Using multiple yeast strains in belgian beers.

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cmarkley06

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So I'm in the process of fermenting my first belgian tripel. For the primary ferm I used wl530, and it went to completion nicely in 8 days. I figured it'd be cool to pitch a small amount of wl500 in the secondary to help increase complexity of flavor and help to slowly ferment to completion. Is my logic wrong here? I'm new to brewing an cant seem to find much info on this topic. I know beers like delerium use 3 different yeast strains in one batch of beer. Is that one for primary, one for secondary, and one for bottle? If so how do I know how much yeast to pitch into a 12 ounce bottle? Any help or comments are greatly appreciated
 
If you're new to brewing then you probably shouldn't add the extra hassle of multiple yeasts. I'd just let the 530 finish the job and then bottle. Adding additional ale yeast right now won't give added complexity since fermentation's pretty much over. Adding brettanomyces to a seconday will give comexity, but that's a whole different can of worms and probably best to avoid while you're just getting started brewing. I've blended sacch yeast, but at the start of fermentation and not secondary because early on is where the bulk of the flavor comes from. If you want to try multiple strains at once I'd look to some of the wy wl blends until you're more experienced, they've taken the guesswork out and can predict the flavor profile.
 
Adding a second yeast after fermentation is over is not going to do anything.

You can mix strains at the beginning of fermentation. I did a tripel recently and pitched 3787 and 1214. It turned out great. I could taste both strains, but the 3787 was a little more prominent, because 1214 is usually slower to start. If I was to do it again I would pitch the 1214 and about 6-8 hours later pitch the 3787.
 
Or do what Allagash does with their Quad and add sugar with your second yeast. Then rack it off and do it again. Then rack it off and do it again. I've never tasted it but it sounds like it would give a level of complexity capable of turning one's head inside out.
 
Or do what Allagash does with their Quad and add sugar with your second yeast. Then rack it off and do it again. Then rack it off and do it again. I've never tasted it but it sounds like it would give a level of complexity capable of turning one's head inside out.


Now that sounds interesting..mmmmmmm.
 
That beer is called Four, not Quad. Sounds interesting, but a buttload of work. I'd also imagine that at least one strain, most likely the primary strain is a wine yeast. That would leave more fermentable sugars for the next yeast, so you don't get too "artificial" in the flavor and body of the beer.
 
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