the filter. Excessivechill haze could increase your backpressure as you are tying to remove morematerial. Your chance of blinding the bedis higher. The best way to combat this situationif you are using a DE filter is theincrease the dose rate of DE in order toaccommodate the higher load.Another negative contributor couldbe malt derived beta-glucan in the beer.Beta glucan increases the viscosity of beerand wort, In the same way that BG cannegatively influence runoff, it can alsomake filtration more difficult. Chances arethis is not the issue if your runoffs areclose to normal. The threshold for havinga very difficult runoff is significantly lowerthan the threshold for having trouble onthe filter. BG related filtration issues aremore relevant in larger breweries where vastquantities of high gravity beer are filteredare very high flowrates in a single run.While these two factors may influencefilter throughput, the vast majority of filterthroughput issues are yeast related. Avariable yeast load coming onto the filteris almost always the cause of unpredictablethroughput performance. If you havea microscope available you should be able‘La Chouffe Party’ detailsto establish a correlation if this indeed isthe case. In any event, you should use cellcounts of beer to be filtered as a basis foryour filter powder dosage rate.Protein issues can also be mitigated byjudicious use of kettle finings. An appropriatedose of kettle finings will enhancecold break formation and remove a significantquantity of haze sensitive proteinswhich will in turn make your filter runsmuch easier.As far as clarity is concerned chill haze(protein/polyphenol complexes) are usuallythe cause of variability. Since both ofthese compounds come from malt youcould say that malt is the cause. A slightmodification would be that the malt isthe cause in cases where the chill haze componentis excessive. Due to the nature ofmalt and beer there will always be chillhaze. The purpose of the filter is to removethis component. Proper filtrationtechniques make this possible. While filteroperation is beyond the scope of this answer,it is worth noting that filtering asclose to freezing as possible and maintainingthis temperature at all times throughthe filtration is absolutely critical. Allowingthe beer to warm up at any time willresolubilize the protein and allow it to bereintroduced to your beer.Again, good filtering practice can stillresult in clear beer with higher protein levelsbut at some point you have to determinewhat is acceptable. If you arebabysitting every filter run and your usingsignificantly more filter media andchillproofing aids there is a cost associatedwith this activity. If you can correlate thisto a significant increase in the total andmore specifically soluble protein in yourmalt, and you’ve ruled out other causalfactors, it’s time to give your maltster acall.In summary, there are many things thatcan affect filter performance. Yeast load isprobably the number one cause, but maltis also a contributor. Do some homework,read your malt analysis, and if you canmake a positive correlation between a parameterand performance make a call toyour maltster and see what they have tosay. Regardless of whether it is a malt issueor not, the call is sure to be an educationalexperience.Have questions about malt, barley orbrewing? Get them answered by our staffof Maltsers/Brewers. Just visit our web sitewww.specialtymalts.com and the Ask theMaltster section. We will post questions inCBQ.On May 29 th 2007, “Saint Pub,” inBaie St. Paul, Quebec played host to the“La Chouffe Party.” Baie St. Paul is located45 minutes past Quebec City onthe north shore of the St. Lawrence River,in the region known as the Charlevoix. Itis known for its beautiful rugged countrysideand in the winter, “Le Massif ” skiresort.The “La Chouffe” brewery from theArdennes region of Belgium with itsbrewmaster, Pierre Gobron, previousowner, Christian Baueraerts, and the Belgianwriter Ben Vinken, were invited for aday of brewing at the Saint Pub.Pierre was teamed up with NicolasMarrant, the resident brewer and togetherthey brewed a “Blanche” or Belgian WitBeer.This all started at 800 AM andthroughout the day brewers,homebrewers, and industry folk arrivedto watch (with beer in hand) the beer beingbrewed.For dinner, Allain Tremblay, the residentchef, with sous-chef Pascal Gravel andtheir dedicated entourage presented a authenticFrench, 5 course meal.All the courses were matched with eitherone of the 6 in-house beers or beerfrom “La chouffe.” The dessert was by farand away the “piece de Resistance” A realwork of art incorporating whole malt andwort into various desert forms.To break up the courses, Ben, thewriter got up and spoke of the history ofBlanche bier. One that has only startedrelatively recently. To keep the 5O or soguests amused everyone received a red “LaChouffe” elf hat which had to be wornduring dinner.This was all made possible by the passionshared by, Fred Tremblay and his wifeCaroline Bandulet who organized thisevent. The evening finished with time atthe pub’s bar enjoying the in house Belgianbeer.For more info, see:www.microbrasserie.com.Our next generation of Customer Service Reps continues to grow. We lastintroduced you to Westcoast CSR Kelly Bindl’s son Adam. We now introduceyou to Carter Krueger, son of CSR Brent Krueger. Congratulations Brent andAmy-Jo!

