Expanding their ever-evolving collection of unique and innovative yeast strains for brewers, Omega Yeast released a new hybrid yeast, Gulo® Ale. This new tool was created by the company’s Research and Development team by mating two strains in the Omega catalog, the Irish Ale (OYL-005) and the French Saison (OYL-026). It is a true genetic hybrid rather than a blend of the two strains.

“We’re thrilled with how this new hybrid turned out,” said Omega Yeast Co-Owner and Founder, Lance Shaner. “The genetic makeup of this strain allows it to consume a high percentage of sugars, creating a very dry beer, without giving off any peppery, clove phenolics that are typically associated with saisons and Belgian ales.”

The Brut IPA, a dry, effervescent and pale beer, has recently become a favorite style within the company. Typically to make a Brut IPA, brewers need to add glucoamylase enzymes to break down the dextrins left behind by ale yeast into fermentable sugars. The Omega Yeast R&D team was curious if they could brew this style without the enzyme. This led them to crossing the French Saison strain, known for high attenuation, with the non-phenolic Irish Ale strain, producing the new strain now named Gulo Ale which can create a clean-flavored fruity ale that yields roughly 90% apparent attenuation without the use of additional glucoamylase enzyme. To obtain a 100% dry beer, the addition of glucoamylase would still be needed, however. In addition to Brut IPAs, Omega Yeast’s Gulo Ale strain can also be used for other IPA styles, a stout, Biere de Garde and any other style where a very dry beer without phenolics is desired.

The hybrids in the Omega Yeast strain catalog were invented by the company after years of research and development efforts. These are yeasts that have never before existed, and although patenting brewing yeast strains is a somewhat novel concept in the industry, Omega Yeast made the decision to file a patent application for protection of their investment of time, money and creativity in the unique Gulo Ale strain. The brewing community has conventions of propagating yeast in-house, repitching, and sharing cultures with other brewers, and while investment protection of Gulo is important to the company, they’ve stated they have no intention of stopping breweries or individuals that have purchased a culture from using it like they would any other non-patented strain.

“So, carry on brewing, and we will carry on creating quality Omega Yeast strains,” Shaner said.