A Hoppy Experiment
by Scott Hirsch and Steven DeRosa
Intrigued by the work that Omega Yeast Labs has been undertaking with biotransformation to produce thiol precursors, Scott Hirsch and I decided to try out their new and much talked-about Cosmic Punch strain and see what all the talk was about. Basically, Omega took their British V yeast and engineered it to produce thiols through biotransformation. It’s said that this “thiolized” version of the strain increases thiol aromas such as grapefruit, passion fruit and guava in NEIPAs.
Have a look at their video to get a better sense of the science behind the yeast:
usingSome Commercial Brews that have used Cosmic Punch
As noted in the video, several commercial brewers played a role in experimenting with Cosmic Punch. Several brewers have released their results commercially:
■ Drekker – Benevolent Intentions DIPA (I’ve tried this one and it was pretty damn good.)
■ Sapwood Cellars – The Locksmith (used both Cosmic Punch and Phantasm Powder)
■ Ozark Beer Co.
■ Arizona Wilderness Brewing
■ Pretentious Beer Co. – Cosmic Slap Fight
■ Maplewood Brewing – Phantom Sun
IRC7 – The Key to unlocking bound Thiols
The folks over at Omega Yeast Labs found that inserting the IRC7 gene into a yeast strain that otherwise doesn’t have it naturally enhances its thiol driving ability.
One way to get these precursors is by adding Phantasm Powder, which is an extract of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc grape skins. As of this writing, Phantasm Powder is not yet available to the homebrewer’s market. But there’s another way to introduce these precursors to your wort and that’s through mash-hopping.
Hops in the Mash
This was a first for me, although Scott has mash-hopped before. The end result of adding about one ounce of hops per gallon of your finished batch is that you get a big boost in Thiol precursors and about 30% of the bitterness than if the hops has been added to the boil. Using low Alpha hops with a lot of precursors is supposed to yield the best results.
SOURCES
I’ve got my first batch using Cosmic Punch in the fermenter and looking to have it ready for the June meeting. I decided to give it a go without making a starter (not typical process for me). Figured I’d never used Omega yeast strains before and I’d give it a shot based on the instructions on the packaging. Looks to be like a big mistake. 1.046 OG stalled at 1.020 after a week but still dropping VERY slowly.
Looking forward to seeing what the yeast performance looks like on 2nd pitch.
I’m surprised, Vlad. Definitely looking forward to your end result.
I’ve been using Omega exclusively for a little more than four years. The only time I didn’t do a starter first was with the last stout Cesar and I made for which we used Omega’s dried Lutra.
This past weekend we brewed another NEIPA with Cosmic Punch. This was the reserve from the starter I made on February 26. Made a new starter with this yesterday morning and it took off quickly. Should have this for our June meeting as well, so we’ll definitely have a couple of Cosmic Punch brews for the showcase.