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 3Malt PagesSponsored by Cargill MaltAC Andrew From Page 1yield lower protein levels. This is an ideal combinationfrom a farmer and brewer perspective.The farmers are more likely to grow a variety thatyields well, knowing their return is higher/acre and forbrewers, the lower protein can mean only one thing,higher extract and less time waiting for lautering to finish!AC Andrew was originally developed for the irrigatedfarms of South Western Alberta but has since beenadopted by farmers doing dry land farming in the SouthWestern Region as well. Andrew is a variety known assemi-dwarf, which means it isn’t a tall plant and has thewonderful characteristic of being lodge resistant, doesn’tfall over when the wind blows or rain comes down.So as maltsters, we have a decision to make amongstvarieties. There is only one way to do that and that is tobring in a shipment and do some small-scale trials. Maltingand Brewing trials showed AC Andrew to be thepreferred wheat for the desired beer character. This doesnot mean that other wheat varieties cannot be used, butweaknesses begin to show after malting. For example,when some of the Hard Red Spring varieties are malted,they showed generally a propensity to higher wort/beer· Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR)· Canada Prairie Spring White (CPSW)· Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD)· Canada Western Extra Strong (CWES)· Canada Western Hard White Spring(CWHWS)· Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)· Canada Western Red Winter(CWRW)· Canada Western Soft White Spring(CWSWS)colour due to the higher protein content. Higher proteinand lower extract may not be what some brewers arelooking for.Some highlights of its brewing characteristics are (basedon Congress wort analysis):AC AndrewExtract (Fine) 84%Protein12% d.b.Colour 2.50Diastatic Power 130-150Alpha Amylase 45-55Kolbach 45-50Viscosity 1.60-1.70Friability 65-75Beta-glucan 45-50Some of the more unique things to note in the maltinganalytics are: the high diastic power.This is a good attribute considering that traditionally,we relied on the malted barley for its diastatic power toensure proper starch conversion. If required, AC Andrewcan be utilized at a higher grist proportion. Theviscosity of 1.6-1.70 is a very good number.This is only 0.2 higher than the industry norm formalted barley, ensuring that difficulties with lauteringmalted wheat are minimized.For wheat malt the proteins are the dominant influenceon the flow characteristics as opposed to barley wherebeta glucan has the greater influence. AC Andrew showsvery low B-glucan numbers.Cargill’s Rocky Mountain Wheat Malt should definitelybe considered for producing an American wheatale, Bavarian Weissbier or any beer where a proportion ofwheat malt is required.References:Canadian Grain Commission:www.grainscanada.gc.caSecan technical Bulletin: www.secan.comPrairie Malt Ltd.: www.prairiemaltltd.comCargill Specialty Malt: www.specialtymalts.comThe Mondiale del La Biere is a taste of Europe, literallyFor the average North American Beerenthusiast, there are many festivals tochoose from. In the case of the Mondiale,it’s the closest feeling to being in Europewithout the long flight.The Mondiale is held at the HistoricWindsor train station right beside wherethe Habs play their Hockey. This year’sevent drew a number of breweries, big andsmall, from the area as well as some of themore common international beer companies.Also in attendance were cider, sausage,fudge and other artisanal type companieswhich allows you to break up the beertasting. In addition to visiting the beerbooths, one had the opportunity to sit inon talks on cooking with beer or listeningto guest brewers.From a beer perspective the Quebecbrewers reallyliketheir Belgian-stylebeers. Thefavouredbeer formost breweriesis aWitt beer(Blanche)with differentinterpretations.Thisis a greatplace to try this style.Medium-sized Craft Brewers will usuallyhave a standard Pilner type or Pale Ale(blonde) with an amber of differing styles.‘The Quebec brewers are not afraidto try new things. It is always a greatsurprise to see what they bring to thefestival. ’This is certainly not hop country so theemphasis is on malt.Most of the artisinal/craft brewers,with their passion toward Belgian stylesare not afraid of the high octane beers withbrewers trying out different interpretationsof Trippels and DubbelsThe Mondiale is also a good place totaste some non-traditional beers usingother ingredients. The Quebec brewers arenot afraid to try new things. It is always agreat surprise to see what they bring to thefestival.For next year’s event check outwww.