Lallemand LalBrew House Ale - Homebrewing Dry Yeast Overview

It seems that the introduction of new yeast strains is becoming more of a regular occurrence in the brewing industry, with Lallemand recently announcing the release of their new House Ale strain. In this post we're taking a deep dive into this new yeast strain to find out what it's all about, and what sets it apart from other popular neutral ale yeast varieties.

Introduction

LalBrew House Ale is a recently introduced, high-performance yeast strain characterized by its speed and cleanliness. Classified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it is a top-fermenting ale yeast. This strain was selected by Escarpment Labs (located in Ontario, Canada), a partner of Lallemand, specifically for its superior fermentation capabilities. It is engineered to provide performance, consistency, and versatility necessary to meet the demands of contemporary brewing.

This is the second new yeast strain released by Lallemand in recent times, with the Pomona strain being released a little over 1 year ago.

Origin

This new House Ale strain was selected from a brewery that had been repitching it for many years with consistently great results. It was not selected or created using genetic modification (GMO), selective breeding or adaptive lab evolution.

Observed Fermentation Performance and Efficiency

The primary benefit of utilizing LalBrew House Ale is the increased efficiency derived from faster fermentations and reduced maturation times.

Key Performance Metrics:

• Speed: Under Lallemand’s Standard Conditions (12°P [approx 1.048] wort fermented at 20°C or 68°F), the yeast exhibits a vigorous fermentation profile that can be completed in 3–4 days.

• Efficiency: Commercial trials have shown that using this strain can result in a reduction in total tank residency time by up to 23% compared to other popular house strains.

• Attenuation: LalBrew House Ale provides high attenuation, typically falling in the range of 78–86%.

• Stress Tolerance: The strain possesses high stress tolerance, enabling it to manage difficult fermentations. It also exhibits high alcohol tolerance, capable of fermenting up to 14% ABV.

Certainly tank residency times aren't a huge factor when it comes to homebrewing, but faster fermentation and maturation times means you're able to be drinking your House Ale fermented homebrew even sooner so this is only positive news for homebrewers and professional brewers alike.

Flavor Profile and Off-Flavor Management

LalBrew House Ale is recognized for its ability to produce a clean, neutral profile while rapidly processing fermentation byproducts.

Lallemand House Ale flavour wheel

• Aroma and Flavor: The strain imparts a primarily neutral flavor and aroma, as indicated in the flavour wheel above. Its clean profile allows the characteristics of the malt and hops to be more pronounced. The low ester production is attributed, in part, to a unique EHT1 mutation. 

• Flavour: Flavor analysis has found it to be similar to an American ale yeast, such as LalBrew BRY-97, rather than an English ale yeast, like LalBrew Nottingham.

• Diacetyl Cleanup: This strain is highly efficient at the quick cleanup of off-flavors, specifically acetaldehyde and diacetyl. Benchmarking analysis has demonstrated that it achieves 4x lower diacetyl levels compared to typical leading strains.

• Other Characteristics: The strain is POF negative (which means it cannot produce phenolic off-flavours like spicy, clove or medicinal notes) and is among the top 25% of strains tested for High Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) uptake, which contributes to improved beer stability.

Neutral flavoured yeasts are not particularly special or unique, with numerous other options available to brewers at the moment like Lallemand's own BRY-97 as well as US-05 by Fermentis. What's particularly notable here is the rapid and effective ability to cleanup diacetyl and acetaldehyde, both common byproducts of fermentation and generally considered an off flavour when present in finished beer.

What isn't clear though is if fermented above the recommended temperature range of 22°C, presumably more diacetyl would be produced, and would it also be cleaned up effectively?

Versatility and Usage Recommendations

Due to its neutral profile and robust characteristics, LalBrew House Ale is highly versatile and adaptable for various applications.

Suitable Styles and Uses:

• It is suitable for a wide variety of beer styles, including American IPAs, Pale Ales, Blond Ales, and Stouts.

• Its robust fermentation and neutral profile make it a great option for non-beer applications, such as cider and hard seltzer, provided appropriate nutrients are utilized.

• The strain works very well for both bottle and cask conditioning.

Technical Usage Notes

• Optimal Temperature Range: 16 – 22 °C (61 – 72 °F)

• Pitching Rate (Standard): 50 – 100g per hL of wort (0.5 - 1g per L of wort)

• Flocculation: Medium

• Viability: ≥ 5 x 10⁹ CFU per gram of dry yeast

• Attenuation: 78 - 86%

• Alcohol Tolerance: 14% ABV

Pitching Method:

It looks the days of dry yeast rehydration are well and truly over, with dry pitching being stated by Lallemand as the preferred method for inoculating wort. This approach is simpler than rehydration and is reported to yield more consistent fermentation performance while reducing the risk of contamination.

To dry pitch, the yeast is simply sprinkled evenly onto the surface of the wort as the fermenter is being filled. For LalBrew House Ale, there are no significant differences in fermentation performance observed when dry pitching compared to rehydration and seems to be the stance that most dry yeast manufacturers are taking now.

Homebrew Sachets

Lallemand's House Ale 11g sachet

Lallemand's House Ale strain is available in 11g sachets, the perfect size for single batch homebrew scale recipes, as well as larger bricks for those in the commercial game.

Repitching:

LalBrew House Ale is genetically stable and features excellent repitchability. Brewers have reported successful use for up to six generations. When re-pitching dry yeast, wort aeration is required.

Conclusion

We're always interested and excited by new yeast varieties. It gives brewers another option when it comes to creating unique beers, but we can't help but wonder just how much of a benefit this clean yeast strain is going to be at a homebrew level.

The incumbent, go-to, clean fermenting ale strain is undisputedly Fermentis SafAle US-05, and we always thought Lallemand's BRY-97 strain was the equivalent offering within the Lallemand lineup, which perhaps up until now it was.

Is this Lallemand's attempt at disrupting the strangle hold that US-05 has over the clean ale market by introducing a new player?

Certainly rapid fermentation and reduced tank time is more of a benefit at the professional scale, though it does benefit homebrewers too as we've previously mentioned. Along with reduced risk of off flavours it's certainly worth giving Lallemand's House Ale a shot, but only time will tell if it offers enough benefits over existing options to convince brewers to make the switch.

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