Big Beer two yeast strains

[archthered]

I am planning on making my first barley wine before too long. I am planning on using two strains of yeast. I am hoping that this will add complexity of flavor as well as get better attenuation. I am planning on making a starter of Wyeast 1028 London Ale and pitching it after chilling etc. to get a bit of fruitiness. Then I will make a starter of and add Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II and raise the temp a bit and add after about 5-8 days.

Is this how I should do it or should I just make a starter and throw both yeast strain in? My concern with that method is that one strain may out compete the other and then the second strain will be too weak to continue in the harsh environment of a big beer.

 

[sptaylor70]

There is a third way - Divide your wort into two portions (not necessarily equal volumes) and pitch one yeast into each portion. Recombine in a single secondary fermenter and let them finish.

London is pretty highly attenuating. You could try a less attenuating English to start (e.g. 1099 Whitbread, 1318 Boddington's, or 1968 Fuller's) to leave more for the Belgian Abbey to do to finish.

Incidentally, there are plenty of folks that will tell you that this is a terrible idea. But there are also plenty of folks who won't like either of your other two ideas, either.

Belgian Abbey is pretty clean, for a Belgian. You could an English yeast, all by itself, that's much fruitier than 1028 (e.g. 1187 Ringwood or 1275 Thames Valley). Or just Belgian Abbey by itself, fermented in the cooler part of its range.

Whatever you do, let us know how it turns out.

 

[archthered]

I think I like the idea of switching the English strain to 1318 or 1968. I hadn't thought about splitting the batch, I'm not sure I'll have the capacity for it at the time but I may try that some time. Why do some think this is a bad idea?

 

[sptaylor70]

The people who think that this is a bad idea are the same people who think that Reggie Miller was a bad shooter (his form was terrible) and James Joyce was a poor author (his style was very non-traditional). It's not the proper way to do things. I agree that it's not the proper way, but the proper way isn't always the best way. If it doesn't work out, all you've lost is a batch of beer. You've gained experience.

Post your result.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Just don't let the temps get too high with 1762. Over 70-72 and it just gets weird. I like it much better in the upper 60s.

 

[archthered]

I'll be sure to keep the temp down

 

[MileHighBrewer]

split, ferment separate, blend to taste. you are right, the strains added together will compete and one will win, the loser might throw some off flavors in. you may find that beer A with X yeast tastes out of this world, but B with Y doesn't. Blending gives you a safety net of seeing what each strain does to the same recipe on its own, and if its worthwhile to try and add complexity through multiple yeasts.