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 4YeastbankSponsored by White Labs Inc.Fermentation trials taking place in the labFrom the LabNeva ParkerIt’s officially summer and it is gettingHOT in San Diego! We’ve been very busyover the past few months with several differentprojects, in addition to growingthat wonderful yeast.One of our main objectives has beenon performing a variety of fermentationtrials. Many of these focus on differentyeast strains and how their fermentationcharacteristics differ from one another, butwe are also working more on changingbrewing conditions to discover how thisreally affects the yeast cells. A major factorin yeast performance is fermentation temperature,so we felt this was something wereally needed to maintain in order to recreatenormal brewing conditions. Withthe help of some colleagues, we designeda water bath for our lab-scale (1L) fermentations.This water bath uses a small glycolchilling unit to circulate water at a set temperaturethrough our holding chamberto regulate the temperature of our fermentationflasks.Since temperature is such a major componentin fermentation, I ran several trialsusing our 20-gallon brewing system andtemperature-controlled conical fermentorsto see how changes in temperature caneffect the flavor profile of the finished beer.In addition, I performed a second set ofexperiments where I altered the originalgravity of the wort. For both of these trials,we were able to use our Gas Chromatograph-HeadSpace to measure thelevels of flavor-active compounds in eachbeer and compare the results.I focused on diacetyl, esters (iso-amylacetate & ethyl acetate), and fusel alcohols(n-propanol & iso-amyl alcohol). What Ifound was that both esters and fusels increasedwith increasing temperature, as wellas with increasing OG. Diacetyl decreasedwith higher fermentation temperatures,while increasing the OG did not seem tohave an effect on diacetyl levels. For moredetailed information about these trials,please see my article in the May/June issueof Zymurgy Magazine (published by theAmerican Homebrewers Association).Also on the horizon for White Labs isthe infamous Yeastman. More work is beingdone and progress is being made. You’llsoon be seeing this bar-code tracking systemproducing your Certificate of Quality,giving your more detailed informationabout your particular yeast culture. Inaddition, the inventory tracking componentwill help us help you!Once it is implemented on our website,you will be able to receive an instant responseas to when your yeast culture canbe available to ship to you! After all, it’s allabout the customer – look for this featurein the near future!Postscript: Brett kitsConsidering barrel-aging? Did youknow that most barrels (new or old) containsome level of Brettanomyces? Ifyou’re not going for that farmhouse styleale, you can test your barrels!We have available a simple to useBrettanomyces detection kit. It’s as easy as1- swab an area inside your barrel, 2 –spread the swab onto specially formulatedBrett plates, and 3 – incubate for 3-5 days.Call 1-888-5-Yeast-5 for more information!Neva Parker is the lab manager forWhite Labs. Write her atneva@whitelabs.com.Cold From Page 1the cold side is so important. We handle many breweryrelated questions. Brewers often believe that everythingthat happens after the cooking process is deemed to becaused by, rightly or wrongly, fermentation. If brewersdo not realize that fermentation is the main element ofbrewing, they certainly understand it on a subconsciouslevel, as we are the first people they turn to for answers asto what happened or might happen in the future withtheir beer.It is an interesting occupation in many ways. In onerespect, we are akin to others in the food industry, makingan ingredient that is used in some other product withsome other name. However, we also need to have theknowledge of someone in the high-tech industry. To answerthe questions that arise daily requires years of knowledgeand practical experience, particularly because thisindustry has such a wide variety of practitioners, fromentry-level folks to those with years of experience.Since beer begins and ends with the fermentationprocess, that’s what I will concentrate on in the following.As a brewer, are you a doctor or a coach? A doctorwould seek to find the problem with the yeast and fix it.This cannot be done, however, with finicky single cellorganisms that sometimes