WLP 630 Limited Release Berliner Weisse

I just ordered a vial of this to use in a batch of Berliner Weisse. It says its a blend of Saccaromyces and Lactobacillus. It'll be the first beer I have brewed with bugs. Anyone else used it and have any feedback, or have any advise for brewing/fermenting Berliner Weisse or with lactobacillus in general.

i made one using the wyeast blend it was very good, i had to let it sour for about 7 months to get it where i wanted it

i'm doing a parti-gyle today and making a Berliner Weisse with the second runnings and pitching WLP 630...i'll keep you updated.

cheers

i'm doing a parti-gyle today and making a Berliner Weisse with the second runnings and pitching WLP 630...i'll keep you updated.

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Cool. Thanks. I plan to brew my WLP630 Berliner Weisse in the next week or two. I'll try to remember to post an update or two on this thread as well.

Hit the numbers yesterday for the parti-gyle brew.

6 gallons of Hefeweizen: 1.052 OG
6 gallons of Berliner Weisse: 1.032 OG

I pitched the WLP630 in the Berliner Weisse wort at 85F (higher than I've ever pitched but based upon my research, went with it) and oxygenated for 30 seconds. Its currently at 72F ambient and airlock activity began after 10 hours (which seemed quick based upon my WLP630 research).

Will be awhile until I can provide tasting notes...hoping it will be worth the wait!

Best of luck jamest22 on the upcoming batch.

surferdrew said:

Hit the numbers yesterday for the parti-gyle brew.

6 gallons of Hefeweizen: 1.052 OG
6 gallons of Berliner Weisse: 1.032 OG

I pitched the WLP630 in the Berliner Weisse wort at 85F (higher than I've ever pitched but based upon my research, went with it) and oxygenated for 30 seconds. Its currently at 72F ambient and airlock activity began after 10 hours (which seemed quick based upon my WLP630 research).

Will be awhile until I can provide tasting notes...hoping it will be worth the wait!

Best of luck jamest22 on the upcoming batch.

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The Hefe-Berliner parti-gyle is a great idea. Im gonna think about doing that myself. I did not realize that warm pitching was beneficial when using lacto. Thanks for the heads up.

surferdrew said:

Hit the numbers yesterday for the parti-gyle brew.

6 gallons of Hefeweizen: 1.052 OG
6 gallons of Berliner Weisse: 1.032 OG

I pitched the WLP630 in the Berliner Weisse wort at 85F (higher than I've ever pitched but based upon my research, went with it) and oxygenated for 30 seconds. Its currently at 72F ambient and airlock activity began after 10 hours (which seemed quick based upon my WLP630 research).

Will be awhile until I can provide tasting notes...hoping it will be worth the wait!

Best of luck jamest22 on the upcoming batch.

Click to expand...

I just did something similar yesterday but instead of a hefe I pitched WLP655 sour mix in the stronger wort and the 630 in the weaker.
Really looking forward to these beers!

johngie said:

I just did something similar yesterday but instead of a hefe I pitched WLP655 sour mix in the stronger wort and the 630 in the weaker.
Really looking forward to these beers!

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that sounds good! looking forward to hearing how it turns out.

side note: I was reading in "Designing Great Beers" that one of the traditional methods for Berliner Weisse was to do a multi-step decoction without ever going to a full wort boil. Since that seemed way out of my league...and based upon some other research...I decided to go with a 15 minute boil. According to "Designing Great Beers" the lactic acid really shines through with unboiled wort.

Obviously many different ways to get to a great tasting Berliner Weisse so I'm intrigued to hear how it goes for all of us.

Cheers.

johngie said:

I just did something similar yesterday but instead of a hefe I pitched WLP655 sour mix in the stronger wort and the 630 in the weaker.
Really looking forward to these beers!

Click to expand...

that sounds good! looking forward to hearing how it turns out.

side note: I was reading in "Designing Great Beers" that one of the traditional methods for Berliner Weisse was to do a multi-step decoction without ever going to a full wort boil. Since that seemed way out of my league...and based upon some other research...I decided to go with a 15 minute boil. According to "Designing Great Beers" the lactic acid really shines through with unboiled wort.

