Belgian Porter - Which yeast?

[Torchiest]

Hey guys,

I'm planning on brewing a porter and using a belgian style yeast to go with it. This is a new combo for me, but I've seen this style before and I figured why not give it a try. I'm hoping to hit a nice balance between chocolate and dark fruit that will be quite nice.

The problem is, I kinda bought the wrong yeast when I went to the LHBS earlier this week. I was originally going to get WLP530 Abbey Ale, which is supposed to go more towards the fruity profile I wanted. Well, of course, they didn't have it, so I had to make a snap call and pick something else. I couldn't remember which of the other two was similar, so I bought chose WLP550 Belgian Ale over the other, WLP500 Trappist Ale. Come to find out, the one I bought has the more phenolic and spicy character, and the one I passed over was actually the one I would've picked if I'd had my info straight.

My question is, will WLP550 Belgian work with a porter-style recipe, or should I go back and get the WLP500 Trappist with its nice fruity qualities? I've used the Trappist before in a dubbel, and it was pretty good, and I used the Belgian one time in an Ephemere clone, but I specifically wanted the spice to go with the apple flavor.

Anyway, this is getting wordy, but the point is, can spice and phenol work with dark malts, or is this a disaster waiting to happen?

 

[ericd]

Why not go ahead and make it with the yeast you have? Could be unexpectedly delicious.

 

[leghorn]

Can you post the recipe for us to see all the ingredients in play?

 

[Torchiest]

Haha, yeah, that would've helped to post first thing.

7.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract
0.50 lb Caravienne Malt
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt
0.25 lb Special B Malt
1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.20 %] (60 min)
1.00 oz Willamette [7.80 %] (60 min)
2.00 lb Candi Sugar, Dark
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550)

I messed up my hops math, so I may need to go back anyway to buy an extra ounce.

 

[leghorn]

When I first read this, I was thinking that the spiciness would be better for a porter than the fruitiness (roast + spice = awesome). Upon posting your recipe, I still think you'll be fine with WLP550. However, I notice you are getting most of the dark color from the candi sugar, so you'll have a lot less roastiness (is that a word?) than I was originally thinking. It'll still be good with the WLP550, but I see now where you were thinking of the WLP500. Don't make a trip back for the yeast, but if you have to go back for hops, buy the WLP 500; and pitch them both in lieu of a starter. I think blending the belgian yeasts would be delicious...

 

[Torchiest]

Yeah, I didn't want to go too far into roasted territory, since this is kind of an experiment. The thing is, I was considering doing a double brew day, and using the yeast I already have for my raspberry wit recipe. I think it would be a good match for that style, better than the current pairing. Any excuse to brew more beer!

 

[Torchiest]

I did end up buying another recipe with the other yeast, and doing a double brew day. Both beers are rockin and rollin now, and I feel pretty good about my choices. I went back through some old notes, as well as some OLD posts on here from when I first tried some of these yeasts, and the WLP550 is very close to a Belgian Wit yeast, almost interchangeable, which would not have been what I wanted for the porter. So, happy ending. Or, happy beginning, I suppose.