Sediment in Little Creatures?!

[Trough Lolly]

It's been a while since I last had one, but I drank a stubbie of Little Creatures that had been stashed up the back of the fridge for about a month - I'm amazed it lasted that long!

What amazed me even more was as I was about half way through the stubbie I noticed a swirl of cloudy yeast like sediment in the bottom of the stubbie....I didn't know this stuff was naturally carbonated??

Undeterred, I drank on and thought I picked up a slightly bready / yeasty flavour. I thought this stuff was meant to be sediment free - I wish I'd noticed sooner...It could have been decanted off into a flask to see what sort of starter it would make!!

Cheers,
TL

[drsmurto]

I always thought they use a lager yeast to bottle condition.......

You can taste yeast under all those hops? Thats some palate you have TL!

[Trough Lolly]

Admittedly it was the first of a few beers that evening!

[lethaldog]

I bought a slab of this a few months back and i gotta say i did not notice any sediment but hey it was so nice that i wasnt paying that much attention either

[KEG]

last i looked (a few weeks ago), i think the normal sized bottles weren't bottle-conditioned, but the larger ones (what are they, 600ml?) were.

[Chris]

That's what I thought it was KEG. I had a couple of the larger ones a while back, and they had yeast. Lager according to rwh (I think).

Haven't seen it in the stubbie though.

[Trough Lolly]

Interesting - I found the sediment in a stubby - didn't notice it in the other 5 stubs though...
It would make sense to use a cleanish lager yeast in the bottle to carbonate...

Cheers,
TL

[James L]

I says on the side of the bottle that they contain live yeast, and should be poured into a glass to drink. I have noticed sediment in both the larger (568ml) and smaller (330ml) bottles.

As far as i know they add lager yeast when bottling to allow carbonation in cold storage.

I tried to get some straight answers out of the promo girl at Dan Murphy's on friday, but she just looked at me blankly and asked if i wanted to try the bright ale....

[Old Gil]

I have noticed the sediment in all the stubbie bottles i've drank. It's nice to know they have a strick selection criteria for the people promoting their beer . Did she even know what she was promoting

[James L]

she said she worked for them... because they dont believe in having promo girls... but i'm not buying it (her story that is.. not the beer).

She did reckon that the cascade hops in the PA are from NZ, but i'm not buying that either...

she was very attractive and did have free beer to sample, so it wasnt all bad

[drsmurto]

What was she wearing James - 4/5ths of bugger all? I am pretty sure the cougar promo girl could sell ice to an eskimo so i reckon they serve a purpose.

The cascade hop flowers are imported directly from the US of A.

[Trough Lolly]

I thought they imported Amarillo (dimly recall a photo of a box at the brewery with a customs sticker and somebody indicating that they only bought particular hops to spec from California??)...ahh, yes, here's the Landline article:

Little Creatures brew up big interest
Reporter: Sean Murphy

First Published: 15/05/2005

JOANNE SHOEBRIDGE: Now, how about a beer? There's not much doubt some of the best-known brews in the world are being produced from Australian malting barley and hops, whether they're bottled and brewed here or overseas. And even though they mightn't have anywhere near the market share of the big-name brands, our own specialty or craft beers continually punch above their weight on the world stage. Take the case of Little Creatures Pale Ale, a hop-driven brew from one of Fremantle's booming boutique breweries which was named the British Broadcasting Corporation's 2004 Beer of the Year.

SEAN MURPHY: The fine art of brewing beer may have a lot to do with science these days, but according to master brewer Simon Bretherton, nothing compares with good-quality raw materials. So why is malt called the engine room of beer?

SIMON BRETHERTON: Malt basically, I suppose you could say, provides the canvas for the beer, and the hops are more like the pen of the beer, if you like. So really, the malt provides the backbone, you know, the substance of the beer in a lot of ways.

SEAN MURPHY: So does malt vary much and does it have much of a bearing on the final flavour of your beer?

SIMON BRETHERTON: For sure, yeah. There's all different types of malt, different barley varieties made to use malt, and different specifications used even per type of malt.