Obviously many different ways to get to a great tasting Berliner Weisse so I'm intrigued to hear how it goes for all of us.

Cheers.

Yeah, I did a 15 minute boil on the BW too.
Love them sours

Subscribing to the thread.

I'm brewing a Berliner Weisse with WLP 630 Monday. No boil for the first time.

I also brewed a Berliner weisse with wlp630. But I pitched at 68. I hope the lacto still works. 7 months to get sour I was hoping 3-4 but if that's what it takes I'll wait.

Damn, I just got 630 today and was hoping to have it good and ready by June

emjay said:

Damn, I just got 630 today and was hoping to have it good and ready by June

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X2
I'm looking at late june early july. I'm going to try and ferment at a high temp. I'm also toying with the idea of adding some acid malt.

Should I allow my BW to sit on the yeast cake for 10-14 days like normal then rack to secondary to let mature? Very excited about this!

If I want to repitch on the cake do you think the lacto will hold?

Can a starter be made with this for huge batches? I'd assume yes (and to the question above mine, just because it can be difficult to get rid of bacteria on equipment once it really gets going (thus stuff like having to sacrifice a fermenter for sours) but I don't really know.

emjay said:

Can a starter be made with this for huge batches? I'd assume yes (and to the question above mine, just because it can be difficult to get rid of bacteria on equipment once it really gets going (thus stuff like having to sacrifice a fermenter for sours) but I don't really know.

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Yes and no..... I wouldn't do a starter with the WLP 630. The reason is that the yeast needs oxygenation and the lactobacillus doesn't handle oxygen well. I would pitch separately the european ale yeast (don't know the number) and lacto, each with a separate starter. Oxygenate the yeast starter and don't oxygenate the lacto starter. If you want to be anal about it, fill the head space of the flask you are using for the lacto starter with CO2 and use a airlock. That way you're sure to get rid of all the oxygen in the flask.

If you want a better idea about playing with brett, pedio, and lacto, I would highly recommend reading wildBREWS by Jeff Sparrow.

Anyone else experiencing slow fermentation? My airlock is barely moving.

If this blend is similar to Wyeast, the proportions of saccharomyces and lacto are dialed in so the lacto has a chance to sour the beer before sacc. kicks in and takes over. For that reason you don't want to make a starter (it will alter the ratio) and it will theoretically take several days (1-3) to see airlock activity.

Gritsak said:

If this blend is similar to Wyeast, the proportions of saccharomyces and lacto are dialed in so the lacto has a chance to sour the beer before sacc. kicks in and takes over. For that reason you don't want to make a starter (it will alter the ratio) and it will theoretically take several days (1-3) to see airlock activity.

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That's what I thought but it been 5 days. I guess I shouldn't see a ton of activity?

I just transferred my berliner weisse to secondary yesterday for a few months of bulk aging. I had no trouble showing activity within 12 hours of pitching. I also fermented rather high (76 degree) since I have read that lacto loves the higher temps. I'm hoping the yeast strain doesn't produce too much bubble gum flavors at those temps like it would with Hefe yeast.

Crap. I did a starter. I was so eager to use my newly built stirplate that I didn't even think of this. Hopefully it's not ruined... I'll let you know in July!

I did a single decoction with 66% wheat, 90 minute sacc rest @ 149 (per Jamil's recommendation in Brewing Classic Styles), 15 minute boil and mash hopped 1oz hallertauer. The wort is the nastiest looking wort I have ever seen. But normally I do partial mashes. This was actually my first AG, because it's such a small beer that my setup could handle it (though I had to top up a bit).

Edit: Put on the brew belt to give the lacto a better chance. It's not fully in contact with the fermenter (my VERY manual form of temp control!) so it should hit about 80°. I'll remove it in about 24 hours. Considering throwing some unmashed grain into the fermenter, but haven't yet as I'm not sure how likely it is that I'll get other bugs from it.

Is 4 weeks a good point to rack to secondary with this?

i'll be racking to secondary tomorrow (after 12 days in primary). Will keep updating.

