Learned that 'yeast' in beer labels doesn't mean what I thought

Been brewing at home for about 4 years now, mostly ales, and I always figured the word 'yeast' on a can meant the flavor came from the yeast itself. Last month I was reading a spec sheet from a small brewery in Vermont and found out that most of that character actually comes from esters the yeast produce while fermenting, not the yeast cells themselves. The fermentation temperature changes those esters way more than the strain does, like a 2 degree difference can turn a banana note into a clove note. Blew my mind because I'd been fussing over expensive liquid yeast when my fridge was sitting at 68 instead of 64. Has anyone else had a brewing fact that flipped something you assumed for years?

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cora81315d ago

Yeast strain matters a lot too, temperature just shifts what the same strain can do.