SEAN MURPHY: Simon Bretherton is head brewer at Little Creatures, a boutique brewery and alehouse on Fremantle's fishing harbour earning a big reputation for its big-flavoured beers. Late last year, Little Creatures' Pale Ale was named Beer of the Year by the British Broadcasting Corporation's 'Good Food' magazine.

HOWARD CEARNS: It was endorsement, I guess, for our beer particularly but also putting Australian beer back on the map as being a great brewer of premium beers.

SEAN MURPHY: You couldn't buy that sort of publicity?

HOWARD CEARNS: No, and we didn't, so...

SEAN MURPHY: Launched at the London Wine Fare in May 2004, Pale Ale was an instant hit and before winning the award was selling about 1,000 cases a month to a small but exclusive UK clientele.

HOWARD CEARNS: Excitingly, some of the on-premise profile outlets in London, like the Tate Gallery, put us on as their house beer in both their museums, which is terrific, and, you know, some really good-profile restaurants in the London area have picked up on it. There's a lot of Australian chefs and floor staff in the hospitality industry over there at the pointy end, and I think they've been aware of us for a while and a lot of them have been here, so the minute we were there, we found we got a bit of inquiry and obviously support from those guys in the market.

SEAN MURPHY: The Pale Ale owes much of its distinctive resinous flavour to raw hop flowers imported from Oregon in the Pacific northwest of the United States.

SIMON BRETHERTON: We were quite unique in that we got a quarantine permit that allows us to do that and I'm pretty sure we're the only brewery actually in Australia doing that currently.

SEAN MURPHY: Australia has its own hops industry and we actually export hops around the world. Why couldn't you use the local product?

SIMON BRETHERTON: Australian hops are very good for what they do and what they're designed to do, if you like, but the sort of character that we're looking for in our beers, which is the very aromatic beers and very hop-driven flavoured beers and the characters that we wanted from the hops, you can't find in the Australian-grown hops. So yeah, we had to choose them from a particular place in the US.

SEAN MURPHY: In fact, Australia has become a major force in the world trade of raw materials such as malting barley and hops. From last year's barley crop alone, more than 2 million tonnes was exported for beer brewing.

ROGER BUSSELL: Australia, particularly in the last 20 years, has developed into one of the major players of supply of particularly malt and malting barley to the world. Our climate is superb, the quality of the grain is ideal, and the barley breeding that has taken place here has ensured that the best varieties are available for brewers throughout the world. And again, on hops, we are pest-free; we have a superb climate for growing hops, and this has been developed to the stage where some of the finest hops in the world are now grown in Australia and are sought by brewers out of Australia.

SEAN MURPHY: Cheers, guys.

ROGER BUSSELL: Cheers, guys.

SEAN MURPHY: Cheers. Although retired after more than 40 years as a brewer, Roger Bussell still represents the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, the world's biggest brewers' association. He says the success of Little Creatures is a reflection of how much Australia has changed since he arrived from England in 1968.

ROGER BUSSELL: The mainstream - so-called mainstream beers are very high-quality beers, but as people have gotten more affluent and travelled more, they want to experience more of the different styles of beer from around the world. A lot of the smaller breweries like this and the other craft breweries are able to supply those styles for people to give a chance to taste them.

SEAN MURPHY: Australia produces about 1.3 billion litres of beer every year, and while the craft beer market has grown substantially in recent years, it still only makes up about 1% of the total. Of that, Western Australia has captured a staggering 40%. You're originally a Pom yourself. Don't the Poms think Aussie beer is all Fourex and Foster's?

ROGER BUSSELL: Ah ... yes, but the Poms themselves have suffered in recent times. Where there used to be several hundred small breweries, there's now a few larger organisations with fortunately still some small breweries producing some wonderful beers.

SEAN MURPHY: So how significant do you think this BBC award will be for the Pale Ale?

ROGER BUSSELL: I think it's a great honour. The problem that they'll have is producing enough of it to satisfy the demand. It's an awful lot of beer expected to come out of a very small brewery.