act as if they have a mind oftheir own. Or are you a coach, who when he or she findsa problem with a player replaces them with someonefresh and energetic? Yes, brewers are coaches. The bestway to avoid fermentation trouble is to learn when youneed to send in the second team (i.e. order a new batch ofyeast or alter the process). Insisting on doing the samething every time is not the right approach! You want tobe open to new procedures and change your practices ifChris White, right, takesquestions from those attendinghis discussion aboutthe cold side of brewing atthe Craft Brewers Conference.Every seat was takenduring the early morningpresentation.necessary, such as when confrontingseasonal issues.If the yeast side is so important,what can we do tomake it better? We can lookat them under a microscope,but the darn critters are allsmall circles. They don’t talkto us.Or do they? Yes they do,in a manner of speaking. Wecan measure their % attenua-tion, and if we know the characteristics of the yeast, weshould know this as well. We can track their rate to completingfermentation, which is essential. We can followtheir flocculation. We can learn more through mutationplates.Yes, indeed, yeast do speak to us in a way. One waythey talk to us is through smell. Yes, smell. You must getyour nose in there. To do so, get some of the yeast out ofthe tank, even if you are not reusing it. The amount oftimes you will want to smell the yeast vary depending onthe strain and your equipment, i.e. your tanks. Get toknow your yeast!Other factors of importance on the cold side:- You must use consistent pitching rates. There areseveral options to consistently measure the pitching rate:by cell count, by weight, or by volume.- Pay special attention to the yeast strain you select, aseach has a distinct personality.- Consider performing trial fermentations as an effectivetool for controlling and predicting fermentations.By learning to perfect the cold side, you will makemore consistent and better tasting beer than ever before.

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 5YeastbankSponsored by White Labs Inc.A closer look into our data from ‘Big QC Day’Earlier this year, we concluded our first Big QC Day,which involved testing multiple beers from at least 10percent of craft breweries. As we chronicled in the lastissue of the Quarterly, the tests revealed interesting, sometimessurprising and certainly unprecedented data aboutcraft beer.I will speak at greater length about these tests at beergatherings around the country over the next few months.The purpose of this column is to pass along some aspectsthat caught my attention, not to provide a thoroughoverview of all test results. Comprehensive results are availableat our Website, www.whitelabs.com. My commentsin the past about these tests have focused on bacteria andcontamination issues, but in this column I will tell youabout the hops and bitterness data that we gathered. Ilooked into this data as part of a talk I gave at the recentHops and Brew School in which I was a guest. (Pleaseturn to page 7 for more information on the hop school).The great majority of beers entered in the testing programwere hoppy beers, such as IPAs, pale ales and DoubleIPAs. Although there is much talk about the hoppy natureof today’s craft beers, the IBUs, or InternationalBittering Units, were lower than one might expect. Whilethey ranged from as low as the teens to 99, in the case ofone IPA, most were somewhere in the middle. I expectedmany samples to be over 100. What does this all mean? Ithink there are several explanations:— These beers are becoming the signature styles notjust for brewers on the West Coast, but also the Midwestand East.— If these beers are not necessarily the best-sellingLetter fromthe PresidentChris Whitebeers at a particular brewery, they may be the favoritestyle for the brewer, who wants to learn as much as possibleabout them.