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Friday, May 29, 2015

Podcast Live, Bonus Ferulic Acid Rest Commentary

The latest podcast is now live. Today Patrick and I discuss the very welcome emergence of lagers in the craft beer sphere.


Also, in case you missed it, I have a new post up over at All About Beer. It's part of my "quirks of brewing" series. We started things out with parti-gyle brewing, and this week we go to the importance of the ferulic acid rest. What? You've never heard of a ferulic acid rest? Man, do I envy you: your life is about to change.
Once the ferulic acid is in the wort, it can be converted by yeast into a tasty-sounding compound known as 4-vinyl guaiacol, the actual source of the flavor. The yeast must be a special variety known was POF+, meaning “phenolic off-flavor.” It was originally a slur, issued from the perspective of lager breweries who didn’t want any 4-vinyl guaiacol in their beer.
Enjoy. And, as always, share the links, and send me your feedback--it's always welcome.

2 comments:

  1. Loved the article in All About Beer about the ferulic acid rest. I don't know why, but the more I read about mash rests, the more I want to know. The science behind it is so cool.

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  2. Thanks! Yeah, it's fascinating chemistry. You need to have the ferulic acid rest to release the ferulic acid, but in order to get the weizen phenols, you have to have a yeast that will convert the ferulic acid into 4-vinyl guaiacol. It's complex chemistry (both bio and inorganic)--and must have surely come about by happy accident originally.

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