BE-256

[Jhedrick83]

I brewed for the first time in a year due to life distractions and decided to try BE-256 for a Tripel rather than my usual liquid WLP-530 as my LHBS didn’t have the liquid in date. Never used the dry BE-256 before. Fermentation started off great and it was dropping like a rock from 1.087. For the last 16 hours, it’s been stuck on 1.037. I didn’t underpitch and I just gave it a good swirl in case there’s krausen stuck on the Tilt messing with it. I do have more BE-256, at what point should I pitch a bit more if we don’t get restarted?

 

[Jack Arandir]

Do you have the ability to warm it up? BE256 likes some heat. The spec sheet goes up to 79F. Sometimes that can help.
From this data, BE256 should hit FG within 4-5 days at anything room temperature or above. What day of fermentation are you on?
Last, before making any interventions, check your Tilt against a hydrometer sample. My last batch the tilt was 3 points off from the hydrometer. Like you said, there's a chance the tilt is being affected by krausen.

I wouldn't count it out yet. There's a good chance you got a few bad data points and your beer is just fine. Good luck!

 

[Jhedrick83]

Yeah, it’s in a ferm chamber with a heat wrap and a temp controller. Pitched at 64 and it’s risen to 73 mostly on its own, as it rises I keep a floor on it. I can always bump it a bit. I usually kept the WLP-530 rising slower to somewhat minimize the banana flavor. It’s on day 3

 

[dmtaylor]

I just had a beer with BE-256 stall at 50% attenuation for a whole month. It wasn't going anywhere. I added Belle Saison and sugar, and then it took off again. Ultimately it turned out really nice, better than either one of the two yeasts on their own.

 

[seatazzz]

I just brewed a Wit with some BE-256 that expired last October. Did a vitality starter with cooled wort on brewday. Took a day to get going, but once it did it finished out quite well. Didn't get any banana/clove that I was hoping for, just a nice crisp Wit.

 

[bike2brew]

I am at day 13 with a Tripel. Sitting @ 1.011 (1.087 OG) in a 2 fermenter set up(2.75 g). I pitched 23 gr each fermenter @ 65.2 avg temp. Tasty with some alcohol bite. I am planning 2 more weeks to mellow and minimum 3 weeks in bottle conditioning.

 

[bike2brew]

I am at day 13 with a Tripel. Sitting @ 1.011 (1.087 OG) in a 2 fermenter set up(2.75 g). I pitched 23 gr each fermenter @ 65.2 avg temp. Tasty with some alcohol bite. I am planning 2 more weeks to mellow and minimum 3 weeks in bottle conditioning

 

[Jhedrick83]

Had not moved a point in 24+ hours at 73 degrees. Pitched another pack for good measure.

 

[bike2brew]

Flirting w/ 1.010 this pm. That's about 85.5% attenuation.

 

[chthon]

I did several brews with BE-256, never had any problems with fermentation. These are my results of different batches with it:

Further statistics of my results:

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I just brewed a Wit with some BE-256 that expired last October. Did a vitality starter with cooled wort on brewday. Took a day to get going, but once it did it finished out quite well. Didn't get any banana/clove that I was hoping for, just a nice crisp Wit.

According to a Fermentis presentation, genetically it falls in the British family of yeasts - which makes me think that it's a dry equivalent of something rather like WLP540, allegedly from Rochefort (who had some problems re-establishing after losing their kit to the German army in WWII, and ended up raiding the Palm yeastbank in the 1960s so it's plausible they ended up with a yeast that is not conventionally "Belgian"). So it's not really the yeast you want if you're looking for banana and clove, but is well suited to big dark beers, and might be an interesting choice for some British styles.

Don't worry about expiry dates on dry yeast, they have a half-life of 10 years or so. As it happens I pitched some September 2017 BE-256 into 13l (3.5 US gal) last weekend and went away, by the time I got back 4 days later it had ripped through 1.066 wort with 83% attenuation (and had actually blown some of it out of the bucket).

I brewed for the first time in a year due to life distractions and decided to try BE-256 for a Tripel rather than my usual liquid WLP-530 as my LHBS didn’t have the liquid in date. Never used the dry BE-256 before. Fermentation started off great and it was dropping like a rock from 1.087. For the last 16 hours, it’s been stuck on 1.037. I didn’t underpitch and I just gave it a good swirl in case there’s krausen stuck on the Tilt messing with it. I do have more BE-256, at what point should I pitch a bit more if we don’t get restarted?

Doubling down with more of the same doesn't usually work. It's worth checking with a hydrometer to see whether it's really at 1.037 or whether it's just a Tilt issue. Rousing and a bit of extra warmth would be the usual place to start.

 

[bike2brew]

I did several brews with BE-256, never had any problems with fermentation. These are my results of different batches with it:

View attachment 808112

Further statistics of my results:

View attachment 808113

Thanks for sharing. Good to have the numbers.

 

[bike2brew]

According to a Fermentis presentation, genetically it falls in the British family of yeasts - which makes me think that it's a dry equivalent of something rather like WLP540, allegedly from Rochefort (who had some problems re-establishing after losing their kit to the German army in WWII, and ended up raiding the Palm yeastbank in the 1960s so it's plausible they ended up with a yeast that is not conventionally "Belgian"). So it's not really the yeast you want if you're looking for banana and clove, but is well suited to big dark beers, and might be an interesting choice for some British styles.