— The pale ales entered in our testing were generallylower in bitterness units than the American standard forthe style, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This may run counter tothe commonly held beliefs in the craft brewing world.Some people believe that the craft breweries are pushingthe taste buds of Americans beyond this traditional paleale, but our tests do not necessarily support this view.Would it improve sales if breweries increased thehoppiness of their beers? This is an intriguing question,and one I am not sure I can adequately answer. On onehand you want to provide customers with the beers theyare happy with, but on the other hand you want toencourage them to step up to more aggressive beers. Ifthey become fans of your hoppy beers, they will probablyenjoy and appreciate almost any beer that you make.One intriguing aspect of our testing, at least in termsof hops, is that the hoppiest IPAs, appeared to comefrom the Northwest and California. IPAs entered fromPale Ale•Average IBUs of test group: 33•Average IBUs per region:West: 32 (26 entries) Midwest: 31 (33) East:35.5 (23)•GABF IBUs style guidelines: 30-42India Pale Ales•Average IBUs of test group: 56•Average IBUs per region:West: 61 (31) Midwest: 49 (12) East: 50.5 (13)•GABF IBUs style guidelines: 40-70the West Coast were 20% higher in IBUs than beersfrom the Midwest and East Coast.I must add that breweries in the East and Midwest aremaking very hoppy beers, in such large numbers thatmany in the craft brewing industry would be surprised.As I mentioned earlier, I reviewed these numbers in greaterdetail at Hopunion’s annual hop school in August, andI would be happy to discuss these results with brewers atfuture events.Chris White is President of White Labs Inc. and is achemistry and biochemistry lecturer at the University of California,San Diego. He has a Ph.D in biochemistry. Feel free towrite him at cwhite@whitelabs.com about this column.White Labs adds new GC test optionsBy Ryan CraigWhite Labs MicrobiologistWe have been using the White Labs GC (gas chromatographmachine) more and more recently, and now we are addingmore esters and fusel alcohols to the testing options.In addition to our Ethanol and VDK analyses, which someof you might have been introduced to during our big QC Day,we are now capable of analyzing Acetaldehyde, Ethyl Acetate,Isoamyl Alcohol, and a few other esters and fusel alcohols.Some basic results from these new analyses can be seen inNeva Parker’s recent Zymurgy article, which details how fermentationchanges such as different temperatures can affect yeastfermentation specific flavors. Some of these new analyses mightalso join our Big QC Day line up of tests in the future.These compounds are a few of the ones that are producedabove the lower limit of our GC detector. They are some of themore flavor-active compounds, so they are important flavorwise.Here is some more information about these compounds:Acetaldehyde is basically a precursor of Ethanol, it has agreen apple aroma and flavor. It is believed to be one of thecauses of beers going stale and tasting like cardboard, and it isalso believed to cause hangovers.Ethyl Acetate is probably the biggest flavor compoundthat yeast produce, it can account for up to a third of all esters. Atlower levels it has a fruity aroma and taste, at higher levels itsaroma and taste is like nail-polish remover.Isoamyl Alcohol is a fusel alcohol that is produced aroundits flavor threshold.When conducted together, these tests can paint an interestingpicture of what flavors your yeast is adding to your beer.Neva’s article dealt with minor things such as temperature changes,and different yeast strains, and she showed that minor changescan have a pretty significant impact on your beer’s flavor; theblind taste test with these beers was really interesting when comparedto the numbers.Other than understanding what your yeast is adding to yourbeer, these tests are good to have as part of your QC program. Ifyou are doing everything the same, you should be seeing thesame numbers.We will run these tests on our own yeast strains; this will giveus a greater understanding of what these strains contribute tobeer beyond what we learn from brewers by word of mouth. Wealso expect to conduct these tests for other laboratories withoutthe knowledge or equipment that we possess.Flavor is a pretty complicated thing, as anyone who is involvedin brewing knows. These tests over time will help usunderstand flavor a little better.Craig, a microbiologist for White Labs, spends part of hisworkday operating the GC machine.Craft Beer QuarterlyCBQ is sent each quarter tothousands of professional brewersand homebrew shops. This publicationprovides technical tips, profilesand features about the brewingworld. CBQ is sponsored by CargillMalt, Hopunion CBS LLC andWhite Labs Inc.Editorial:Mike White, mwhite@whitelabs.comAdvertising:JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson,joanne@whitelabs.com1-888-5-Yeast-5Production:Cold Creek Publishing Co.coldcreekpub@aol.comFor all other inquires, contact:CBQ, P.O. Box 12636Pleasanton, CA, 94588Fax: (253) 981-7534coldcreekpub@aol.com

