Wyeast 1581 experiences

So, I made a regular blonde ale with this yeast. 100% Belgian pilsner malt, 25 ibu Czech saaz 1.068 O.G., and a big mrmalty stirplate starter. Finished at about 1.012.

Impressions: This beer is like a mellow French Saison 3711. It attenuates like crazy, and has a very slight peppery flavor when young that reminds me of 3711. One really nice thing about this yeast is it leaves a strong honey note. A lot like 3711, but stronger. Very little phenols. Maybe this is why it works well in a stout. Maybe it would also work well with hops?

Also, this yeast finished FAST! I started the ferment at about 64F, and it finished at about 78F in my insulated chamber, probably within 3 days it was done.

About 4 weeks after harvesting the yeast, I dumped a jar of slurry into a kinda imperial brown porter with a pilsner base. I should have made a starter, because it took 48 hours to show fermentation, but whatever. All I did to the yeast was bring it to room temperature during brew day before pitching.

I'm thinking this is another amazing versatile yeast that should be available year round. It seems very tolerant of temperature rises too.

If I were to go back in time and tell myself which beer to brew for the first time, it would be a pale beer with French saison. A super robust, nearly fool proof yeast. A close second I think would be 1581.

Did anyone else play around with this yeast? I'm pretty excited about it.

I just bought four packs of this stuff from the clearance rack for $1/each. I was going to pitch them all into one ten gallon batch and skip the starter, but based on your experience maybe I should save a couple for a different beer.