According to entrepreneur Peyton McNully, founder of the first yeast propagation service in the southeastern United States, brewers in Alabama are in need of high quality yeast as they refine and grow their art.
“We want our client brewers to make and sell the very best beer in Alabama, nationally, and internationally. We want to put Alabama on every beer enthusiast’s map,” McNully says.
Leavendary, one of twenty-seven resident associated companies located at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama, offers all-inclusive services to craft brewers, from quality testing and delivery of yeast to testing of brews in progress as well as finished goods. Leavendary’s newest client is the largest craft brewer in the state, Back Forty Beer Company in historic Gadsden, Alabama.
“We are excited to partner with Leavendary to provide Back Forty with the highest-quality yeast and testing services in the industry, to ensure that our consumers continue to experience our same great-tasting beer, every time,” says Jason Wilson, chief executive officer of Back Forty and president of the Alabama Brewers Guild.
The quality of the yeast matters significantly to the flavor of the beer, and a consistent supply of quality yeast results in consistent flavor, so that every bottle, keg, and can tastes the same.
That’s where Leavendary comes in. In a laboratory at HudsonAlpha, Leavendary’s biologists propagate “pitchable” quantities of yeast, which are precise amounts of yeast for a given batch of beer. Leavendary also conducts quality testing at the microscopic or molecular level based on individual client needs. This helps brewers such as Back Forty ensure a consistent flavor in every batch.
The collaboration also fuses local Alabama businesses, establishing a partnership with like-minded community-based companies dedicated to building Alabama’s craft beer industry. “At Back Forty, we are committed to supporting Alabama businesses, and this is another way we can further promote local jobs and technology,” Wilson says.