Les Petite Mutants

Here's a winning picture of the remaining members of the Zymotechno band "Les Petite Mutants" studying at Curt's place on the 59th floor of a waterfront skyrise. That's Curt from Bend on the left, Chris from Chapel Hill, Brian from Pendleton and of course, Paul from Ventura in front weaseling his way into every photo I take.

This week was all about yeast microbiology. When we got to processes of genetic engineering my brain shut off. I wanted to get my hands on a microscope and some petri dishes to practice the techniques we've learned, but that will likely be saved for Germany.

An interesting study about acid washing from a large American brewer: Hop acids are more to do with destroying Pedio and Lacto than the lower pH. Just squirt a little tetrahydroisohumulone in your yeast brink! Sounds easy enough. Now if I could only buy some hydro-humulones...

The third most produced material during fermentation is glycerol. Didn't see that one coming.

There's a brewing process called Continuous Fermentation. It consists of yeast entrained in an inert medium, like beechwood or silica balls, and the wort is slowly passed through to create a faster fermentation.

We also learned the chemical reactions of all the most abundant flavor compounds in beer. Then we tried spiked samples of Bud with all the nasty stuff in small or large amounts. We tried diacetyl, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, amyl alcohol, acetic acid, DMS, metallics, higher BUs, lactic acid, SO2 and higher ethanol. Some of us were blind to flavors while others were overly sensitive. The fridge that all these chemicals are stored in stinks up the whole room every time it's opened. Although the DMS is in a screw top test tube, sealed in a plastic bag and put in the fridge, on an average day you can smell it through the fridge door. Siebel sells kits of this stuff for homebrew clubs and beer geeks with ASBC recommended amounts for spiking if anyone's interested.

My favorite sensory analysis was American Beer. We did Premium Lager, Amer. Wheat, Fruit Beer, Amber, Pale Ale, IPA, DIPA, Barleywine, Imperial Stout and wood aged beer. After polishing off Boulder Mojo, Arcadia DIPA, Rogue Old Crustacean, Flying Dog Gonzo and Goose Bourbon County I looked over at my friend Danny and proclaimed that I was really drunk. That was a fun Tuesday.