Don't worry about expiry dates on dry yeast, they have a half-life of 10 years or so. As it happens I pitched some September 2017 BE-256 into 13l (3.5 US gal) last weekend and went away, by the time I got back 4 days later it had ripped through 1.066 wort with 83% attenuation (and had actually blown some of it out of the bucket).



Doubling down with more of the same doesn't usually work. It's worth checking with a hydrometer to see whether it's really at 1.037 or whether it's just a Tilt issue. Rousing and a bit of extra warmth would be the usual place to start.

Interesting history lesson. Got me thinking to give this yeast a try with a stout/porter sometime.

 

[Jhedrick83]

Doubling down with more of the same doesn't usually work. It's worth checking with a hydrometer to see whether it's really at 1.037 or whether it's just a Tilt issue. Rousing and a bit of extra warmth would be the usual place to start.

Should it not finish, what would you pitch to get it to finish?

 

[thehaze]

Should it not finish, what would you pitch to get it to finish?

You can add Belle Saison, BE-134 or any other Saison yeast ( maybe a bit of sugar, just like dmtaylor did with one of his beers ) to see if it goes further down. Take a sample of the beer, make sure it's at around 20C/68F and use a calibrated hydrometer to measure gravity.

 

[Shenanigans]

Is it true that M31 is repacked BE-256?

 

[dmtaylor]

Is it true that M31 is repacked BE-256?

It's an educated guess. Not 100% certain. Maybe 75%.

 

[Shenanigans]

It's an educated guess. Not 100% certain. Maybe 75%.

OK, thanks.
I have a pack of M31 so looking for something to brew with it.
I actually co-pitched M21 and M31 once for a Tripel Karmeliet clone which turned out good.
I would like to try it on its own for a Tripel or Belgian golden strong ale or maybe a darker beer if it's related to WLP540.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Is it true that M31 is repacked BE-256?

Not exactly, as M31 Belgian Tripel is clearly a mix of two yeasts of different colours that even MJ themselves describe as a "complex marriage of spice, fruity esters, phenolics and alcohol" :

We know that M29 French Saison is Belle (pers comm) and that Belle is pale. So it's a fair guess that the paler half of M31 is Belle. And generally MJ like to use Lallemand if they can. So if there's two different colours that suggests that the other half is from another manufacturer, and a strain that doesn't have a direct equivalent from Lallemand. So if you're looking for a non-Lallemand yeast that is "Belgian" and contributing the fruity esters that Belle lacks, in order to make Belle more interesting, then BE-256 is a fair guess.

If you're looking for a dry yeast for a golden strong then that's about the only reason to use WB-06 as it appears to be a dried version of a member of the Duvel multistrain. But M31 is a reasonable shout for a dry yeast tripel.

 

[Shenanigans]

Not exactly, as M31 Belgian Tripel is clearly a mix of two yeasts of different colours that even MJ themselves describe as a "complex marriage of spice, fruity esters, phenolics and alcohol" :
View attachment 870250

We know that M29 French Saison is Belle (pers comm) and that Belle is pale. So it's a fair guess that the paler half of M31 is Belle. And generally MJ like to use Lallemand if they can. So if there's two different colours that suggests that the other half is from another manufacturer, and a strain that doesn't have a direct equivalent from Lallemand. So if you're looking for a non-Lallemand yeast that is "Belgian" and contributing the fruity esters that Belle lacks, in order to make Belle more interesting, then BE-256 is a fair guess.

If you're looking for a dry yeast for a golden strong then that's about the only reason to use WB-06 as it appears to be a dried version of a member of the Duvel multistrain. But M31 is a reasonable shout for a dry yeast tripel.

Thanks for that usefull info!
Going off topic a bit but do you have anything similar about M47 Belgian Abbey Yeast?
I plan on brewing de Konnick clone with that at cooler temperatures.

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks for that usefull info!
Going off topic a bit but do you have anything similar about M47 Belgian Abbey Yeast?
I plan on brewing de Konnick clone with that at cooler temperatures.

My own educated guess and intuition tells me that M47 is most likely a repackaging of a Fermentis yeast, either WB-06 or T-58, or perhaps a blend of one of those with something else. But it is a guess, cannot be certain without further experimentation. If anyone wants to do split batch experiments for these or any other yeasts, please report your results, I'm all ears!

 

[ncbrewer]

My own educated guess and intuition tells me that M47 is most likely a repackaging of a Fermentis yeast, either WB-06 or T-58, or perhaps a blend of one of those with something else.

I emailed Mangrove about M47. They responded that M47 is not a diastaticus strain. My understanding is that WB-06 is a diastaticus strain. So I don't think they're the same.

 

[dmtaylor]

I emailed Mangrove about M47. They responded that M47 is not a diastaticus strain. My understanding is that WB-06 is a diastaticus strain. So I don't think they're the same.

Aha. Thank you for this useful input. The hazy picture grows steadily clearer, maybe.