Any results? White Labs WLP670 American Farmhouse Blend

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bopgun23

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Hello folks,

I have a saison that just finished up primary using the new White Labs WLP670 American Farmhouse Blend. I haven't tasted it yet, but my suspicion is that it hasn't picked up much Brett flavor yet. White labs won't say what kind or amount of Brett is in the blend, so I don't know what direction this beer is going to take. I'd definitely like a bit of sour and funk if possible, but nothing overwhelming.

So, a few questions:

1.) Anyone have any results to share from using this blend yet?

2.) What kind / how long of secondary aging would y'all recommend? I'm assuming to let it bulk age in some glass and then bottle when the flavor seems right? How long might that take?

3.) How much will the Brett effect the flavor in the bottle as it ages? Will it continue to sour with time?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom. I'll post results when I have something to report.

Rob
 
Have the yeast, but haven't brewed with it yet. I'll subscribe though :)
 
I'm in the same situation as emjay. When I bought the yeast the LHBS employee said his coworker had brewed with it and was happy after primary, he said there was not much funk but deff there. they anticipated it would show up with age.

I think I'm gonna go low gravity, 1.045-1.055, and mash between 152-154.

My objective is a 2 month secondary. Not that I don't want more. I just think the 2 month funk is more what I want.

I've read this is the "lost abbey" strain so I would assume it's Brett b.

Sorry i'm not much help
 
I'm about to pitch this yeast tomorrow. My recipe is a basic Belgian/French ale with a OG of 1.054 and I started my mash today at 5:00pm at 152 degrees. I'm letting it sit overnight for a sour mash and will start sparging around 2pm. The owner at my LHBS said it has a "sweaty horse balls" character to it, so we'll see.
 
Alrighty, I had my first taste of my saison made with WLP670. Turning out really well so far.

Unfortunately, I suffered a harddrive crash and all my beersmith files bit it. All my recipes and brewing notes are gone:mad:! So here is a rough approximation of what I did, which was based off of this recipe.

5g batch
Mashed at 150 for 90 min, batch sparged
10 lb Pils
1.5 lb wheat malt

Boil 90 min
1.5 oz Willamette pellet hops (90 min.)
0.25 oz EK Goldings pellet hops (15 min.)
0.25 oz Willamette pellet hops (15 min.)
0.5 oz EK Goldings pellet hops (0 min.)
Zest of 1 orange (0 min.)
3 oz fresh grated ginger (0 min.)
Small handful of whole black peppercorns (0 min.)
1/2 small handful of whole coriander (0 min.)

1 vial White Labs WLP670 American Farmhouse Ale
2 min pure oxygen

1.25 lbs table sugar boiled with 1/4 gallon water, cooled, and added to primary on 2 day of fermentation

OG 1.075 (approx, based on wort reading plus added sugar)
10 days in primary at 70-ish (room temp), grav at 1.009, transfer to 2nd

TODAY:
2.5 weeks in 2nd, grav still at 1.009 despite seeing the brett munching away in secondary. No pellicle forming.

Found an amazing deal on fresh raspberries and decided to try something different, so I racked 2.25 gal onto 2.25 lbs of fresh mashed raspberries. The other 2.5 gal of the beer is untouched. I'm going to let it sit on the berries for a week or two, then taste and blend as necessary.

But... I tasted the beer before racking and its pretty damn good. If I wasn't messing with the fruit, I'd go ahead and bottle. The aroma is herbal and spicy, with a nice subtle layer of musty barnyard over the top. The flavor starts just slighty sweet, with the orange/ginger/wheat/belgian yeast coming through, then immediately dries out on the swallow, bringing out the herbal/spicy hop quality and a solid yet not overpowering taste of horse blanket and phenols. NO sourness apparent yet (unlike the White Labs description).

So... so far, WLP670 appears to be an excellent blend.
 
I brewed mine yesterday, happy fathers day to me.
Here is the recipe

16# german pils
1.5# Flaked rye
1.5# light German wheat
2# panela sugar added 4-5 days into ferment
25 IBU sterling @90min
.75 oz mt. Hood @ 10


Mash at 152
6hrs after pitching I had activity, hopefully mashing higher will get more Brett. I guess only time will tell.
 
I'm about to pitch this yeast tomorrow. My recipe is a basic Belgian/French ale with a OG of 1.054 and I started my mash today at 5:00pm at 152 degrees. I'm letting it sit overnight for a sour mash and will start sparging around 2pm. The owner at my LHBS said it has a "sweaty horse balls" character to it, so we'll see.

Curious as to how one acquires the smell of "sweaty horse balls" character??:confused:

I just brewed a mini-mash batch yesterday and after reading this thread I am very exited for the finished result. I'm going to rack onto 5lbs of Apricots and let it rest on them for about a month then dry hop with some Sorachis and Amarillos before bottling. I'll update. Anyone else finish theirs??
 
