Will esters age out?

I'm making a mulberry wheat using WLP300 and it's the first time making something using this particular strain. I know I pitched a bit too warm and overall temps during fermentation were more on the higher end of the temp range for the yeast. I took a sample for the hydrometer and found it has produced a strong banana flavor, which isn't a shock.

It certainly doesn't taste bad, it's actually pretty good. It almost tastes like a banana and orange smoothie at the moment. I'm just concerned that after the mulberries are added, the banana is just going to totally cover up the mulberry flavor.

Should I suspect the banana/ester flavor to decrease some with age? It'll be another 3 weeks at least until the bottles are ready to drink.

For anyone who has used WLP300 before, how strong is the banana flavor for you usually? I know I can make a better effort to keep the temp down low to minimize the esters, but I'm just curious what I should expect for that strain.

WLP300 is a traditional Hefeweizen yeast, and is known for producing banana esters that are typical of the "true" German style, even at optimal temperatures. With heat, even more so.

If I recall, it's a very low flocculator, too, so it may be a while before the yeast drops out. Once that starts happening, you may find the flavor improves quite a bit.

I'm sure you'll get some mellowing with age, but I doubt the banana notes will ever completely go away. Maybe adding a little more mulberry will help cover it up?

FWIW, as much as I enjoy a "real" Hefeweizen from time to time, I personally have been using WLP320 for my wheat beers, because it ferments cleaner and leaves a better blank slate for fruits, herbs and spices (which I really want to be the star of my wheat beers). YMMV of course.

shawnbou said:

I'm sure you'll get some mellowing with age, but I doubt the banana notes will ever completely go away. Maybe adding a little more mulberry will help cover it up?

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Unfortunately there's not many mulberries left. Most of the trees around here have dropped their fruit. We're going to try and find a few more this afternoon before we add them.

FWIW, as much as I enjoy a "real" Hefeweizen from time to time, I personally have been using WLP320 for my wheat beers, because it ferments cleaner and leaves a better blank slate for fruits, herbs and spices (which I really want to be the star of my wheat beers). YMMV of course.

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I wanted to use WLP320, but the LHBS was sold out.

Overall, it is still a very tasty beer. It's just the first time I've used a yeast that really produces strong banana notes, and wasn't sure what to expect of it.

The other thing I slightly worry about is the color. It's already a very light yellow, and mulberries produce a very very dark blue juice that stains easily.

bonzombiekitty said:

The other thing I slightly worry about is the color. It's already a very light yellow, and mulberries produce a very very dark blue juice that stains easily.

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Sounds like you might end up with the best green beer ever for next St. Patrick's Day! :fro:

The banana will mellow a little as shawnbou says but won't go away completely. I brewed a tripel recently and had some real nice banana esters, it gets better with each passing day as the esters mellow into the beer.

The strong banana flavor seems to have already mellowed a little bit. Not nearly as overpowering as the last sample.

I added the mulberries last night, they really are a very mellow fruit. I had to boil them for a while to drive off the excess water and get some stronger sweetness. Color wise, so far it seems to have turned the beer more of a brown - sorta looks like apple cider.