Orval dregs

I have been growing some yeast that I got from a bottle of Orval.

I am planning to brew a tripel using pilsner and a little munich. Primary it for a week using Wyeast 3463. Rack it to secondary with the Orval yeast and a pound of candi sugar. Then over the course of a couple of weeks add another pound of sugar. Finally throw a oak dowel in it and let it sit in the primary for a few months.

What are your suggestions or opinions on this plan?

I have heard that Orval brews with one strain and bottles with a different strain. Can anybody confirm this or is it just another of those nasty internet urban myths.

winvarin said:

I have heard that Orval brews with one strain and bottles with a different strain. Can anybody confirm this or is it just another of those nasty internet urban myths.

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It has brett in the bottle for sure. If you haven't had the chance to compare a "fresh" Orval with a couple year old bottle, you should seek out the experience.

If it is bottled with a different strain, I wonder what that would do to the batch. The yeast that I am growing definitely smells like Orval, sort of fruity.

I am a big fan of, if you don't know, and it sounds right, try it and see what happens. Even if it is a bottling strain, it's still yeast. And not only is it yeast, it's a yeast Trappist monks choose to put in their beer. So what's the worst that could happen?