Fermly

It's called a boundary, babe.

Inositol is a naturally occurring micronutrient in malt that helps yeast build healthy cell membranes and maintain normal cellular function during fermentation. Cell membranes are critical to yeast tolerating stress, and don't we all appreciate a little help with that?

Is it grapefruit, or just the right hops?

Many hop varieties (Cascade, Centennial, and Citra), naturally have grapefruit aromas because of the essential oil composition, but the deal is a bit different when actual grapefruit is added. Sugars, oils, and acidity, there is a new set of stability and regulatory considerations. It can brighten a beer beautifully, though!

But, be mindful of this ingredient. It has chemicals called furanocoumarins that block a key digestive enzyme, boosting the body's ability to absorb medications for high blood pressure and depression.

Link below in case you are just a wee bit curious:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/grapefruit-and-medication-a-cautionary-note

Pistachi-yo!

Bruh! These create a delicious and unusual flavor combo in beer. Downright lux!

But, don't sleep on the oils. More frustrating than a sealed shell, head retention goes fast when the pistachio's natural oils come into play. Extracts and flavorings are more common than using the actual nuts, but hey, some trial and error can sort out that stability issue. Need to give the consumer and TTB a heads up though about this characterizing ingredient and allergen.

One molecule can make your beer fruity—or funky. Meet caprylic acid.

Caprylic acid (octanoic acid) is a medium-chain fatty acid produced by yeast during fermentation. In small amounts, it becomes the building block for fruity esters like ethyl octanoate. Balanced well, and the levels support bright fermentation character. Too much? It can stress yeast and introduce fatty or goaty off-notes.

Want to understand the molecules shaping your beer’s flavor? Follow for brewing chemistry that explains every pint. 🍻

Bouquet or fruit salad?

Lychee brings delicate tropical sweetness and floral aromatics thanks to compounds like linalool and geraniol, which are the same molecules that show up in some hops. In beer, its aroma often pops more than its sweetness, amplifying tropical hop character.

Lychee purée adds fermentable sugars that can restart fermentation if you’re not careful. Its aromas also fade quickly with oxygen or heat.

TBH, though, we made a lychee rice lager collab once, and it was better before the lychee.

Collagen: Not an anti-aging treatment for beer!

Collagen-derived proteins (proline-rich) in isinglass finings carry a positive charge. When added to beer, they attract negatively charged yeast and haze particles, causing them to clump together and settle. This electrostatic interaction speeds clarification, helping brewers produce bright, stable beer without altering flavor.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN SNIFF TEST CERTIFICATION

Since everyone is offering online education and certifications, we decided we would, too!

Forget expensive meters!
With Fermly’s new training program, you’ll learn to detect DO using only your nose and vibes.

Course modules include:
• Recognizing the aroma of 30 ppb oxygen
• Blindfolded tank sniffing
• Advanced cardboard perception

Early testers report accuracy within ±10 ppm.

Registration opens today!

Samwise may enjoy some crispy taters, but in a beer? Keep to the culinary, hobbro!

The "cooked potato" note in lager is from Strecker (also sounds like a character from LOTR) aldehyde called methional that can build up during storage and contribute to the classic "old beer" flavors.

When scientists spiked fresh beer with methional, phenylacetaldehyde, and trans-2-nonenal, the result tasted 72% like naturally aged beer. Translation: those molecules are basically the Nazgûl of staling.

Store beer warm, and these compounds can show up faster than Pippin running off to grab a pint!

So basically, flavor stability, although blamed a lot on just oxygen and time, is more complicated with a cascade of aldehydes that will show up if you don't put out that fire YOU FOOLS! Yeah, that's right. That Morgul blade stab is your fault.

Anyways, happy Friday! Check out the link below for more information on methional!

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf049178l

Potatoes are the best, but should we pick up the smell of a cooked one in beer?

Methional is a Strecker aldehyde formed from the amino acid methionine during malt kilning, wort boiling, and oxidative reactions during beer aging. lt has an extremely low flavor threshold and signals flavor instability. Even tiny increases can push beer toward stale, cooked vegetable notes.

Follow for more cool beer science facts!

If citrus fruits have an overachiever cousin, it's yuzu.

Yuzu (Citrus junos) packs intense citrus aroma thanks to oils like limonene and γ-terpinene. Brewers often use juice, zest, or extract to add bright citrus lift to saisons, lagers, and sours. A little goes a long way, and its fragrance can easily steal the spotlight.

Juice adds fermentables, zest adds oils, and either can shift fermentation, foam, or flavor balance. And if your label says “yuzu,” the TTB may want a formula submission.

Would you put yuzu in a hazy IPA, a lager, a sour, or a seltzer?