Fruity WLP001

Okay,

I'm new'ish to using WLP001. I've brewed quite a few beers that have been awesome, but every single time I use WLP001 the thing ends up being very fruity (a bit sour too maybe?) instead of clean. The beers I'm making are supposed to be anything but fruity, so it really makes them odd tasting.

My guess is I'm fermenting too hot and getting massive amounts of esters. The house is 67 degrees, but it sits near the heat pump & hot water tank.

I have a temp controller on the way to use for my kegerator and I'm thinking I should probably use it for fermentation too (with certain yeast strains).

I'm just looking for some thoughts/insight. Has anyone had fruity beer caused by WLP001?

Fermentation temp is usually 7-10* above ambient. So if your house is 67*, you're probably fermenting in the mid-to-high 70s, and if it's by a heat pump and hot water tank, you're probably getting up into the 80s.

That would explain the fruitiness. If you ferment in the low 60s you shouldn't get much "fruitiness"

+1, I ferment almost everything I make at 63F with a temp probe taped and insulated to the side of my fermenter.

Thanks for the quick responses. Could you further explain the insulation part of attaching the probe? (Is the concept to insulate it against ambient air inside the cooling chamber?)

This makes me feel much better about my beer, I was getting quite discouraged. Although my wits have always seemed pretty tasty which made me believe it couldnt be my actual brewing methods.

chris102984 said:

Thanks for the quick responses. Could you further explain the insulation part of attaching the probe? (Is the concept to insulate it against ambient air inside the cooling chamber?)

This makes me feel much better about my beer, I was getting quite discouraged. Although my wits have always seemed pretty tasty which made me believe it couldnt be my actual brewing methods.

Click to expand...

The insulation is simply a piece of bubble wrap that sandwiches the probe against the fermenter wall. I tape it all in place and set my fermentation temp. It gives a truer reading of the temp of the beer in your fermenter this way.