Testing LalBrew® Voss

Full-scale commercial trials are a vital part of any new product development and throughout January and February Lallemand has been running wide-ranging collaborations with brewers across the globe to put our new LalBrew Voss through its paces. Here we focus on two recent trials from the UK to bring you some of the highlights and potential with this exciting new addition to the LalBrew Premium range of brewing yeasts.

First, we head to Liverpool where Glen Affric brewery produced “Ingimund IPA” (named after a Viking Warlord who invaded the local area in 902AD). This 6.5% modern IPA puts all the emphasis on late hops; minimal bittering but a substantial dry hop including hop varieties such as Ekuanot, El Dorado and Comet lend a bold and impressive aroma. Lalbrew Voss was pitched at 29°C and SG went from 16°P to 3°P in under 72 hours.

As well as an impressively fast ferment, LalBrew® Voss complimented the hop profile of the beer with Brewer Matt Lloyd saying “you can really smell the tangerine. Very fruity [orange peel/essence, ripe peach]. No hint of any off flavours you would associate with high temperature fermentation and stress, very clean and fresh”.

Voss is clearly very well suited to this style of modern IPA, our congratulations to the brewing team at Glen Affric for producing such an outstanding beer.

A trip over the Pennine hills in the North of the UK took us Vocation Brewery near Hebden Bridge. The forward thinking and innovative brewing team, led by head brewer Matt Howgate, tried something very special for their “Fen and Vale” sour IPA. High mash temperatures combined with a grist containing healthy amount of oats and wheat deliver a full bodied smooth base, the perfect canvas for bold dry hopping. The unhopped wort was transferred to FV at 35°C and the brewery firstly inoculated with WildBrew Sour Pitch, bringing pH down to 3.5 within 24 hours at which point LalBrew Voss was pitched to complete a fast fermentation. This technique of sequential inoculation was ideal given the optimal temperature range for both the bacteria and this exciting yeast strain with dry hops added toward the end of fermentation.

Head brewer Matt Howgate was impressed, summarizing “The esters produced by this yeast worked well in this beer. They complemented the use of North West American hops perfectly. The flavours produced by fermentation were clean and vibrant, something not normally common with such hot fermentations”.

The acidity and tang produced by Sour Pitch worked perfectly to deliver a unique take on a modern IPA; “Soft balanced acidity, refreshing. Prominent tropical fruit and citrus aroma. Hop forward but not bitter taste. Very clean flavour and well balanced finish resulting in high drinkability” reported Robert Percival.

From a range of trials in the UK and across the globe it is obvious just how versatile Lalbrew Voss is and what diverse potential it has across application and style. The future of brewing is here.