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 6Hop PagesSponsored by HopunionDetails about Centennial, aka Super CascadeBy Ralph WoodallHopunion, LLCDeveloped by the Hopunion USAbreeding program, it was named after the1989 Washington State Centennial Celebration.At one time it was to be destroyedfor lack of interest by the world’smajor breweries.Ralph Olson kept it growing (calledCFJ-90 in those days) and the craft brewingworld, including Sierra Nevada Brewing,took to it, allowing its survival. It nowranks among the top-selling craft brewinghops. Many older brewers can rememberthe days without Centennials, while muchyounger brewers cannot imagine such atime. Centennial is the first hop that cantruly be called a Craft Brewing variety.As a duel purpose hop, Centennialhas a relatively high alpha content and avery high oil content providing it withthe one – two punch brewers’ love. Thedistinctive flavor and aroma has won overbeer lovers everywhere. It can be used as aCascade substitute and the alpha levels allowit to be price competitive as it hasmore bang for the buck. Acreage has beenincreasing in an attempt to keep up withdemand, but shortages can still be expectedfrom year to year until the balance betweensupply and demand is met. Contractingis recommended for this varietyespecially for brewers who use it for signaturebeers. The other alternative is Centennial-Typewhich is a blend of 70% Cascadeand 30% Columbus. This can bedone at the brewery or you can purchasepre-blended Centennial-Type pelletsthrough Hopunion, LLC. Again, thiscombination has been well received as ashort term alternative.Alpha Acids 9.5 – 11.5% w/wBeta Acids 3.5 – 4.5% w/wCo-Humulone 29 – 30% of alphaacidsStorage ability 60 – 65 % alphaacids remaining after 6 months storage at20 degrees CTotal Oil 1.5 – 2.3 mls/100 gramsMyrcene 45 – 55% whole oilHumulene 10 – 18% of whole oilCaryophyllene 5 – 8% of wholeoilFarnesene

Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 7Hop PagesSponsored by HopunionGet ready for the 2007 Alpha King ChallengeBy Jessica DickinsonThe 2007 Alpha King challenge isdead ahead, folks.Ed Bennet from Boundary Bay, winnerof the 2006 Alpha King challenge, isready to defend his Imperial IPA. The judgingwill be held once again at the FallingRock Tap House in Denver, CO, duringthe GABF on Friday, October 12 th from 1– 3 p.m.To request an entry form, please callHopunion, LLC at 1-800-952-4873 oremail nadia.urvina@hopunion.com.Requirements:·All beer must be available for purchase.·No Barley Wines·Beer is to be judged based on overallquality and balance of flavor. Not just onthe IBUs of the beer. Suggested minimumof 60 IBUs.Instructions:·To submit yourentry form, please faxit to 1-800-952-4874 or email it tonadia.urvina@hopunion.com·Send one six pack of beer or three 22oz bottles and a completed copy of yourentry form to David Edgar at MountainWest Brewery Supply. (NO KEGS/GROWLERS)·Package your entry appropriately forshipping (no newspaper please). Note:Shipments are only being received onthese three dates: Thursday, Oct. 4 th , Friday,Oct. 5 th , and Monday Oct. 8 th .Please note that late entries will not beguaranteed to be entered into the contest.Hop School features two days of classes, hop toursBy Hopunion LLCThe 2007 Hops and Brew School took place atYakima, Washington, during the Hop Harvest in lateAugust.called “Big QC Day.”Each class included a ranch tour in which brewerswere able can see the hop fields, and witness hop picking,drying and baling.The school featured two full days of classes with topicssuch as “Hops: What They Are, What They Do, andUsing Whole Hops, Pellets, Oils and Extracts” and “TheHistory of Hops.”Also on hand were award-winning brewers fromaround the U.S. speaking on Hop Usage, Recipe Formulationand Brewing Methods.Chris White, of White Labs, discussed the IBUs datathat came from the first large scale testing of craft beer,In addition there were tours of HOPUNION LLCwhere visitors saw firsthand the warehousing, pelletizing,and receiving of the hops.The event featured two full days of hops, hoppybeers and brewers who love hops from all over the U.S.!(Even beers below 60 IBUs were served.)For information on future events, please callHopunion at 1-800-952-4873 or e-mail Laura atlaura.lusk@hopunion.com.Hops and Brew SchoolPhotos from 2007Above, Erika McKay of Astoria BrewingCo. was Hop Queen for the Hops andBrew School 2007. At left, Jay Brooks, thefounder of the Brookston Beer Bulletin, doesthe John “More Hops” Maier hop drop intothe 2007 crop of Willametts at the Hop &Brew School.Photos courtesy of Hopunion LLC

