Brewing up a big batch today of low gravity Belgian blonde ale that I'm going to split between two carboys and ferment each with a different yeast strain from White Labs. It's always interesting to see how different strains affect the flavor profile of the same wort. In one carboy I will pitch WLP500, a strain from the
Chimay Trappist Brewery. In the other carboy I'll pitch WLP575 which is a blend of Chimay yeast,
Westmalle Trappist yeast, and
Achouffe yeast. Originally I was looking for WLP550 which is just the Achouffe strain but alas my local home brew store didn't have any this weekend so I went with the WLP575 Belgian Blend. I'm able to find out the origins of these strains by using the yeast
strain chart that
Mr.Malty has created. It's very interesting and useful to determine what yeast to use knowing the flavor impact the yeast makes in the beers brewed from the brewery's where the yeast comes from. Giving you an idea of what your beer will taste like using that yeast.
Grist Bill: Belgian Pilsner malt, Briess Pale malt, Rye malt, Aromatic malt, and CaraPils. American whole leaf Palisade hops for bittering and finished with whole leaf Centennial hops. Adding a citrus kick to the nuances of the two different Belgian yeasts from White Labs, WLP500 and WLP575.
I have to agree that trying different yeasts while keeping everything else constant is always an interesting thing. We did an experiment with wYeast's American Ale 1056 vs American Ale II 1272.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see the difference. I to, looked at the Mr. Malty chart to see the origin of the yeasts, both coming from the West, one Sierra Nevada, one from Anchor. After tasting each, you get a glimpse into why things taste the way they do. We found the 1272 to be a cleaner, more crisp taste, which would completely go with an Anchor type of beer.
Anyway, looking forward to hearing your results. I was looking for you on the NHC winners list. Sad to say I didn't see you. Did you get any feedback?
Mike
Mike's Brew Review