Belgian yeast comparison

[wineguy96]

First time posting so go easy on me Brewed my second all grain batch this weekend, aiming for a dark strong belgian ale using my own recipe. OG came in at 1.092 so pretty happy with the starting point. I had decided in advance to split the wort and ferment using two different yeasts to see which taste profile i prefer. I am using Wyeast 3787 Trappist high gravity and 1762 Belgian Abbey Ale II, a 1 litre starter was made for each, going into 2 1/2 gallons of wort. The abbey yeast started strong out of the gate with rapid airlock bubbles within a couple of hours of pitching. The Trappist was slower to start but took off after about 24 hours, the Wyeast site says "additional head space is recommended" for this strain and they weren't joking!! I will follow up with progress reports as the two batches evolve. Hope someone else other than me finds this interesting.

 

[slarkin712]

Sure, I'm interested. "Yeast profiling", or whatever you want to call it is a great way to experiment with different yeasts, and get to know their flavor profile. I'd recommend that you keep the temperature of the 1762 batch below 70F, and preferably below 68F if you can. 1762 gives off some undesirable flavors at higher temps. 3787 will be fine at higher temps, and will need a blow off tube if there isn't enough head space in your fermentor.

 

[wineguy96]

Thanks for the temperature tip, right now they are both around 72, i will cool the 1762 down a little tonight. And you are right i did need to switch to a blow off tube for the Trappist yeast even though i thought i would have enough headspace.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I wouldn't cool it mid fermentation, but keep it where it is. I'd let the 3787 go wherever it wants. It's OK in the low 80s, even.

Hope the experiment turns out well. You selected two very good, yet very different, yeasts. Good call.

 

[pdxal]

You'll need to warm up the 3787 at the end of fermentation to be sure it finishes. The last few gravity points are slow to drop and if you don't warm it up you'll end up with bottle bombs or gushers.

 

[wineguy96]

3 weeks in, Trappist is at 100.018, Abbey at 100.020. Both samples taste great, a little sweetish up front but very rich and with a nice long bitterish finish. Cant tell any difference at this point.

 

[BierMarz]

Did you get a chance to try them since your last post? I'm doing a Rochefort 10 clone this Saturday. I'm thinking I want to split the wort just as you did, one with 1762 (rochefort strain) and the other with 3782. I'm curious to see any differences in these two yeasts.

 

[Oceantendency]

3 weeks in, Trappist is at 100.018, Abbey at 100.020. Both samples taste great, a little sweetish up front but very rich and with a nice long bitterish finish. Cant tell any difference at this point.

Just wait atleast 2-3 months, profile will really change; all that sweetness will subdue and have a different finish, the Abbey will stay more consistant, but amazing how the finishing and initial taste profiles change over each month.

 

[wineguy96]

Just tried them over the last weekend. Been in bottles for around 6 weeks. Abbey is drinking just great, upfront sweetness has gone, great mouth feel and a nice long finish although not with some of the fruitiness I associate with a lot of Belgian beers. Interestingly the Trappist is still not carbed up so hard to compare. will wait a couple more weeks to try comparison again, although will be hard to save the Abbey from consumption

 

[Oceantendency]

6 weeks ?? be patient...be patient; patience for atleast another 6 weeks or more, your Beer will thank you.. Trappist yeast do take awhile to carb up, but so worth the wait.

 

[wineguy96]

ok, 3 months in bottle and an interesting comparison. I have to say my favorite for taste and body is the Trappist but if I was entering a beer into a competition I would go with the Abbey. Trappist still under carbonated but great fruitiness and depth. Abbey has great look, head that holds up and a great mouthfeel just doesn't quite have the taste profile I was looking for.

Interestingly a blend of the two is just dynamite! Maybe the way I drink my remaining stash LOL

 

[bethebrew]

ok, 3 months in bottle and an interesting comparison. I have to say my favorite for taste and body is the Trappist but if I was entering a beer into a competition I would go with the Abbey. Trappist still under carbonated but great fruitiness and depth. Abbey has great look, head that holds up and a great mouthfeel just doesn't quite have the taste profile I was looking for.

Interestingly a blend of the two is just dynamite! Maybe the way I drink my remaining stash LOL

Nice, and thanks for the update. I did an Abbey with the 1762, and kept the ferment temp low. Dark strong and really good. Homemade candy syrup. Think it will be the one to enter like you are thinking. But, did a different super big hoppy rye with the 3787 that had a super explosive ferment and took itself from 70 to 83. No candy sugar. Wort tasted great but no idea from there it was more recent.

A blend may be the ticket for me as well so thanks for even thinking that. Wouldn't enter it as a blend but that's a concept too eh?

Cheers.