LalBrew Pomona™ is a hybrid yeast that was selected for flavour and fermentation performance in hoppy beers. Named after the goddess of fruit trees, LalBrew Pomona™ produces a unique and juicy flavour profile with notes of peach, citrus, and tropical fruits. This strain was developed by our partner Escarpment Laboratories (Canada) using advanced yeast breeding and adaptive laboratory evolution in high ABV and highly hopped IPA fermentations. The result is a fruity, stress-tolerant, and robust strain that enhances biotransformation and haze for modern IPA styles.
LalBrew Pomona™ shows apparent attenuations of 75-84% in standard worts, and has a recommended fermentation temperature range of 18 oC to 22 oC. In promoting fruit-forward aromas and flavours, Pomona creates distinctive peach and citrus notes, as well as a unique ester profile reminiscent of mango. This strain has also been selected for superior terpene-led biotransformation – in particular the conversion of hop geraniol (floral) into citronellol (lemon/floral). Some guidance for how to create more of this in your fermentations can be seen as below. For more in depth information on Biotransformation and IPA solutions, see our updated resource found here.
Why is LalBrew Pomona™ different than other hazy IPA strains?
This strain has unique genetics created by breeding a Clade 1 (domesticated) S. Cerevisiae brewing yeast with a Clade 2 (farmhouse/Belgian) S. Cerevisiae yeast strain. The latter had already been through a prior breeding program to remove phenol production and diastatic activity – all this effort was put in due to its distinct and impressive sensory profile and biotransformation potential. The former strain brought robustness and fermentation reliability to the resulting hybrid.
When a suitable daughter cell had been created that possessed the desired traits of both parents, this then underwent ‘adaptive lab evolution’, which involved growing repeated generations in high gravity, highly hopped wort. This lead to a honing of Pomona’s ability to efficiently ferment to higher alcohol content, and acclimate to higher hopping rates. The final result is now in 11 gm sachets and can be found at www.brewshop.co.nz/pomona-yeast.html.