I'm about to pitch this yeast tomorrow. My recipe is a basic Belgian/French ale with a OG of 1.054 and I started my mash today at 5:00pm at 152 degrees. I'm letting it sit overnight for a sour mash and will start sparging around 2pm. The owner at my LHBS said it has a "sweaty horse balls" character to it, so we'll see.

Hijack! :off:

I wonder if we can achieve the flavor of the balls of other animals if we tried. Sweaty monkey ball IPA sounds appealing?
 
Here is the recipe I just brewed the other day using wlp670 I love sours and am hoping that the brett plays nice with the apricots. I used to packages and made a starter. Any thoughts.

5lbs EPLME
2lbs Wheat LME
1lb torrified wheat
1lb Belgian pilsen malt
3/4lb flaked maize
1/2lb honey malt
1/4lb acid malt
WLP 670

60min 1oz Tettnang, .25oz Sorachi Ace
20min 1oz Saaz, .25oz Sorachi Ace
5min .5oz Sorachi Ace
Rest on 5lbs of fresh apricots in secondary and dry hop with 2oz of sorachi ace 2 weeks before bottling
Brkstoutfeind is online now Report Post
 
Hijack! :off:

I wonder if we can achieve the flavor of the balls of other animals if we tried. Sweaty monkey ball IPA sounds appealing?

I'll let you know about the 'Sweaty monkey ball IPA'. I just brewed an IPA with this since the guy at the store didn't know what type of ale it was for and when i looked at the WLP site they didn't have it listed.

Complete noob mistake, but I am sure it will be drinkable.
 
I'm in to see where this goes, I just ordered the 670 for my newly constructed yeast bank.
 
On 7/1 I brewed a saison of sorts, mixing continental malts and American hops. Gravity went from 1.056 down to 1.008 in about a week. I tasted it yesterday and it's quite saison-y (sorry, i don't have the flavor vocabulary of a BJCP judge) with a tiny bit of brett so far. It's very good as it stands now but my plan is to leave it for another 2-4 weeks to see what happens, though at 1.008 I'm not sure how much more will change.

Here is my recipe (though I changed some of the additions and amounts of hops when I realized I didn't quite have exactly what I thought. I stuck with the same types of hops though...I'll edit when I get home and can check my notes).

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 4.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 23.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 85.71 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.12 %
14.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 10.0 IBU
14.00 gm Liberty [4.30 %] (30 min) Hops 4.0 IBU
14.00 gm Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (30 min) Hops 5.6 IBU
14.00 gm Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (10 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
14.00 gm Liberty [4.30 %] (10 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
1 Pkgs American Farmhouse Blend (White Labs #WLP6Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 12.25 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 15.31 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F
 
I brewed this recipe with it on 7/1. Still getting a bubble about once every minute. Look forward to getting it kegged in about 2 weeks.


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.26 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 3.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 82.4 %
1 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 2 11.8 %
8.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 3 5.9 %
1.0 pkg American Farmhouse Blend (White Labs #WL Yeast 7 -
0.75 oz Centennial [8.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 22.2 IBUs
0.75 oz Centennial [8.10 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 6 0.0 IBUs
0.75 oz Centennial [8.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 8.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 8.00 qt of water at 166.0 F 150.0 F 75 min
 
I just bottled a mini batch this morning. The only way to describe it is sour. I'm hoping it will tone down a little after a couple of weeks in the bottle but we'll see
 
Here is a picture of mine. Look at this pellicle. No do keg like i originally wnated to or wait it out....?
IMG_00911.JPG
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So...the brett that Boulevard uses doesn't sour, but this one does? Which is which?

I had their Saison Brett and it wasn't sour, just a little funky.
 
In general bret does not give much sourness alone.

I finally got around to using this yeast this last Saturday. I am going to rack it this weekend hopefully onto some peaches.

Here is a picture of mine. Look at this pellicle. No do keg like i originally wnated to or wait it out....?

I would wait for the pellicle to drop and then keg. Is that foil on the carboy? Keep oxygen away from the bret will lessen the pellicle and any acetic flavors.
 
I brewed 15 gallons of Surly Cynic Ale based on the Pro kit recipe from Northern Brewer today. I put 10 into my conical with the standard WLP550. I put the other 5 gallons in a carboy and pitched WLP670. I am really looking forward to see how it turns out and how different it is than the 550.
 
Just picked up a vial of this today. I am just starting to venture out and experiment with different strains of yeast. Because this has bret in it along with the yeast, are there any special precautions I have to take with my equipment or is that just for lacto bugs??? Also I plan to make a starter and draw off a few vials to add to my frozen yeast bank. Is this stuff able to be frozen like everything else or will the bret have any effect of its ability to successfully freeze??
 
