Weizen yeast: WY3068 vs. WLP300 vs. WLP320 vs. WLP380?

Hello All,

Has anyone done a comparison of these weizen yeasts? I'd like to invest in a single strain for my batches and wanted some advice on which is the best for the weizen style in general.

Thanks!
jkpq45

I'm very partial to the 3068, which is the same yeast strain as WL300. I like to ferment a little high (70-75F) to let the banana esters really shine. Classic delicious sweet German hef!

I used 320 in my American Hef, and it turned out very good. Fermented cooler (65-70) and was perfectly cloudy, spicy, and the yeast character was just perfect for a slice of lemon or orange. Even though it wasn't ready until mid-October last year

351 I, personally, haven't used. But a buddy I swap with picked it up for his weissbier he made in March. Not sure what temp her fermed at. Turned out very "Bavarian" with hefty spice esters. Also, this yeast tasted a little better when swirled up into the beer, whereas with 3068 I prefer only a touch of the yeast in my glass.

My 2 cents on them. All in all, it'll make beer!

Any advice on how they flocculate? I'll try the WLP300 as I prefer banana to clove in my weizens, I guess that makes me a german hefe fan rather than an american hefe fan?

3068 is my go-to. It does all of my wheats. I love it!

I have used WY3068 a lot and WLP300 once. I just prefer Wyeast even though they are the same strain, use what is carried in your area.

IMO, when 3068 is fermented warm (above 73º) the ester and phenol profile is all messed up. The banana and bubblegum flavors are way overpowering and take the beer out of style. Some may like it, and many report just that, but it is not a proper flavor profile for a German wheat beer, and I for one find it very off-putting.

I ferment this strain at 64º and find it yields a nice spice note and the phenols balance the esters well. More banana can be had at around 68º while still keeping the beer in balance.

This is a very temperature dependent yeast.

I brewed 4 beers with 3068 (WLP300) in the last 5 months, and I really like it, but I just finished a Dunkelweizen with WLP380 and I may like this even more. I actually got more clove and banana out of this yeast, even though I tried to ferment low (63-65F) for a more spicy clove character. To me, this yeast came out brighter and cleaner flavorwise....the 3068 beers I brewed all had a borderline tang or earthy note to them (I'm not describing it well, but there's a common sour-ish element that comes out toward the finish....)which is not present in this new Dunkel. I, too, need to do more expirementing.....FWIW I fermented most of the 3068 brews at 62-64......maybe a higher temp would give me something even better.....

I agree with snailsongs. I prefer the WLP380 over the WLP300. Seems to make for a more complex yeast flavor profile. (spice over banana) I have a buddy who uses the WLP300 exclusively, but to me, banana-bombs. Of course, temperature is everything for any of these traditional German wheat strains. From my experience, try to keep the temps low (in the mid 60's.)

hmmm.... I have to try this other strain. You have piqued my interest.

I have used the WLP-351 before. It is a Weihenstephan strain that produces less banana and more clove spice. I'm going to use the 300 the next round of hefes to see which I like better. 300 does tend to be the more popular strain, though.

The 320 is the American Hefe, which is not a real Hefeweizen strain at all. It's closer to a Kolsch strain. Similar to what Widmer Bros. uses in their beer.

I use the WLP300 at 17C for all of my German wheat beers now. I've tried at 20C and over and I do not like the flavour at all. Even some people I served it to found it close to undrinkable because of the strong phenols.

Do any of these yeasts produce a head that can stand up to a lemon wedge? Or is my presumption wrong (ie it's more the malt, etc. that produce the head rather than the yeast).

I use the WLP300 at 17C for all of my German wheat beers now. I've tried at 20C and over and I do not like the flavour at all. Even some people I served it to found it close to undrinkable because of the strong phenols.

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This is similar to what I got from WLP300. I got all phenol/spice and zero banana. I fermented close to 68 F for the early fermentation but then let the temp rise to the low 70s once it had subsided. I believe JZ has said that he likes to ferment @ 62 F.

Perhaps it is a strange case where fermenting low or high will get you the banana esters but fermenting 'in the middle' doesn't yield enough banana.

I've also read that people often like the results from under-pitching this strain. In both of my beers (a Hefe and Dunkle) I don't think I underpitched or overpitched. Both were fairly well aerated as well.

If you want some more complex fruit esters aside from banana, try 3638.

It's now my house weizen strain for both Hefes and Roggens.

I've used the WLP300 several times and I've had really good results fermenting at ~64 F. I keep it that way for about a week and then it slowly rise to room temps (low 70s) to finish up. I feel that get more of a clove, and spicy flavor at the lower temps with just a hint of banana. The ones I've fermented warmer definitely have more banana.
I have a Roggenbier (German Rye beer) that's still in the primary that I fermented with this yeast, can't wait to try it out!

I'm a Wyeast 3068 fan. I hear that WL300 is the same strain, but it makes a different beer in my experience. White labs does not state that it is the Weihenstephan strain, but Wyeast does.

It may be psychological, but I've been to the Weihenstephaner brewery, consumed many of their beers, and am patiently waiting for their 1,000 year anniversary in 2040. In the mean time, I'll use 3068 for my Bavarian Hefeweizens.

3608 is nice and balanced, a little banana, lots of clove and mild spice. 3638 is fruity and crazy and will dominate your beer but you could work with it. 3608 for a classic hefe for sure.

I recently brewed the same dunkelweizen recipe on consecutive weekends.
The first batch got WB-06 (dry) yeast, the other a 1L starter of WLP300.
The WB06 came out better, but the WLP300 wasn't as good as prior batches.
I may have overpitched the WlP300.
Both were fermented at 64-66F.
I'm probably going to stick with WB-06 - good result with less hassle.

Love this site. I had a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier last month (several) and vowed to make a clone if i could
I am making a split batch Wyeast 3068 and WB06. The topic of fermentation temperature is very timely and I will now be working to keep it down.

I have had better results fermenting cooler than warmer, just like JZ has recommended.

Eric

I just brewed a beer for my wife that was a sunshine wheat clone with more of a body to it (similar to blue moon) and used WLP320 for it. It came out very tasty, I fermented at 19.5 deg C (67 deg F) and it came out very nice, it tastes almost exactly like she wanted, sunshine wheat with more body.

I will say though that the WLP320 left the beef very clear for me, not very much suspended yeast at all, I let it sit in the primary for 2 weeks and then put it in a secondary for 1 week on top of coriander seed, I did use 1/2 tablet of Whirlfloc (sp?) 15 min left in the boil. The yeast did a great job of adding to the coriander/orange peel of the recipe though, but as previously stated it does not act the same as a true hefe.

+1 on the 3068. There is a brew pub in Madison WI that uses 3068 in their Crop Circle wheat beer and I made a clone recipe that is spot on. 3068 is very versatile, lower temps=not a lot of yeast character, warmer temps= banana ester. I made the clone recipe with 2 lbs added honey and fermented 70~72 for the banana esters and it came out amazing, it smelled like fresh baked banana bread when you poured it and it warmed you up pretty good.

I may be stupid, but when people say "I fermented at 72", are they referring to ambient?

I have only used 3068 from those you mentioned. After living in Germany for four years, I must say that this yeast turns a simple wheat beer into a true hefeweizen. I doubt I will try any others for hefeweizens. Why mess with something satisfying?

You have to ferment at the temp of the wort. Ambient temp doesn't matter. If you have fermentation control, tape your probe to the fermenter. If you use 3068 the beer will be a few degrees higher than the ambient. It's an animal!!! I've had starters explode!