Recently I took a stab at my first Belgian White Ale and I think that either I somehow jacked up a good and highly regarded HomeBrewTalk recipe or I just don't dig Belgian Witbier Yeast. The recipe looks solid and the wort tasted great going into the fermenter. I was hoping for a Belgian White similar to an Allagash, Hoegaarden or Blue Moon. I would have been cool with it coming out like any of those. With that said, I'm a big fan of wheat beers and most of the wheat beers that I've brewed so far have been Hefeweizens using Wyeast 3068, so I'm not sure if that's relevant or not but I was expecting to really like this beer and yeast. I'm a huge fan of 3068 (both on the high and low temp range). So, for this Belgian White I used Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast and the first 24-48 hrs of fermentation smelled great, but then the smell turned into strait up funk! I know that's pretty common for a lot of different strains of yeast, but this funk hasn't left. I let it ferment in the primary for 14 days and brought the gravity from 1.038 to 1.007, which is right on target with what I was aiming for. I kegged it a few days ago and just gave it a try and the funk still hasn't left - it's the beast!
So, my question is do any of you like Wyeast 3068 but don't like Wyeast 3944?
Here's the recipe:
Batch Size: 4.25
Yeast: Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier
Boil Time: 60 min
3 lbs - Extra Light DME
1 - Wheat DME
1 lbs 2.4 oz - Flaked Wheat
0.90 oz - East Kent Goldings - 7.2% - 17.1 IBUs (60 min)
0.70 oz - Crushed Coriander Seed (10 min)
0.70 oz - Sweet Orange Peel (10 min)
OG - 1.038
FG - 1.007
Fermentation Time - 14 days
Fermentation Temp - 68 F
So, my question is do any of you like Wyeast 3068 but don't like Wyeast 3944?
Here's the recipe:
Batch Size: 4.25
Yeast: Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier
Boil Time: 60 min
3 lbs - Extra Light DME
1 - Wheat DME
1 lbs 2.4 oz - Flaked Wheat
0.90 oz - East Kent Goldings - 7.2% - 17.1 IBUs (60 min)
0.70 oz - Crushed Coriander Seed (10 min)
0.70 oz - Sweet Orange Peel (10 min)
OG - 1.038
FG - 1.007
Fermentation Time - 14 days
Fermentation Temp - 68 F