Wlp029

I'm brewing an Alaskan Amber inspired Altbier and this is the first time Ive used this yeast. Anybody have prior experience with it and/or suggestions on temp? White Labs says no lower than 62F but have read where others have done so successfully. I've got a chest freezer and temperature controller so trying to dial in the right fermentation temp.

8.5 lbs 2row
.75 lbs crystal 80L
.75 lbs crystal 120L

FWH - .5 oz Saaz
60 min - .5 oz Cascade
15 min - .5 oz Saaz

Mash Schedule
55C - 15 min
67C - 90 min
76C - 15 min

1054 OG
21 IBU
WLP029 - 3 liter starter
Pitch/ferment at 63F???

Well I'm going to brew today and start fermentation/pitch at 60. I'll ramp up temp slowly if things don't get going and will do a diacytl rest regardless once I hit 1020 or so at ~66. Any input is appreciated and will post results later regardless!

I've used that yeast twice, once at about 58-60 and once at about 64-66. Oddly enough, the 58-60 range attenuated better, although I may have had quite a few unfermentables in the 64-66 batch because my mash got a little hot and I had lots of specialty malts. All of that being said, I think 60 is a great temp for this yeast and it should come out very clean at that temp. Definitely come back and tell us how it went!

I'll be making a kolsch with this yeast in a week or two. I'll be interested in following this thread.

i've used it a few times and it's been good to me. some funky smells along the way but it cleans up nice.

I use this yeast a lot. Hold the temps at the lower end, but be sure not to let it drop below 62 after active fermentation.. Damn yeast will start to crawl. I find that it doesn't attenuate as well as the Wyeast counterpart. However, it flocs like crazy, and produces a very clear beer. This yeast can be challenging to wash (think wyeast 1968). It can through a little sulfur, but it cleans up after itself nicely. Best of luck!

Pitched and held at 63 around midnight once the wort had cooled to that point in the chest freezer. I use a themowell cap in my carboy so get very precise on the temp - between the freezer and a fermwrap. Oxygenated for 60 seconds. Had decanted the 3 liter starter and topped with 70 wort for a couple of hours and it was really going. Got up this morning and have zero activity. All of this normally results in a rapid start with other ales I've brewed so it appears what I've read is right on this yeast - a bit slow to start. Will report back with results.