Belgian IPA and WLP570

I put together a recipe for a homebrew competition and since I was floored by Stone's Cali Belgique, I went with a Belgian IPA. I used mostly Belgian Pale malt, a little Belgian Pils, a little Crystal 20, a very minute amount of honey malt, some carapils and a ****load of Centennial. I pitched one vial of yeast at 68 degrees and slowly increased over the course of a week until I got to 77 degrees. Today I noticed an overwhelming Banana aroma. The scent is so distinct and very in your face.

Question: I have read reviews on WLP570 and cannot find one that likens the aroma to banana. Is anyone at HBT familiar with this strain? What can I expect as far as the flavor it will impart at these higher temps? Will I taste bananas and clove typical of some Hefeweizen I have tried? I was not expecting bananas from this brew.

I have had my head in the ferm chamber way too many times tonight. Maybe I'm just getting high.

Usually the belgian yeast strains produce the banana and clove flavors at higher temps. I've never used this strain, but I used the Abbey Ale Yeast (WLP530) in a Belgian IPA that I made a couple of years ago and it was great. No funky Belgian smell or flavors in that one. So, I think you are getting banana flavors from the high fermentation temp. Maybe try lagering it for a month and see what happens. And dry-hopping always helps.

rcsoccer said:

Usually the belgian yeast strains produce the banana and clove flavors at higher temps. I've never used this strain, but I used the Abbey Ale Yeast (WLP530) in a Belgian IPA that I made a couple of years ago and it was great. No funky Belgian smell or flavors in that one. So, I think you are getting banana flavors from the high fermentation temp. Maybe try lagering it for a month and see what happens. And dry-hopping always helps.

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Can you recall your ferm temps? I increased the temps on mine until reaching 77deg. I have taken what others on HBT have done and ran with it. I am curious whether the aroma is indicative of what I can expect for flavor??? It will not be a bad thing. Lagering is not an option as the entries must be in by July 1st. Oh yes, I will be loading up on the dry hops! I bittered with Magnum, 20-15-10-5-01 with Centennial and now I may need to look at what will compliment the banana-esque aroma for a dry hop.

maddad said:

Can you recall your ferm temps? I increased the temps on mine until reaching 77deg. I have taken what others on HBT have done and ran with it. I am curious whether the aroma is indicative of what I can expect for flavor??? It will not be a bad thing. Lagering is not an option as the entries must be in by July 1st. Oh yes, I will be loading up on the dry hops! I bittered with Magnum, 20-15-10-5-01 with Centennial and now I may need to look at what will compliment the banana-esque aroma for a dry hop.

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I used to live in Oregon, so I would just ferment in my kitchen with no temp control. I don't think it ever got warmer than 73 F in the kitchen. You will probably get a little bit of banana flavor in the beer, and that could be complimented by using some fruity/floral hops for dry-hopping. I would use some Centennial, Cascade, and maybe some Goldings. Maybe a 1/2 oz. of each would be good. If you have the capacity of lowering the temperature, you could lower it to 68 F, then dry-hop for a week before bottling/kegging. Dry-hopping at that temperature will give you a really good amount of aroma.

Cheers!