Duvel clone: harvesting yeast questions and more

[lexstarwalker]

I am going to brew the Duvel clone from BYO's 250 Classic Clone Recipes. I'm using the extract with grains option.

The recipe calls for either Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale or White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale yeast.

I am considering harvesting yeast from bottles of Duvel and growing a yeast starter from that instead. A few questions:

1. My homebrew book recommends against harvesting yeast from high-alcohol beers as the yeast may be weak and/or mutated. Duvel is 8.5% ABV. Has anyone successfully harvested this yeast? Is the alcohol content too high to harvest viable yeast?

2. How many bottles of Duvel should I harvest from to get enough viable yeast for the 3 qt. yeast starter the recipe calls for?

3. If you wouldn't recommend harvesting and growing yeast from bottles of Duvel, which of the above yeast strains would you recommend for the most authentic flavor?

I'm really hoping some of you have tried brewing this beer and will have some tips or pointers for me.

Thanks!

 

[DoubleAught]

I've harvested Duvel yeast myself, and grew it in starters for about 2 weeks. I then read that Duvel uses a different yeast for bottling than they do for primary fermentation, although it didn't say what the difference was. I think I ended up using the WLP 570.

 

[lexstarwalker]

Thanks for the heads up! I guess there's little point in harvesting the yeast if they use a different strain for bottling.

How did your ale turn out with the WLP 570?

 

[lexstarwalker]

Also, I'm drinking a Duvel right now, and I swear I taste a faint acidic/sour taste reminiscent of a lambic or Flemish sour ale. However, lactobacilli aren't listed in the clone recipe. Does anyone know if lactobacilli are used in Duvel?

 

[DoubleAught]

Its been conditioning for a little over a month, so its still green and hot from all the alcohol. I had a bottle last weekend and despite still being early, it was pretty good.