I only know that they recently improved the recipe. The part about fermentation says "Fermented slowly to give just enough fruity esters Abbot Ale provides a complex, satisfying and warming experience." So I guess a colder fermentation with any classic English yeast would get close. I have only ever tried it once and did not like it, though I guess back then Greene King had a bad reputation. Might be better now.
It's the wrong esters from verdant for UK style bitters. It's just distinctive intense fruit character that overshadows everything else. This works very well with American hops but fails with everything else.
I was all set to try Verdant but now I think I am going to try the classic Windsor/Nottingham blend since I haven't done that before. And maybe split the batch with Wyeast 1469 and see which one I prefer. My local source for Wyeast closed and if I can find a dry yeast blend that I like it will make my life easier.
Abbot Ale comes from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Suffolk water supplies have a high mineral content, as do their beers.
I would advise to do exactly that. You might want to try adding a small amount, like 10% of verdant to the mix, but I would try the classic windsor/notty mix alone first. I should have done this long ago, but my next dry yeast one will be this exact combo. Verdant is just too much. It might be an interesting factor wayyy in the background, I am not sure about this though.
How does the Sussex info help for Suffolk?
One thing I forgot, you can skip trying a London Ale / Notty mix. This just does not work. Notty takes over and somehow the result is neither as good as London ESB/London Ale alone nor as Notty alone. Or maybe I fermented it too cold? Well, these were my results.
Yes, it's me, off beam again. But you could email [email protected] for a possible alternative.
Would blending 1098/1099 give you the Whitbread multistrain? I've searched around this thread but haven't found a clear answer, if there is one.
It'll get you something similar, it will never be exactly the same as they've had their own genetic history in the generations between them leaving Whitbread and entering the freezers of Wyeast - and in the case of eg WLP002/1968 that time is significant given that if they did originate at Fuller's they have since turned into something very different and have lost the orange that is so typical of Fuller's.
Is there a source as to why Brewlab would have the authentic brewery yeast and not just something from the NCYC or other common source? Just wondering since I read that somewhere else as well.
Authenticity would be nice, but South Alabama is a bit of an English ale desert, especially bottle/cask conditioned ones. A walk down the beer aisle at our local Publix will get you probably 20 different IPAs with words like hazy, juicy, or tropical in the description. I may brew something with the 1098/1099 blend just to give it a try. I wouldn't know what the authentic Whitbread yeasts tasted like anyway. Just curious, are there any breweries in the UK still brewing Whitbread branded ales with the original multistrain?
NCYC is great, but costs US$185/strain at an absolute minimum (academic price, UK tax, freeze-dried, UK delivery) and can easily go north of US$300/strain if you're not careful so it's just not a realistic option for most homebrewers, whereas Brewlab is about 5-10% of that price. And they do collect strains directly in some cases.
I hear ya. Whitbread sold out to the then InBev (now ABI) about 20 years ago and I think the only beer that continues is Gold Label and even that has dropped the Whitbread branding I think - and in any case is only available in cans. Ron Pattinson has written extensively on the subject of the early years of Gold Label.
I always understood that many strains from WLP and WY are from the NCYC, as genetics showed in several cases. NCYC1318 is even called London Ale III on the NCYC website. So it might just be the same thing. This would not be exclusively a Brewlabs thing.
now I am questioning using half packet each Verdant and Notty. Everyone, myself included, really enjoyed the result of one packet Verdant, half Notty on the @Miraculix Classic. I was just trying to be austere and perhaps for the $10 or $12 what's the point?
It is ok for that bitter. A09 is also a bit fruity, this is the closest you can get to that with dry yeast.
I've had sulphur from s04 when fermented cold. Tasted like a lager, a friend of mine had the same with s04.
Could well be that. It's been sat in an unheated workshop that's ~12°C since the bulk of fermentation completed. Safe to say the ensuing beer doesn't taste like a lager, though (thankfully).
Do you know if wyeast 1099 is the same as wlp017?
Thanks!
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Brilliant, thanks for sharing your experience. Then I shall infuse my upcoming 1099 slurry with some glycerine and freeze it for future mixes with s04.
Nope, none. And after having suffered trying to brew with WY1768 at 22°C and WY1335 at 24°C, I am now confident in saying that I notice them. The summer was tough this year for brewing
