The difference yeast makes

[FedoraDave]

This has a somewhat convoluted backstory, but stick with me.

A few years ago I formulated a recipe for an amber ale. I made it for my friend, Amber, whose birthday was coming up, so I named it after her. Amber's Amber Ale. She was most grateful.

Shortly after that, I acquired my lager fridge, and I decided to make my first lager out of that recipe, only using lager yeast, of course, and fermenting it at the proper temperature. Amber's Amber Ale became Amber's Amber Lager. When my brother tasted it, he thought it was good enough to go to a competition, so at his urging, I entered it. To my surprise and delight, it took third place in the Dark Lager category. So Amber's Amber Lager became my pride and joy, and I've ever since enjoyed it smooth, mellow drinkability.

That was a good four years ago.

I recently decided to make Amber's Amber Ale, and I'm just enjoying the first draws from the keg. It's a very different beer; a little harder, if that makes any sense. It doesn't have the roundness and richness of the lager, even though the malt bill and hops bill are exactly the same. The only difference is the yeast and the fermenting temperature, which in this case, would be in the low-mid 60s.

So I can only attribute the difference to the yeast. Somehow, a lager yeast tempers the malts and hops, and brings them all into greater harmony, rounding out the sharp edges and mellowing it all over.

Interesting.

[John Sand]

I would try it with Belgian yeast.

[RickBeer]

Very much depends on what yeast you used for each, I don't know that you can make those broad statements for lagers vs. ales.

I actually found that using a lager yeast made the malt taste much more noticeable, and in fact didn't care for it. But I didn't do a lager vs. ale comparison for the same grain/hops bill.

[Pudge]

Amazing even what the same strain will do at different temps.

[mashani]

Amazing even what the same strain will do at different temps.

Oh yeah... something like WLP500 cool vs. WLP500 warm vs. WLP500 hot makes totally ridiculously different beers. Same for many wheat beer yeasts.

[Pudge]

Wyeast 1968 is one also. Feremented cool, it is a good choice for American styles being fairly clean. Warmer brings out its English strain characteristics. It can be finicky at cool temps though.

[Beer-lord]

I've often brewed one beer and split into 2 fermenters with different yeasts just to see the subtle or not so subtle differences. Did one Friday like that. Not a huge difference between 001 and 007 in attenuation and fermenting temps but the difference in aroma and flavor can be quite stark. I like that.