Wyeast 3522 - Belgian Ardennes

[mitchar19]

Here is my first experience with Belgian Ardennes. I fermented a 1.070 all malt pale ale with mostly pilsner, a touch of caramunich and munich malt. I pitched at around 64 let it ramp up between 66 and 68 for the first two days and then 72 on the third day. After the third day I proceeded to ramp it up by one degree until I hit 76. The beer finished at 1.012 giving me an attenuation of about 82.86%. The beer took about 7 to 8 days to finish fermenting and for the Krausen to fall. The beer is also starting to flocullate very nicely. The hydrometer sample has a nice aroma of subtle banana and usual Belgian yeast characters. The flavor is actually quit subtle with faint Bananas and clove and a very clean flavor that lets the Pilsner malt flavor come through. Overall I am very pleased with this yeast. Just though I would share!

 

[TyTanium]

It's my go-to Belgian yeast. Fantastic.

 

[lstrowge]

Thanks for the write up. I actually ordered that yeast a week ago for a Belgian Pale I am going to try. Can't wait!

 

[signpost]

I loved that yeast last fall when I used it in two batches. It really does flocculate well. The bottles ended up with a super compact layer of yeast at the bottom. I didn't even have to be careful pouring to avoid getting yeast in the glass.

I'm planning on using it again for a Belgian dubbel I'm going to brew next month.

 

[TyTanium]

Also, it top-crops really well. So if you plan on using it for multiple successive batches, scrape some of the krausen off into a sanitized mason jar and save it for the next batch.

Much easier than yeast washing post-fermentation.