Yeah, I pitched the 630 two weeks ago (1/23 to be exact), and I had about 2 days of bubbling with it tapering off at the end of 48 hours. The third and fourth day, it would bubble about every 5 minutes. After that it has just sat there. However, this is keeping the temperature at 19C. I'm considering transferring to a corny keg and pitching some additional lacto, perhaps from a starter. My plan is to add some cranberries, which should also invigorate the ferment as well. I'll keep this thread posted as to what happens.

I haven't seen any activity from this strain! I know seals aren't always perfect, but I've never had an issue before. I haven't pulled a sample to check on it, because I'd rather just leave it alone, but I can tell the yeast isn't just dead from the smell of it. It's an incredibly subdued product, whether as a result of the cell count, the strain itself, or both. It's fine though considering that you'd have to be nearly brain dead to be stressing over a few days in the overall G2G time of a BW.

I brew a little over a week ago. I just chcked my gravity and im at 1.009 from 1.042.

Holy crap... I have NO idea how this happened, but I opened the lid to check for a krausen ring (it's there) but what I didn't expect was my sample jar floating in the beer. It should be fine, as I was using that pail to sanitize everything (and itself), but I feel kind of crappy that my process somehow allowed that to happen. Like a surgeon who leaves a tool in a patient!

Anyways, it's giving off quite a bit of sulfur smell, and I was wondering if this has happened with anyone else. I know sulfur can be very normal, but I'm just a bit paranoid now because of the surprise I just found.

Mine has a huge sulfur smell. But it taste good all ready.

yes...mine has a huge sulfur smell as well. its been in secondary for 3 weeks.

brewing other batches has helped with the waiting!

Any idea what the normal yeast strain is in the blend? I'm thinking about making a BW this summer (first try with sour beers), and I actually enjoy a slight touch of hefe yeast character underlying the acidity. Any suggestions?

Not sure what the makeup of the strain is yet.

I've also have used a little acid malt to get that little tart finish in my hef's. I use 0.3lbs for 5 gallons.

I recall reading somewhere very reliable that the yeast used is WLP029.

As for the sulfur smell that was still around at week 3 (last weekend), I finally racked to a glass carboy for extended aging today, and upon opening the lid, the sulfur smell was no longer present! It actually smells like an acidic Belgian wit right now.

So... it's a month later and I finally tasted it and checked grav.

First thing I noticed is WOW this beer is pale. I think it actually falls short of the BJCP minimum of 2 SRM.

The second thing I noticed was that the taste is a bit bland at this point, but I'm guessing that's to be expected.

The mouthfeel was the biggest surprise to me though. Yes it's thin, but it also seemed quite effervescent... I think the acidity of the beer already gives it almost an illusion of carbonation.

I'm excited to see how this develops.

I finally used my vial of WLP 630 last night. I didn't end up going for a true Berliner Weisse. I brewed 9 gallons of 1.040, 20 IBU wort with a 60/40 mix of pilsner and wheat (single infusion & 90 minute boil). 5 gallons of the wort got US-05 for a low abv american wheat. Into the other 4 gallons I pitched the WLP 630 Berliner.

This is my first brew with non-saccharomyces yeast (at least intentionally...). I pitched at 68 and did not aerate the lacto portion of the wort.

I know the IBUs are a little too high for a typical proper lacto fermentation, but I needed to brew five gallons of something light and refreshing for an upcoming post-running party. I wanted to kill two birds with one wort. Hopefully I'll end up with something tart & interesting from the WLP630 portion.

Lacto krausen has formed on my Berliner-like wheat beer.



That picture is after a recognizable saccharomyces krausen fell. I'm also smelling some acidic and sulfury aromas coming from the airlock. Looks like 20 IBUs wasn't enough to knockout the lacto after all.

I took a sample of mine today and the sulfer smell is starting to fade

I started a batch with this yeast last Sunday. I popped the airlock tonight and it smells sour but I am not seeing much if any yeast activity yet. How long before I should be seeing something?

How big is your batch? Did you make a starter? What temp is it being stored at?

I have a 5 gal batch going. I did not use a starter based off what I read and it is sitting at about 68 degrees. I have made a Berliner before using a lacto strain and separate yeast with great success, but this is the first time using this blend, so this has me a bit concerned.