Newest Threads

chumprock · 06-25-2009, 08:34 PM

Picked up a vial as a replacement for something I cant remember, and I've got it on the stir-plate for this weekend's batch. Man is this stuff ugly.

Such a strong distinct flocculation, it looks more like break material than yeast..

flyangler18 · 06-25-2009, 08:57 PM

Ah, the distinctive look of the English strains!\

I've not used that yeast, but look forward to your impressions. My two favorite English strains are 1469: West Yorkshire and 1275: Thames Valley.

chumprock · 06-25-2009, 09:07 PM

Yeah, IIRC I was looking for a special english (maybe a Wyeast?) and Ed was out so we swapped for the WLP026..
It was one big clump in the bottle of the vial, and I had to shake that thing for a good 5 minutes to break it into something "pourable".

Here's a shot of the clumpy-clumps in semi-suspensionish stirring.

YouTube - Starter

...and a surprise guest star.

chumprock · 06-25-2009, 09:14 PM

Here's how White Labs describes it:

From Staffordshire, England. Fermentation gives a mild, but complex, estery character. Ferments strong and dry. Good for high gravity beers. Best for all English style ales, including bitters, milds, ESBs, porters, stouts, and barley wines.

I have a house ESB that I've gotten great comments about, and it's typically pitched with S-04. This time I want to see if this strain would add a little more Special to the extra special..

I'll let you know how it turns out.

chumprock · 06-26-2009, 02:06 PM

Even clumpier today. If I didn't know better I would be scared to pour this into a batch..

InfernoBrews · 06-26-2009, 03:04 PM

I have Used White Labs Alot 98% of my Brews i use White Labs.. Some are ok and Some Look like you dont wanna put them in your Beer..

chumprock · 06-29-2009, 02:47 PM

Well I'm glad I put this one in. Had a hell of a time "suspending" it to pitch. It was just a big clumpy mess, but it went in regardless..

4 hour lag-time, and she's goin crazy this morning.

**greenbirds** · 07-14-2009, 03:54 AM

Any news on this one? Would like to hear about this yeast strain...

chumprock · 08-02-2009, 04:49 PM

Well, when White Labs says "Ferments strong and dry" they really mean it. 89.1% Attenuation!

This thing took off like a rocket. I left it in primary a week longer than I intended (pipeline issues), but this thing finished in about 6 days. It went from 1.058 to 1.006!
Typically, my ESB is around 1.016, so I was surprised how dry it turned out.
Also, I have never seen a more compact, clumped up cake. I'm going to try and wash some to make this a regular addition, but I may try and boost my next batch with some MD just to keep a little body..

Big10Seaner · 08-02-2009, 05:18 PM

I've got an english pub ale that I pitched the WLP026 into about a week and a half ago, going to keg in another week or so and I'll post the gravities.