Don Tse

Labs and brewers are only beginning to discover the potential benefits of bioengineered yeast strains, from improving the flavor and quality of the beer to quicker turnaround time and potential cost savings.

What does “local” taste like? Ask a microbe. From clean lagers to funky farmhouse ales, capturing yeast from your brewery’s backyard can lead to distinctive products that belong to their locale.

Is your small brewery ready for its own house yeast strain? Here are some key factors to consider, from sourcing it to keeping a close eye on it.

Brewers have become adept at squeezing more fruit flavors out of their hops as well as producing lush fruit beers that evoke tropical cocktails. However, there is another way to amplify those crowd-pleasing flavors in your beers.

Devices that monitor fermentation in real time and apps that make data analysis a snap can help improve quality and output. They can also save breweries money, reducing the chances for error.

Yeast labs are enjoying sales success with clean kveik strains, since their ability to ferment lager-like beers in much less time has obvious appeal. Besides reduced costs and climate impact, they are potential game-changers for hotter climates worldwide.

Determining whether a yeast is a contaminant is like deciding whether a plant in your garden is a weed—it all depends on whether you want it there. The insatiability of diastatic strains can be a danger if uninvited. Properly managed, it can be an asset.

Ball’s new minimum orders and higher prices have left independent brewers scrambling. Besides higher costs industry-wide, likely knock-on effects include streamlined SKUs, a return to labeling and shrink sleeves, and a boom in digital can printing.

There are only so many ways to make a low- or no-alcohol beer, and none provide an easy route to a product that tastes good—especially for smaller breweries. However, one increasingly viable option is specialized yeast. Here’s how it works.

Brewers have never had more choices when it comes to yeast, and the arrival of new strains is accelerating thanks to selective breeding and gene editing. Bespoke yeasts, anyone?