Jasper Yeast: Helping brewers craft signature flavors

Yeast is the most important element in determining the style, quality, and flavor of beer. That's why so many brewers rely on Jasper Yeast. By growing made-to-order craft yeast cultures, the brand helps those breweries to get the precise flavors they want.

To form Jasper Yeast, co-founders Travis Tedrow and Jasper Akerboom blended their respective experience in working with yeast. Travis brewed professionally for 12 years. Jasper has a PhD in microbiology and food technology, and he led brewing operations for a commercial brewery.

Living in Virginia, they saw an opportunity when they learned that most brewers were getting their yeast from West Coast producers. They started their yeast propagation lab, providing big benefits to breweries in their region – like faster delivery. Focusing on their local region also helped them to maintain a closer and more personal relationship with their customers.

Yeast is a living microorganism that is perishable and needs to stay cool. Like most perishables, shipping is often a major challenge. That's one reason Jasper and Travis choose to turn to FedEx® to ship their products. Gel packs and insulated packaging keep the yeast healthy during transit. For international shipping, Jasper and Travis just need to add more insulation to ensure a successful shipment. Quicker deliveries play a role, too. "We're encouraging customers to choose express shipping because it's faster,'' Travis said. He noted that customers can count on shipments to arrive in the morning – something brewers need when they plan to use the yeast that same day.

That leads to another reason Jasper Yeast relies on FedEx shipping – order tracking. Because customers can see when their yeast will arrive, they're able to start the brewing process without having it in hand.

To grow the company, Jasper and Travis are educating customers on the benefits of their unique and often exclusive yeast strains. And they're attending trade shows to cultivate relationships. "Trust is extremely important in our industry,'' Jasper said. To print or send materials to each upcoming conference, the duo uses FedEx Office®. "We were just in Las Vegas, and there's a FedEx Office inside the hotel that hosted the conference,'' Travis said. "So, it was really, really convenient."

As one of the recipients of the 2024 FedEx® Small Business Grants Program, Jasper and Travis are looking to continue their growth. They plan to attend more conferences. Scale their marketing efforts. And expand production capacity with new tanks.