Is this bad?

[Bob1016]

I don't find 1388 to be neutral, but as silly as it sounds we may have very different meanings for that term. In the sense that it doesn't take away a lot, it is neutral; but it does have a distinct taste that sets it apart (though by that definition, I have yet to find a truly neutral strain).


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[loveofrose]

I don't find 1388 to be neutral, but as silly as it sounds we may have very different meanings for that term. In the sense that it doesn't take away a lot, it is neutral; but it does have a distinct taste that sets it apart (though by that definition, I have yet to find a truly neutral strain).


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Agreed on both accounts. I define neutral as minimal loss of a varietal honeys character. I find some yeast produce esters that cover up the flavor while others do not. This is not to be confused with no ester production. It's just that the esters that are produced do not mask the honeys original character.


Better brewing through science!

 

[Bob1016]

Even yeast that don't produce noticeable esters (most bayanus strains produce them below threshold levels) can influence honey character by suppression, metabolism, or blowing off volatiles (due to CO2 production that's too rapid). For proof of the "blowing off" just take a keg of fresh IPA off the dry hops, carb it up, vent it, repeat, then pour a glass, it's missing a lot of the aromatics that were originally there.


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[loveofrose]

Even yeast that don't produce noticeable esters (most bayanus strains produce them below threshold levels) can influence honey character by suppression, metabolism, or blowing off volatiles (due to CO2 production that's too rapid). For proof of the "blowing off" just take a keg of fresh IPA off the dry hops, carb it up, vent it, repeat, then pour a glass, it's missing a lot of the aromatics that were originally there.


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I agree with suppression and metabolism. Still don't buy the blowing off. Kegging has a CO2 tank to force CO2 in multiple times. This is very artificial. Fermentation in mead happens once and relies on the sugar amount to produce all the CO2. Whether this happens in 2 days or 2 months, it is the same amount of CO2 being dispelled into the air.


Better brewing through science!

 

[Chevette Girl]

If I had carboy space and honey, I'd do a yeast test with a big batch of traditional must to see for myself what the differences are with all my "usual suspects", which include EC-1118, Ki-V1116, 71B, D47, RC-212 and bread yeast. I think that's the only way for me to figure it out. And of course I'd post the tasting results to share with everyone who either claims or disbelieves the "blowing off the aromatics" thing, for me it's something I've heard but not directly noted. I used to use EC-1118 almost exclusively in my early days but rarely would I say any wine or mead I made with it lacked flavour, and if it did, it was likely not due to the yeast... but not having a direct comparison with another yeast, I couldn't say if I could have had MORE flavour than it had...

 

[icedmetal]

The issue with such a test is that each yeast has its sweet spot in terms of nutrients and temperature, and it's quite difficult to nail both of those factors for multiple strains of yeast simultaneously. At least my setup can't do it; space for two primary buckets to be temp-controlled at once, so long as they both need the same temp.

You could always brew the same (traditional) mead over and over again with various yeasts... but even then you'd probably want to experiment with the ferment temps of a specific strain.

Now I want to taste the difference between D47 at 61 degrees and D47 at 75 degrees. Hmm....

 

[GntlKnigt1]

If I had carboy space and honey, I'd do a yeast test with a big batch of traditional must to see for myself what the differences are with all my "usual suspects", which include EC-1118, Ki-V1116, 71B, D47, RC-212 and bread yeast. I think that's the only way for me to figure it out. And of course I'd post the tasting results to share with everyone who either claims or disbelieves the "blowing off the aromatics" thing, for me it's something I've heard but not directly noted. I used to use EC-1118 almost exclusively in my early days but rarely would I say any wine or mead I made with it lacked flavour, and if it did, it was likely not due to the yeast... but not having a direct comparison with another yeast, I couldn't say if I could have had MORE flavour than it had...

Now, of all of us here on GotMead, I have to believe CG is best suited for this experiment, as she is the one that probably ferments the most batches and has scores of carboys, fermenters, pails and other equipment lying about....we just need to send her some bottles so she can empty some of them and use them for this test !!!

 

[bernardsmith]

But the only really valid way to taste test this is to do a double blind test where neither the one who made the samples nor the one tasting the samples knows what the yeast was used in any sample being tested. After the tasting notes are written then you check to see which yeast was used.

 

[Get_Wiggly]

Taste is so subjective, even double blind tests can be meaningless.

There was a post on HBT where a guy submitted the same recipe to 3 different competitions, approximately the same time.
One scored >90%
One scored >70%
And one was around 35%

The notes were all over the place "Tastes like too much vanilla" "Needs more vanilla" "Chocolate over powering" "Great aroma!" etc...