may have mixed up my yeast

So I brewed the exact same beer 2 weeks ago in 2 separate 5 gal pots at the same time. I labeled everything carefully. I used Belgium ale yeast in one batch and California ale yeast in the other. Everything went great except the wife was rushing me at the end when I was putting them in the carboys. Well, I think I may have switched them. So how do I tell them apart? Here are some things to consider:

1 - they were both brand new liquid yeast vials bought the day before with expiration dates about 4 months away.
2 - I made starters with both. Both kicked off early and went well. I recall one was slightly browner than the other and that one had more krauzen than the other. I do not recall which one was this at this point because I had them labeled well.
3 - just like the starter one batch had a vigorous fermentation which required a blow off tube and the other didn't. Both kicked off early and seemed to do well.

So which is which based on your experience? My problem is that I want to use the California yeast for my next brew which is supposed to be tomorrow. But without knowing which yeast is which, that will be kinda hard. Thanks for the help!

Taste the brews. Belgian yeasts have a very definite flavor as opposed to a Cali yeast, which is more neutral.

You should be able to tell them apart.

What was the belgian strain you were using? If you take a whiff of the starters you made, or even taste them, you should be able to reasonably tell which yeast is which. If you can't tell the difference by tasting the starter then I don't know what to tell you, but it should be pretty apparent in comparison to 001.

Snakeabob said:

What was the belgian strain you were using? If you take a whiff of the starters you made, or even taste them, you should be able to reasonably tell which yeast is which. If you can't tell the difference by tasting the starter then I don't know what to tell you, but it should be pretty apparent in comparison to 001.

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The strain was white labs wlp550. I am transferring the other batch tonight so I guess I can take a sample of both to taste. So I guess the California yeast will be a more clean taste? I was just hoping someone who is very familar with the two strains could tell me from my description. Problem is I have had 2 different people tell me 2 different strains. Oh well. Looks like I am tasting. Thanks.

BullGator said:

The strain was white labs wlp550. I am transferring the other batch tonight so I guess I can take a sample of both to taste. So I guess the California yeast will be a more clean taste? I was just hoping someone who is very familar with the two strains could tell me from my description. Problem is I have had 2 different people tell me 2 different strains. Oh well. Looks like I am tasting. Thanks.

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yep, the cali ale will produce a very clean beer. very little to no noticeable esters. the belgian strain will surely produce some noticeable esters that you'll be able to taste.

OK. That was easy. Pulled a sample of both. Before u even tasted the Belgium ale yeast I knew it was it. The aroma was indistinguishable.

One thing I did note was the Belgium ale batch had significantly more clarity than the California ale yeast batch.

So to summarize, the Belgium ale yeast was a touch browner, foamed like crazy, vigorous fermentation, and gave me more clarity.

Lessoned learned on this brew: keep my pimp hand strong and tell the wife we aren't leaving till the brewings done.

BullGator said:

One thing I did note was the Belgium ale batch had significantly more clarity than the California ale yeast batch.
)

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i've noticed that the cali ale/american ale strain takes a bit linger than some others to drop clear. but it will drop clear in time, and produce a pretty bright beer.