SEAN MURPHY: After four years of production, Little Creatures' current capacity is about 100,000 cases a year. It remains committed to the domestic market, particularly Western Australia, which still accounts for half its sales. What is it about Perth? You have 17 micro or boutique breweries here now, another eight to be built in the next year. That's nearly half of the total number in Australia.

HOWARD CEARNS: There's a couple of reasons for that. We've got a lot of Poms here, who have brought, I guess, an inherent interest in ales and willingness to try that, probably ahead of Australians. So that's part of it, but the other part of it was that, you know, back in the '80s, a lot of the initial pioneering of different beer or craft beer happened here.

SEAN MURPHY: That trend continues with Little Creatures' Pale Ale, and while it's nice to get some recognition, Simon Bretherton says that's not the reason why he loves his job.

SIMON BRETHERTON: Probably if you ask any brewer, obviously one thing we all have a passion for at the end of the day is the product. We all love beer, so...(laughs)
Contacts
Little Creatures
08) 9430 5155
Email: email@littlecreatures.com.au

Cheers,
TL

[Cookie]

In case anyone was still wondering, the Pale Ale does contain live yeast. It is bottle conditioned and contains live yeast as opposed to the dead yeast in Coopers. The hops are imported mainly from Oregon, but some Cascade hops are used (imported from Tasmania).

How do I know all this? I work at Little Creatures in Fremantle, WA. I'm not a brewer (there anyway) but have a keen interest in brewing (at home) and have had extensive conversations with the Head Brewer.

[rwh]

...as opposed to the dead yeast in Coopers.

WTF... So what have I recultured from the Coopers bottles then? Or do you not know what you're talking about (regarding Coopers yeast)?

I understand they do filter their beers, but they reintroduce a measured quantity of live yeast for both conditioning and flavour purposes. And it's not a different strain either, it's the same one they use for primary. I've brewed quite a few good beers with it; it's similar to their dried yeast but a bit cleaner-fermenting.

[Boonie]

...as opposed to the dead yeast in Coopers.

WTF... So what have I recultured from the Coopers bottles then? Or do you not know what you're talking about (regarding Coopers yeast)?

I understand they do filter their beers, but they reintroduce a measured quantity of live yeast for both conditioning and flavour purposes. And it's not a different strain either, it's the same one they use for primary. I've brewed quite a few good beers with it; it's similar to their dried yeast but a bit cleaner-fermenting.

Agree, I have managed to bring the yeast back from the dead too and create a wonderful beer. Either hb'ers are Gods, which we all are , or you may be a little one-eyed or brainwashed by LC.

I am a major advocate for LC, but that is just drivel

Think and investigate before typing Cookie.

Boonie

[lethaldog]

Hmmmm Zombie yeast, now theres something new

[Timmsy]

Maybe he meant that coopers yeast or dormant and the LC are active?

[drsmurto]

...as opposed to the dead yeast in Coopers.

WTF... So what have I recultured from the Coopers bottles then? Or do you not know what you're talking about (regarding Coopers yeast)?

I understand they do filter their beers, but they reintroduce a measured quantity of live yeast for both conditioning and flavour purposes. And it's not a different strain either, it's the same one they use for primary. I've brewed quite a few good beers with it; it's similar to their dried yeast but a bit cleaner-fermenting.

+1

Cookie, some good drugs you are on mate, please share the love....

As for the Coopers yeast, i believe it is actually 2 strains...... have been discussing this with Kev and a few others that maybe a mix of windsor (low attenuation, estery) and nottingham (high attenuation, low esters) would yield a similar result......

[Cookie]

It appears I have been naive and taken some ill advice as being true.

I apologise. I thought my knowledge was correct and from a reliable source.

Next time I will research before posting anything I'm not 100% sure about.

Boy is my face Red!

[Cookie]

It appears I have been naive and taken some ill advice as being true.

I apologise. I thought my knowledge was correct and from a reliable source.

Next time I will research before posting anything I'm not 100% sure about.

Boy is my face Red!