To help learn how different yeast can change a beer, brewers all made the same Belgian Blond but each chose a different yeast to ferment with.
Blond (5G)
1.065 OG, 25 IBUs
8# Pils
1# Munich (10L)
1# White Wheat
1# Sucrose (@KO)
1.5oz Hallertau @60
1L stir plate starter of yeast (or equivalent)
mash @151F

Wy3787 –
Wy3739 –
WLP585 –
Wy3538 –
Wy3822
WLP570 –
WLP380 –
WLP550 –
Wy3944 –
Wy3724 –

To see if using different lager strains made a significant change, brewers all made the same Marzen but each chose a different yeast. Some ale strains were also chosen to see if the difference was noticeable. Brewers also had the option whether to use a single infusion or decoction mash, and whether to use melanoidin malt or not. Base malt was provided by the club
Marzen (5.5G)
1.054OG, 24 IBUs
3.25# Pils
3.25# Vienna
3.25# Munich (10L)
0.5# Caramunich III
0.5# Melanoidin (optional)
1.5oz Hallertau @60
0.5oz Hallertau @20
2.5L Stirplate starter of lager yeast (or equivalent)
mash @152F (or 122F->152F->168F if decocting)

WLP820 –
WLP860 –
WLP830 –
WLP833 –
WLP838 –
Wy2633 –
Wy2124 –
Wy2206 –
Wy2007 –
Fermentis W34/70 –
Wy1007 –
WLP029 –

To help learn the differences between base malts, brewers all made the same English-style barleywine but each showcased a different base malt.
Barleywine (5G)
1.105 OG, 60 IBUs
20# Base malt
1# C60
2oz Nugget @60
Wy1968/WLP002 (2L stir plate starter, or equivalent) @~64F
mash @152F

Maris Otter (Bairds) –
Maris Otter (TF) –
Golden Promise (TF) –
Vienna (Best Malz) –
Munich (Best Malz) –

To help learn the characteristics of hops (both new & old), brewers all made the same pale ale but each chose a different hop to showcase in it.
Pale Ale Recipe (5G)
1.054 OG, 40IBUs
9# 2row
1# C40
Xoz hops @60 (whatever necessary to reach 40IBUs total)
1oz hops @15
1oz hops @5
1oz hops @0
2oz hops @DH
ferment w. S05 @60-65F
mash @154

Glacier – mild, sweet citrus
Belma – mild, hints of melon/strawberry
Nugget –
Zythos –
Amarillo –
Southern Cross –
Nelson Sauvin –
German Hallertau – floral, citrus, surprisingly good
Simcoe –
Pacific Jade –
Comet –
Chinook –
Exp 5256 –
El Dorado – lemony, candy-like
Mosaic – fruity, berry, majority favorite tho some noted garlic

Two batches of beer, one hoppy West Coast-style red ale fermented with Chico ale yeast (Fermentis S05) and one Belgian single fermented with Chouffe (WLP550), were brewed to determine the effects of O2 on fermentation. Each batch was 10 gallons, and the wort was split across two carboys in each case. For each 10 gallon batch, one of the two carboys received O2 prior to pitching the yeast, while the other control batch received no oxygen. In both cases the two carboys were fermented in the same environment, and had the same pitch rate. The brewers noted that the batches showed no difference in lag time/final gravity.

Attendees of the July 2014 meeting blindly tasted the finished beers and voted on which of the two beers in each case got oxygen. The result was that the hop driven amber had a near 50/50 split on votes, but that tasters were overwhelmingly able to correctly identify which of the two Belgian beers received oxygen. Many tasters cited the
oxygenated beer’s less phenolic flavor and aroma profile as their reason for selecting it. It was noted that the oxygenated Belgian single did eventually end up with as much character a few weeks later.