Uncovering The Yeast Mystery: More Ipa, More Yeast?

IPAs are known for their bold flavours and high alcohol content, which is achieved through the use of more malt and hops in the brewing process. The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast then converts into alcohol during fermentation. Therefore, IPAs do not necessarily have more yeast than other beer types, but they do use specific yeast strains that are well-suited to the IPA brewing process.

Hops versus yeast

IPAs are known for their bold flavours, but they’re also typically stronger than other beer types in terms of alcohol. The reasons for this come down to the mash bill and the heavy use of hops in the brewing process. In crafting an India Pale Ale (IPA), brewers often use more malt than they would for a pale ale or lager. The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast converts into alcohol during fermentation. The higher the malt content, the more sugar is available and the more alcohol is produced. This is especially true for styles like Double IPAs or Triple IPAs, where the malt bill is even more significant, contributing not just to the malt flavours but to the beer’s increased alcohol levels.

The main aromas come from the hops, and can include characteristics such as citrus, floral, resin, tropical fruit, berries and more. Some yeast strains can work to express the hops even more and yeast and hop interaction is one of our R&D focuses. IPAs are generally brewed using a pale base malt, sugar addition is acceptable. American and New World hops are often selected but a large variety of hops can prove successful, in fact using several different varieties in a batch is common practice. Late and/or dry hopping is very common for IPAs. Hops are added to the beer either in the whirlpool and/or during fermentation, usually towards the end of fermentation to keep all the flavours in the beer.

At Fermentis, we have several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, we will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer’. Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable, but we’ll get back to that in the ‘yeast impact’ section.

Erik Jensen of Green Flash Brewing Company in San Diego thinks a key differentiator for East and West Coast brewers of IPA may be the lineage of their preferred yeast strains. Green Flash’s proximity to White Labs affords him the opportunity to taste a number of the yeast bank’s experiments, which often include splitting a single batch of wort and fermenting it with multiple yeast strains. Each resulting beer gets tested for a number of key metrics, including International Bittering Units (IBUs).

Malt content and fermentable sugars

India Pale Ales (IPAs) are known for their bold flavours and high alcohol content. The mash bill and the heavy use of hops in the brewing process are the main reasons for this. Brewers often use more malt than they would for a pale ale or lager when crafting an IPA. The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast converts into alcohol during fermentation. The higher the malt content, the more sugar is available and the more alcohol is produced. This is especially true for styles like Double IPAs or Triple IPAs, where the malt bill is even more significant, contributing not just to the malt flavours but to the beer’s increased alcohol levels.

The main aromas of an IPA come from the hops, and can include characteristics such as citrus, floral, resin, tropical fruit, berries and more. Some yeast strains can work to express the hops even more and yeast and hop interaction is one of the R&D focuses. IPAs are generally brewed using a pale base malt, sugar addition is acceptable. American and New World hops are often selected but a large variety of hops can prove successful, in fact, using several different varieties in a batch is common practice. Late and/or dry hopping is very common for IPAs. Hops are added to the beer either in the whirlpool and/or during fermentation, usually towards the end of fermentation to keep all the flavours in the beer.

At Fermentis, there are several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, they will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer’. Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable, but they’ll get back to that in the ‘yeast impact’ section.

The hop strains used by brewers can also be a key differentiator for East and West Coast brewers of IPA. Erik Jensen of Green Flash Brewing Company in San Diego thinks a key differentiator for East and West Coast brewers of IPA may be the lineage of their preferred yeast strains. Green Flash’s proximity to White Labs affords him the opportunity to taste a number of the yeast bank’s experiments, which often include splitting a single batch of wort and fermenting it with multiple yeast strains. Each resulting beer gets tested for a number of key metrics, including International Bittering Units (IBUs).

Alcohol levels and IPA strength

IPAs are known for their bold flavours, but they’re also typically stronger than other beer types in terms of alcohol. The reasons for this come down to the mash bill and the heavy use of hops in the brewing process. In crafting an India Pale Ale (IPA), brewers often use more malt than they would for a pale ale or lager. The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast converts into alcohol during fermentation. The higher the malt content, the more sugar is available and the more alcohol is produced. This is especially true for styles like Double IPAs or Triple IPAs, where the malt bill is even more significant, contributing not just to the malt flavours but to the beer’s increased alcohol levels.

