Omega OYL-404 Star Party

What the manufacturer says

A Thiolized version of the beloved Chico strain (West Coast Ale I), Star Party is a thiol burst with aromas of passion fruit, dank pink guava, and citrus zest.

Product page

What the evidence says

• Omega positions Star Party as its clean-base thiol strain; the parent Chico strain has very low native β-lyase activity, so the patB enzyme is what does the work. Omega Yeast, thiol guide
• Omega's thiol guide lists Star Party among its dominant-expression strains, the patB group it quotes at 6,000+ ppt of 3SH, rather than with Cosmic Punch's benchmark level of about 600 ppt. The guide does not report a separate measured concentration for Star Party. Omega Yeast, thiol guide

Rating context: manufacturers usually quote free-thiol concentration relative to the sensory threshold, not conversion yield. Peer-reviewed work finds that only a small fraction of bound precursors is converted in beer fermentation, so the ordering between strains is more reliable than any absolute number Chenot et al. 2021 Michel et al. 2019.

In practice

Choose it when you want West Coast clarity and attenuation with a tropical lift, rather than a soft hazy profile.

Engineered (patB insertion).

Hops that reward this strain

Citra, Cryo Citra, Cryo Mosaic, Cryo Simcoe, Ekuanot, Galaxy, Hallertau Blanc, Kohatu, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, Sabro, Simcoe, Strata, Superdelic, Talus, Vista, Waimea. Each carries a high rating for bound 3MH-family or 4MMP precursors. Mash and whirlpool additions supply precursors during fermentation; a cold dry hop mostly adds the free fraction.