WLP008 - East Coast Ale Yeast - what do you know about it?

I brewed an APA with this yeast and was very disappointed in the way it turned out - it had a flavor I could not pinpoint but did not like. I had thought it was the combination of hops I used (Summit and Palisades), but I brought a sample to the guys at my LHBS and the owner suggested that perhaps it was the yeast. I never considered that - this was the first and only beer I ever made with it.

So, does anyone have any thoughts about this yeast? Particularly the flavor profile?

Thanks!

 

I just bottled an Amber with this yeast, so its a little early for me to judge. I will say that the main flavor I got while bottling was sour/tart. Not loving it at the moment, but we'll see.

 

It is the Sam Adam's strain. I have heard that it is -- or was originally -- an alt yeast.

 

I used this yeast once and never again. I did not like it I could pick up a sour/tart flavor I did not like.

 

Just had the first bottle that conditioned properly and I must say I was wrong about this yeast. Turned out quite nice and crisp. Most of the tartness is gone, and what is left is just right. This was with chinook and goldings(leftovers)... and a bunch of different grains I had laying around.

I was going for a malty amber with this recipe, and from what I have read that is what this yeast is best for...... malt driven american ales. Maybe a more hoppy ale does not work well with this yeasts sourness?

 

I had some weird results with this yeast. i brewed a honey amber. i let it sit in primary for 14 days. then i split the batch and racked 3 gallons to a carboy and let it sit 1 more week. i racked the other 2 gallons to another and dry hopped with summit for a week. i had no sugar in the house so i used some coopers priming tabs at bottling time. heres the strange part. every single bottle from my 3 gallon batch came out relatively flat. a little bit of fizz almost champagne like in the beginning but flat in a second. taste malty sweet tangy. 2 months later its like kombucha. however the 2 gallon dry hop batch, (same method of coopers tabs) turned out dry, crisp, malty & well carbed. any ideas? maybe the 3gal batch got infected? bottom line though, the yeast played well with amber style and summit hops as a dry hop. i did notice a sour tang in both beers. the dry hopping probably helped mellow it.

 

Which was racked first?

My guess may be that since this yeast is "very high" in flocculation according to White Labs you might not have had much in suspension in the first three gallons and maybe roused some up moving the siphon. Just a theory since it seems to be the only variable change that relates to carbonation.

EDIT: I must be drunk, mistook this for WLP002. Disregard part of the statement. Or most of it...

 

I think i racked the 3 gallon batch first. That would be the batch that hardly carbonated.

 

I've been using this strain in my last few brews. It definitely has a bit of a tart flavor. I'll probably go back to WLP001 for my pale and amber ales, but I will say it that this strain made a fantastic cream ale. Although it supposedly has lower attenuation, I was able to get it down to 1.008 from .1049 by mashing low and fermenting somewhat high (68°F). The tartness of the yeast gave my cream ale a really refreshing, almost lemony character. It was a great summer beer.

 

I just brewed a Summer Shandy with this using 2-row pale malt and flaked corn. No hops in the boil, but dry hopped with El Dorado, and it came out quite nice. Spiked the batch with a bottle of Sour Apple vodka and it still came out to less than 5% ABV. The flocculation is very low, and the batch is cold conditioning now, so hopefully that will clear it up a bit. It is tart! I'd describe it as citrusy. A bit like dilute grapefruit juice, but very refreshing and a great Summer beer. I would only use this yeast to brew shandys or tart fruit beers.