Cold Creek Publishing Co.PO Box 12636Pleasanton, CA 94588Attention brewerCraft Beer QuarterlyThe Back PageSummer trends and new strains from White LabsHard to believe that summer is almost gone! Despitebeing very busy (based on the volume of calls every day),we are still seeing the production of many specialty summerbeers. While we typically see an increase in Wits andHefeweizen for the summer we are also seeing more BelgianSingles, lighter summer ales (like kolsch) and evenquite a few crisp pilsner lagers.We are also seeing change in house strains so thatbrewers can give their beers a unique flavor. We see youexperimenting with different English and American alestrains such as WLP013 London Ale, WLP023 BurtonAle, WLP041 Pacific Ale and WLP008 East Coast Ale.Call us today if you would like to talk about any specialtystrain or beer development.For those of you who may also produce wine ordistilled products, we do carry a full line of yeast for thosebeverages. Visit www.whitelabs.com for more information.The following are notes on new products:— Sulfide Tubes - Take control of off-flavors inyour beer and wine with “sulfur sticks,” a hydrogen sulfidedetection tube.The tubes can easily detect all possible sources andfactors that may cause overproduction of H 2S. The tubesare easy to use. Insert the tube into a pre-bored siliconrubber stopper. The tube is pre-calibrated with a standardH 2S gas. Let the wort (or must) ferment .... thenread the amount of H 2S produced directly from the scaleimprinted on the tube.Multiple fermentation experiments can be conductedin your bench space or incubator. The tube responds tovaried amounts of H 2S in a linear, uniform and proportionatemanner.The tubes are sold in packs of 10: TK3498-10; SulfideDetection Tubes, Fermentation Monitoring (99-005)- $90; and TK3499-10: Sulfide Detection Tube, FinishedBeer & Wine (99-001) - $65.To acquire these tubes, please contact us at 1-888-5-Trends in the IndustryJoAnne Carilli-Stevenson, sales andmarketing manager,White Labs Inc.Yeast-5 or write us at info@whitelabs.com.— New strainsWLP862 Cry HavocThis signature strain, from Charlie Papazian, has theability to ferment at both ale and lager temperatures allowingthe brewer to produce diverse beer styles. Therecipes in both Papazian’s books, The Complete Joy ofHomebrewing and The Homebrewers Companion, wereoriginally developed and brewed with this yeast. Papazianhad “Cry Havoc” in his yeast stable since 1983.When fermented at ale temperatures, the yeast producesfruity esters reminiscent of berries and apples. Hopcharacter comes through well with hop accented beers.Diacetyl production will be very low when proper fermentationtechniques are used.When fermented at lager temperatures, esters are lowin high gravity beers and negligible in other beers. Pleasantbaked bread-like yeast aroma is often perceived inmalt accented lagers. Slightly extended fermentation timesmay be experienced compared to other lagers. Some fermentationcircumstances may produce sulfur aroma compounds,but these will usually dissipate with time. Goodyeast for bottle conditioning.For Ales:Attenuation: 66-70Flocculation: M-LOptimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-74°FOptimum Cellaring Temperature: 50-55°F+ Alt beers can be cellared at lagering temperaturesFor Lagers:Attenuation: 66-70Flocculation: LOptimum Fermentation Temperature: 55-58°FOptimum Lagering Temperature: 32-37°FNew Yeast BlendsWLP080 Cream Ale Yeast Blend This is a blendof ale and lager yeast strains. The strains work togetherto create a clean, crisp, light American lager style ale. Apleasing estery aroma may be perceived from the ale yeastcontribution. Hop flavors and bitterness are slightlysubdued. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation,from the lager yeast.Attenuation: 75-80%Flocculation: MediumOptimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-70°FAlcohol Tolerance: Medium HighWLP568 Belgian Style Saison Ale YeastBlend This blend melds Belgian style ale and saisonstrains. The strains work in harmony to create complex,fruity aromas and flavors. The blend of yeast strains encouragescomplete fermentation in a timely manner. Phenolic,spicy, earthy, and clove like flavors are also created.Attenuation: 70-80%Flocculation: MediumOptimum Fermentation Temperature: 70-80°FAlcohol Tolerance: Medium— Munchkin update: Happy Birthday to theMunchkin! Hard to believe HE is 4? Maybe some ofyou will remember what I looked like? Anway, here iswhat we both look like today in the above photo.