Any opinions based on your experience

[SoCal-Doug]

Brewin up a wit this weekend... Nothing fancy, just some sessionable refreshment to keep in one of the kegs. 50/50 with a touch of citrus zest and a hint of cracked coriander. I normally also add a handful of flaked oats or carapils.

I picked up a couple 4 packs of Allagash White that are only a month old. I very much like their white and thought why not snag their yeast while i'm at it. Easy enough to go buy one of many strains locally but what fun is that...

Anyone else heisted this yeast with any success? How was the result?

 

[shoreman]

Yes I’ve cultured their house yeast from the white and grew it up. It’s a great Belgian Yeast - I don’t have my specific notes on temp but I think rising to low 70’s.

It will be a great yeast in a wit, so I’d definitely go for it.

I’ve also cultured ommegang with great success too.

 

[shoreman]

Rob Todd and the head brewer talk a bit about the yeast and the white on this podcast http://www.belgiansmaak.com/rod-tod-jason-perkins-allagash-brewing-company/

Which is one of the best podcasts out there if you are into Belgian Beer.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Brewin up a wit this weekend... Nothing fancy, just some sessionable refreshment to keep in one of the kegs. 50/50 with a touch of citrus zest and a hint of cracked coriander. I normally also add a handful of flaked oats or carapils.

I picked up a couple 4 packs of Allagash White that are only a month old. I very much like their white and thought why not snag their yeast while i'm at it. Easy enough to go buy one of many strains locally but what fun is that...

Anyone else heisted this yeast with any success? How was the result?

I harvested it over the summer for a wedding beer for my God Child.

I added a bit of butter oranger and coriander to the boil and used unmalted white wheat and Belgian pilsner malt from mfb. I fermented at 66 and took it up to 72 in the first few days.

Really nice beer, orange and a bit of spice that was very refreshing on a hot day. I made a few test batches and saw a little better performance on the third use.

Cheers

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Awesome, this sounds promising. I put dregs from three bottles on the stir plate last night (Monday). Fingers crossed for good activity in the next few days so I can step it up and have a starter by Sunday.

I've been keeping and eye out for fresher bottles. My local shops (BevMo and Total Wine) don't have much turnover on Belgian styles. The Dupont I tried about a month ago was too old and didn't take, so I just used 3711 for my Saison (ok yeast, beast attenuator, definitely not Dupont results). The Ommegang's were all over a year old last time I looked.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Hot damn, we got bubbles In less than 24 hours

Let's hope those are CO2 bubbles being created by the correct organisms.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

I would say those dregs were fresh and lively. A day and a half later, this is what I woke up too. I've never had a bottle culture take off like this on the first cycle. Smells wonderful. I'll go to a 2L flask to step it up

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Does it smell like a wit yeast? That's probably a dumb question but I've heard of breweries carbonating with different yeast than what they actually made the beer with. Might not be the case with Allagash though.

I attempted a clone of the White last summer which turned out great but was definitely missing the yeast character. Hope yours turns out better than mine

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Hard to describe. Very pleasant rich but soft smell. Very much like a wit/hef. Maybe a tiny inkling of fruity/spicy and a hint of banana (probably because I'm culturing it at room temps (mid to high 70s). I think tonight i'll crack a bottle (still have a four pack in the fridge) and compare sniffs.

Reports here and around the internet seam to indicate they do not use another strain for bottling. Some say they use a blend of multiple strains. But like any other subject, there are always multiple opinions and results. Fingers crossed.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Did you get a chance to brew with this yeast yet?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Did you get a chance to brew with this yeast yet?

Yes. I split a 10 gallon batch. Half with the allagash and half with WLP400. Both krausened within a few days and stayed active for over 2 weeks at an average temp of 74F. The krausen on the 400 just dropped a few days ago, the allagash is a bit slower.

Kegging the 400 (right side of the picture) today. Letting the allagash (left) go a bit longer.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Update... Night and day difference between the two yeasts (aroma and taste). I'm no grand-poo-bah beer judge or anything, but i'll try to explain...

The WLP400 is relatively kinda generic and cleaner. Not much on the nose or taste from the yeast. Definitely resulted a good Wit, just nothing that raises an eyebrow or makes me say "Wow!". A lot like WY3944. A tiny itsy bitsy bit tart.

The Allagash White yeast is a whole different ball game. Citrusy for sure, not tart, and it's almost like I get more wheaty/malty, however the Allagash finished at 1.012 and the WLP400 finished at 1.009. That might explain some of the "wholesomeness" difference I'm sensing.

Both kegs are yummy and wont last long. I washed/saved the Allagash yeast for future brews. Neither was remarkably better, they were just very different.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Thanks for reporting back. I'm in the process of doing the same thing with a four pack of White. The first round is cold crashing now and looks pretty healthy.
Glad you got some good results!

 

[triethylborane]

Yes. I split a 10 gallon batch. Half with the allagash and half with WLP400. Both krausened within a few days and stayed active for over 2 weeks at an average temp of 74F. The krausen on the 400 just dropped a few days ago, the allagash is a bit slower.

Kegging the 400 (right side of the picture) today. Letting the allagash (left) go a bit longer.

Are you using an air lock when the stir plate is operating?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Yep

 

[triethylborane]

Yep

That prevents O2 from entering the fluid, defeating the purpose of the stirplate. Just use a foam stopper or a square of foil loosely covered around the top of the flask.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

I've heard that also. Then I read conflicting articles that talk about the amount of O2 that is used/depleted is much smaller than the volume available. I've done the tinfoil thing and haven't noticed any difference in results. But I have no science to base anything on