Kit Yeast v Bought Yeast: Wanderful = Wonderful! Centrelink = Pretty Good

G'day boyo's and girlo's,

So here's the thing. Coles, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to stop stocking Wander beer kits and have been marking down their remaining stock to rediculously low prices in order to get rid of them. By rediculous I mean that the other two bought 4 kits for 2 dollars each.

With this beer we thought we wanted to test whether Kit yeast as opposed to the more expensive 'special' yeast made a difference. So we tested the principle. We did two identical beer kits Wander Ale with Cooper's Brew Enhancer 1, one with kit yeast and one with 'special' yeast.

The results:

Pre lim testing showed that the kit yeast was still very active (smelly) where as the special yeast was far more smooth. The tasting was that the beer we dubbed Centrelink (as funded by student monies and costing a whopping 7 dollars to make) tasted something like VB as opposed to Wanderful which tasted like a crisp James Squires.

After bottling we left them for a week and a half. We then cracked them last night and they were ready!

Post bottling results were fairly astounding. Centrelink tasted sweet, as though the yeast hadn't eaten all the sugar, but in no way yeasty. It wasn't bad, very drinkable, bitter, though like VB but with a sweeter fore taste. However, it was completely outclassed by Wanderful.

Wanderful is a great beer. It's crisp, far more clear and goes down like a nice draght. Basically drinking this beer, which cost us $12 (including caps and sugar drops) for 2 cases, is a down right pleasure. When we opened it there was talk of bathing in it, but we didn't want to waste the beer.

The colour of both is a lightish brown, but where Centrelink looks as murky as Reches Wanderful is much clearer, more like a darker Boags.

The conclusion: It is worth the extra 3 dollars for special yeast as opposed to kit yeast. It is far more effecting and provides a much more rounded finish. However, if you can't find it (or can't afford it - that goes out to Uni students) using Kit yeast isn't the end of the world.

Centrelink -

Tastes like - nothing on the market, but with elements of VBness. Kinda like VB mixed with white sugar. Not as bad as it sounds.
Better than - taste wise I would say, and my compatriots may shout me down, but nothing on the market. However, when you weigh the cost vs taste, since it tastes like the lowest commercial beers but costs around 15 times less per carton, its definitely better.
Worse than - Wanderful.

Wanderful
Tastes like - A bit like James Squires but with out the malt. Definitely an Aussie brew. Actually, a lot like a beer called 'Waju' which just came out on the market for $50 a case. Quite nice.
Better than - low shelf commercial beers. I would pay 40 + for a case of this. (professional pride not withstanding)
Worse than - Boden's Belgium, Tom's Brown and Brew Mow. Commerical I would say it is worse, but only just, than James Squires. Probably almost on par with Uberbrau without the hint of banana that adds that mistique we miss from Uber.