Anyone fermented Tappist Ale WLP500 below 65?

[dagbe634]

I am working on an imperial pumpkin ale recipe using WLP500, however, i do not want the fruity nature of the yeast to come through to strong. On the white labs site it says WLP500s optimal temperature to be 65-72, but below 65 will result in less fruity and more earthy beers, which is what i'm after.

I am wondering if anyone has tried this and if so what temp and how were the results?

I am just a bit worried that a low temp may reduce attenuation to much, as my OG=1.094, leaving me with a malty as brew

 

[beergolf]

If you go lower I would be worried about the yeast not doing its job. Belgian yeasts can drop out and not finish if they get too cool, and once they do that you may not get it to start again. The key is to start low (pitch in the low to mid 60's) and then slowly let the temp rise. Once it gets up do not let it drop below 65 or you may have problems.

I have not used that yeast but 1214 is supposed to be the same and if you go about 68 you should be good. A big starter will also help with a brew that big.

If you want a little less fruitiness then maybe another yeast would be a better fit. I find 3522 to be less fruity for a Belgian yeast.

 

[dagbe634]

Yeah i am worried about that, i still what a bit of an ester character just not too much to over power or mix badly with the spice, ill probably just ferment it at 65 to be safe. 3522 does sound like a nice yeast, however i already have WLP500 slurry so want to save a bit of money on what is already looking like an expensive brew =)

"The key is to start low (pitch in the low to mid 60's) and then slowly let the temp rise" - what does this do? Would pitching low not result in a long lag time or slow initial fermentation?

 

[daksin]

Belgian yeasts are not particularly flocculant. I wouldn't worry about attenuation at low temps, but other off-flavors may occur. I have fermented WLP530 fairly low and gotten great results- another abbey strain but not the same thing exactly. 500 is such a tasty yeast I'd be interested to see what it does at other temps- US-05 gets estery and peachy at low temps, perhaps 500 does something interesting below its normal range.

Or maybe it just gets funky and drops out. Keep us updated!

Edit: Wow! Was that the most unhelpful post ever? Apologies! Anyway, I think you're good, but am interested to find out about your particular experience with this yeast at low temperatures!

Edit2: Wow! An it's/its typo. I must be buzzed!

 

[chuckstout]

I used wlp500 at 63-65 degrees and it finished great, i made a 1 liter starter with an old vial of yeast and it performed great 1.090 to 1.009, i think 15% was simple sugar.

I dont really now how to describe the flavor. I think..... Hey it might actually be pretty good

 

[Mojzis]

Idk how close wlp400 is to 500 in terms of temp and tolerance, but three weeks later at 65, wlp400 is still chugging away....for a small beer too.

 

[Yooper]

I used wlp500 in a triple last winter at about 64 degrees. I was hoping for fruity flavors like plum and prune, but I got 100% bubblegum.

 

[daksin]

I used wlp500 in a triple last winter at about 64 degrees. I was hoping for fruity flavors like plum and prune, but I got 100% bubblegum.

Finally, the actual answer to OP's question.

 

[chuckstout]

Ill try my beer again soon, the more i think of mine was like wet hay, with stone raisin smashed fruit

 

[Beernip]

I had an issue with this yeast dropping out and stopping fermentation when it got down to 61-62. The outside temps were dropping off at night heavily and my room would get down to about 61 and stop fermentation until I stirred it the next day and warmed it up. I got a nice cherry taste but also a weird off flavor with it. I'd try to keep it around 65-66%.

 

[Steveness]

I brewed 1a 10 gallon batch of Blonde-ish Amber Ale, Fermented 5 gallons with brett(still going, also has a pitch of ODE TARt from thre Breuery,souring), Other 5 gallons has a pitch of wlp500 that i stepped up once in a 2L flask. Started the WLP500 at 57F and let it free rise over more than 48hours to 64F where I held it, thanks to my mini fridge and a Johnson Temp control thingy. At 64F the activity was at its peak,blow off tube was needed. As the activity (krausin) went down I let the temperature rise untill it reached 74-75 where I kept it for 5 days before i cold crashed it for 2 weeks before bottling. Great earthy and ripe banana aroma, almost a ceamy quality to the mouth feel, carbonated in the bottle at 2.4 atmospheres, too just shy of two months to carbonate( probally due to the cold crash). No bubble gum or off flavors, fully attentated, super drinkable. 16 Brix OG, 1.014 before cold crash. Ill check the bottled gravity soon. So good. So Good.