Presenter:
Sofie Saerens
Yeast management is a crucial element of brewing good beer of consistent quality. Managing yeast to ensure certain outcomes was discovered in the late 19th century and has been utilized by the industry ever since. Having a strong, health and clean yeast is the heart of any good beer. Yet, it requires a lot of work and attention, which can be challenge in the busy breweries of today. Can this well-established practice be challenged?
Most breweries propagate yeast from slants or liquid cultures, beginning in the laboratory and growing a clean, active yeast culture in different propagation steps before pitching in the fermenters. After fermentation, the yeast is harvested from the beer and re-pitched multiple times to the next brew. This process is continued for as long as the yeast culture is determined to be healthy, clean and active.
Potential issues with this traditional propagation can be that it is time-consuming, that there might be variation in the yeast culture, leading to potential variations with the first brew as well as a risk of contamination at every additional propagation step. This results in lack of flexibility and agility in the beer production and can potentially create large bottle necks and delay of products to the market.
Therefore, Chr. Hansen has investigated how to overcome these hurdles to provide a product that: 1. Is a pure yeast culture with 2. high viability, activity and vitality of the yeast and 3. Easy to use in a flexible format. This resulted in two SmartBev™ yeast products: SmartBev™ Lager – TUM 34/70 and SmartBev™ Ale – TUM 210.
The SmartBev™ yeast have been developed in collaboration with TUM research center Weihenstephan, using some of their finest yeast and their high standards for quality insurance. The SmartBev™ yeast are designed to help the brewing industry optimize their yeast program and increase consistency in planning as well as the final beer. The product itself is delivered in a novel pouch format of frozen liquid yeast. The frozen format keeps the yeast dormant in an active state, so they are ready to start as soon as thawed. When ready to start a propagation tank, the yeast is thawed in a 30°C water bath and ready to pitch in 1 hour.
For smaller breweries where direct pitching is applied the SmartBev™ yeast can also be applied giving some of the same advantages. The main benefit reported from the craft industry is the ease of use, consistent performance, high QC standards and clean flavors in the final beer.
Therefore, the answer is yes. We believe the well-established propagation programs of yeast can be challenged and update for the benefit of the productivity, planning and the final beer quality.