Anybody use WL 530 Abbey Ale?

[gkeusch]

I had bad luck (or operator error) with this stuff. Details below but I couldn't get it to take off in a starter. Has anyone had experience with this stuff and is this characteristic? Is it possible I got a bad package? This was one of the new plastic-sleeve deals that WL has gone to.

I can say for sure I didn't temp. shock it. I used it to inoculate a few slants then added it to a 2L starter solution. After about 18 hours on my stirplate there seemed to be no activity at all. I cold crashed it hoping to see some slurry accumulate but all I eventually got was a very thin film on the bottom of my flask. I decided not to chance it in my beer. Likewise my slants are anemic looking compared to my usual results. The film on the top looks almost transparent as compared to the nice white smear I am used to. Perplexed.

 

[jdauria]

I used WLP530 last year for a Patersbier and had no issues with it. I cannot recall how much slurry I ended up with in the bottom of the starter, but the beer fermented normally.

Did you try taking a gravity reading of your starter to see if it fermented out? Most of my starters on a stirplate I usually don't see much activity in the form of a krausen since it is being constantly stirred up.

 

[gkeusch]

Thanks for the reply. No, I didn't think to take a gravity reading, but that is a good suggestion for next time. What FG would I expect for full ferment?

 

[jmcquesten]

Every time I use wlp530, it goes crazy and always makes a mess if I don't use a blow off tube. The starters will even blow up out of my 2 liter flask. I use 530 a lot and would be concerned if it didn't act like this (very active) now. It is a fast fermenter even under controlled temps, but you should still see pretty active fermentation/krausen.

I actually have a batch going right now with it and it was just as active/messy this time.

 

[snowveil]

I used WLP530 in a belgian Pale a few months ago and it was pretty active as well. I use Five Star Defoamer in my stirplate starters so unless a yeast is especially crazy I don't typically see a ton of activity.

I will say I got a pretty big krausen in the fermenter IIRC. I put in my notes that I had visible, churning fermentation within 8 hours of pitching. The yeast also flocced out pretty hard for a Belgian strain.

As an aside, next time I use this yeast I'm going to drop the temperature down a bit. I started at 68*F, ramped up to 70*F after 2 days, then ramped to 72*F at day 5 (once active visible ferment was slowing down).

The phenolic profile was pretty strong for a 1.049 beer. Next time I'll probably keep it in the 66-68* range for a bit more balance.

 

[jmcquesten]

I used WLP530 in a belgian Pale a few months ago and it was pretty active as well. I use Five Star Defoamer in my stirplate starters so unless a yeast is especially crazy I don't typically see a ton of activity.

I will say I got a pretty big krausen in the fermenter IIRC. I put in my notes that I had visible, churning fermentation within 8 hours of pitching. The yeast also flocced out pretty hard for a Belgian strain.

As an aside, next time I use this yeast I'm going to drop the temperature down a bit. I started at 68*F, ramped up to 70*F after 2 days, then ramped to 72*F at day 5 (once active visible ferment was slowing down).

The phenolic profile was pretty strong for a 1.049 beer. Next time I'll probably keep it in the 66-68* range for a bit more balance.

It's really good at around 66°. Nice belgish character, but not over the top.