The main aromas come from the hops, and can include characteristics such as citrus, floral, resin, tropical fruit, berries and more. Some yeast strains can work to express the hops even more and yeast and hop interaction is one of our R&D focuses. IPAs are generally brewed using a pale base malt, sugar addition is acceptable. American and New World hops are often selected but a large variety of hops can prove successful, in fact using several different varieties in a batch is common practice. Late and/or dry hopping is very common for IPAs. Hops are added to the beer either in the whirlpool and/or during fermentation, usually towards the end of fermentation to keep all the flavours in the beer.

At Fermentis, we have several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, we will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer’. Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable, but we’ll get back to that in the ‘yeast impact’ section.

Erik Jensen of Green Flash Brewing Company in San Diego thinks a key differentiator for East and West Coast brewers of IPA may be the lineage of their preferred yeast strains. Green Flash’s proximity to White Labs affords him the opportunity to taste a number of the yeast bank’s experiments, which often include splitting a single batch of wort and fermenting it with multiple yeast strains. Each resulting beer gets tested for a number of key metrics, including International Bittering Units (IBUs).

East and West Coast yeast strains

East and West Coast brewers of IPA may differ in their preferred yeast strains. The lineage of their yeast strains may be a key differentiator. For example, Erik Jensen of Green Flash Brewing Company in San Diego thinks that the proximity to White Labs affords him the opportunity to taste a number of the yeast bank’s experiments, which often include splitting a single batch of wort and fermenting it with multiple yeast strains. Each resulting beer gets tested for a number of key metrics, including International Bittering Units (IBUs).

At Fermentis, there are several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, they will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer.’ Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable. For example, some yeast strains can work to express the hops even more and yeast and hop interaction is one of their R&D focuses. IPAs are generally brewed using a pale base malt, sugar addition is acceptable. American and New World hops are often selected but a large variety of hops can prove successful, in fact using several different varieties in a batch is common practice. Late and/or dry hopping is very common for IPAs. Hops are added to the beer either in the whirlpool and/or during fermentation, usually towards the end of fermentation to keep all the flavours in the beer.

The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast converts into alcohol during fermentation. The higher the malt content, the more sugar is available and the more alcohol is produced. This is especially true for styles like Double IPAs or Triple IPAs, where the malt bill is even more significant, contributing not just to the malt flavors but to the beer’s increased alcohol levels.

Dry yeast strains for IPAs

IPAs are known for their bold flavours, but they’re also typically stronger than other beer types in terms of alcohol. The reasons for this come down to the mash bill and the heavy use of hops in the brewing process. In crafting an India Pale Ale (IPA), brewers often use more malt than they would for a pale ale or lager. The malt provides fermentable sugars, which the yeast converts into alcohol during fermentation. The higher the malt content, the more sugar is available and the more alcohol is produced. This is especially true for styles like Double IPAs or Triple IPAs, where the malt bill is even more significant, contributing not just to the malt flavours but to the beer’s increased alcohol levels.

At Fermentis, we have several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, we will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer’. Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable, but we’ll get back to that in the ‘yeast impact’ section.

The main aromas come from the hops, and can include characteristics such as citrus, floral, resin, tropical fruit, berries and more. Some yeast strains can work to express the hops even more and yeast and hop interaction is one of our R&D focuses. IPAs are generally brewed using a pale base malt, sugar addition is acceptable. American and New World hops are often selected but a large variety of hops can prove successful, in fact using several different varieties in a batch is common practice. Late and/or dry hopping is very common for IPAs. Hops are added to the beer either in the whirlpool and/or during fermentation, usually towards the end of fermentation to keep all the flavours in the beer.

Erik Jensen of Green Flash Brewing Company in San Diego thinks a key differentiator for East and West Coast brewers of IPA may be the lineage of their preferred yeast strains. Green Flash’s proximity to White Labs affords him the opportunity to taste a number of the yeast bank’s experiments, which often include splitting a single batch of wort and fermenting it with multiple yeast strains. Each resulting beer gets tested for a number of key metrics, including International Bittering Units (IBUs).

At Fermentis, we have several yeast strains that are particularly good for IPAs. However, we will never call out just the one strain and state, ‘this is the best yeast for IPA beer’. Depending on what you want to achieve and what you want to express through your IPA, various dry yeast strains will be suitable, but we’ll get back to that in the ‘yeast impact’ section.

Frequently asked questions