White Labs Brewing Co.

When Chris White, Ph.D. opened international yeast company, White Labs, in 1995, he knew the best way to help people understand how big of a role yeast plays in beer is to have them actually see, taste and smell the difference. In 2015, we added a 20 BBL brewhouse in our San Diego location to provide wort for yeast propagation and brew beer for our 32-tap Tasting Room, but instead of having four 20 bbl fermenters, we have a wall of 16, 5 bbl fermenters! As you can imagine, many beer styles are dependent on the yeast that is used. For example, the Bavarian hefeweizen characteristics of banana and clove are specific to its yeast strain. Our collection of 16, 5-bbl fermenters, known as the ‘fermenter farm,’ allows us to showcase these differences by brewing one base wort, splitting the batch into different fermenters, and then pitching different yeast strains to create a fun flight that shows off the differences impacted by yeast. By showcasing these flights, we are staying true to the homebrew spirit of small-scale experimentation and the finished beers allow our customers—from homebrewers to professionals and the general beer geek—to see the importance of yeast strain selection.