From what I've read starters are discouraged due to the different growth rates of sacc/Brett and the starter will throw off the "blend" ratio. Not that you can't it will just change the flavor profile.
 
From what I've read starters are discouraged due to the different growth rates of sacc/Brett and the starter will throw off the "blend" ratio. Not that you can't it will just change the flavor profile.

I wouldn't be too concerned with this. If the blend included pedio, lacto, etc. it would be more of an issue.
 
Thanks for the info. I was definitely thinking of doing a starter. What are everyones thoughts about being able to freeze some samples for the yeast bank?
 
Thanks for the info. I was definitely thinking of doing a starter. What are everyones thoughts about being able to freeze some samples for the yeast bank?


Just figured I would throw this back out there. From what I gather I should use separate "soft" parts when working with the Saccharomyces/Bret strain (different hoses/racking cane). Apparently by making a starter the ratio Saccharomyces to Bret can be different than the originally intended White Labs blend, however I wonder if I would really be able to tell the difference. Still curious as to peoples thoughts on being able to freeze this stuff?? As stated above, the ratios of the blend may be off, but I think it still would make for an interesting strain to have on hand. Thoughts anyone??
 
I was always under the impression that on these blends it was heavily tilted towards the sacc, something like 95/5, so a start should grow up the sacc enough to handle the main bulk of the wort but still leave enough brett behind to funk it up during some long aging.

As far as freezing (glycerol?), in theory it would be alright so long as you got enough brett in the sample, although i'd be worried about the viability of such a small proportion of brett, you might wind up with only sacc and do all this aging without any funk. If you want to freeze it you might be better off buying one of the tubes of just brett and freezing that down.

For the plastic, I'd definitely recommend a second set, especially if you are planning on doing more than one "wild" beer. A new siphon/tubing is much cheaper than an unexpectedly funky batch of beer (which isn't to say that that couldn't turn out tasty :)).
 
I made a bunch of slants of this blend, it will be interesting to see how these proportions work themselves out when I grow up the cultures in the future. I am sure even the smallest amount of brett will make it into the sample and, provided that there are sugars left and the are given time they should be able to grow again.
 
I brewed with this a week ago, a pretty standard saison recipe. After a week I had already reached my target terminal gravity, the beer had a nice spicy taste but I didn't taste any contributions from the Brett yet. I'm wondering how much longer I should leave it in primary before racking, I figure at least another two weeks but any advice is appreciated since this is my first time brewing with Brett.
 
Should I be concerned if I did not get s pellicle with either of two batches I brewed with it?

Both taste good. I guess that is all that matters.
 
lacticacid said:
Should I be concerned if I did not get s pellicle with either of two batches I brewed with it?

Both taste good. I guess that is all that matters.

Not necessarily. Pellicles only form as a barrier to oxygen.
 
The one that I put into secondary (the first I went straight to keg) formed a nice pellicle even though it is filled almost all the way to the top and there is essentially no oxygen exposure. However, it has been bubbling for over 2 weeks in the secondary even though the gravity was at 1.006 when I racked so the brett is definitely still working. Interested to see how it turns out.
 
I did a starter and mine turned out great. I kept mine in the Primary for 2 weeks then racked on 5lbs of Apricots in the secondary where I left it for 4 weeks. I just cracked my first one on Saturday and it's very tasty. It's got very nice tartness on the back end that I'm hoping intensifies over time. I used a little acid malt to accentuate the tartness of the apricots so right now I'm not sure of it's that, the Brett or the apricots that's causing the tartness. It's probably a little of each I suppose but I really don't care because this is one of the best beers I've brewed yet!!!
 
I did a starter and mine turned out great. I kept mine in the Primary for 2 weeks then racked on 5lbs of Apricots in the secondary where I left it for 4 weeks. I just cracked my first one on Saturday and it's very tasty. It's got very nice tartness on the back end that I'm hoping intensifies over time. I used a little acid malt to accentuate the tartness of the apricots so right now I'm not sure of it's that, the Brett or the apricots that's causing the tartness. It's probably a little of each I suppose but I really don't care because this is one of the best beers I've brewed yet!!!

How much acidulated malt did you use?
 
How much acidulated malt did you use?

I only used 4oz which I've since learned is not enough to add any significant tartness. I've got another Saison going right now that I'm souring and I used 1lb in that recipe. It's only been aging for about 6 weeks and it already has a pleasant tartness to it. Again it's hard to determine if it's the acid malt or the dregs I pitched that's contributing the sour flavor. I've just started brewing sours so I'm still experimenting myself. Just remember to watch your mash ph if you use more than a half pound of acid malt.
 
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