Clearing BE-256 from a Strong Golden Ale

[moon_street]

Brewed a strong golden ale about 3 weeks back using the following recipe:

Strong Golden Ale Recipe

Things to note about the fermentation:

• Brewed down very dry in a matter of days.
• Very strong banana flavor.
• Harsh flavor early on.

A few questions:

1. How do i get the yeast to clear? I added 1tsp of gelatin to the keg about 3 weeks back. Still pretty cloudy.
2. I tried straining a cup of it through a coffee filter. That greatly helped the flavor. But still a bit cloudy.
3. I thought the style called for bright, clear beer. Is it a matter of waiting?
4. Is BE-256 the best choice for this style? Not sure I am a fan at this point. But maybe i'm not giving it a fair chance yet.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Zambezi Special]

What temperature did you ferment at?
Most Belgian yeast veer towards banana at their higher range.
I haven't used BE-256 (yet) though.

Clearing: I think time is your friend

 

[moon_street]

Pitched at 67. Slowly ramped up to 22 over 5 days. But the bulk of the fermentation was done after 3 days. This yeast is super active. I actually tried it in a stout i just brewed. Had an extra 1/2 gallon of wort. Used about 1tsp of be-256 I stored in the fridge from the Belgian Strong. It was done in 2 days. The US-05 I used in the main fermenter took 10 days to do the same job. But the frankenbeer i created was not very tasty. The main fermenter with US-05 turned out great.

 

[hotbeer]

Give it more time and it'll very likely clear up.

Beer shouldn't be rushed out of the FV just because fermentation is over. Unless you are a commercial brewer trying to make a profit.

 

[Kickass]

I’ve never used that yeast.

Pitched at 67. Slowly ramped up to 22

67-72 f ambient air temp or actual beer temp? Faster, warmer ferments are going to support the expression of banana in a Belgian yeast.

How did you add the gelatin? I have pretty good results with 1/2 tsp (there are some limited data circulating that indicates more gelatin might be detrimental to clarity) added to 100-200ml room temp water then heated in 10 second microwave bursts to 150-160f then adding to COLD beer. Cold crashing for a few days prior to gelatin is key.

If all else fails, store it very cold and yield to the effectiveness of time. This is my least favorite method but it is usually most effective.

 

[MikeCo]

Keep it at serving temperature and it will clear over the next few weeks. A floating dip tube will help get clear beer to your glass faster than a bottom-pulling tube.

 

[moon_street]

It's been a little over three weeks since putting in the keg. Still not fully clear, but finally drinkable. BE-256 is an interesting yeast. Reached FG in 3 days (17 Brix down to 1.003 SG). but took 3+ weeks to clear. Step mashed this one agressively as the recipe called for. Still could use some time, but I am enjoying it already. Might bottle up half of this. Could be really nice in time.

 

[hotbeer]

Nothing really unusual about reaching FG in 3 days. I do that with US-05, S-04 and S-33. Or at least I'm within a point or two of FG in 3 days.

But with those yeast's I've mentioned, I'm usually pretty clear by day 10. Though I have let them stay even longer in the FV. When I was using a unknown yeast in the kits I use to buy it'd sometimes take much longer for both FG and clearing up. A few times five to six weeks.

 

[DuncB]

The Duvel yeast allegedly WLP 570 is meant to be a beast to clear according to Mitch Steele in an article I read. The Duvel brewery uses three centrifuges and a few weeks of lagering before bottling the Duvel. I lagered mine a month and fined it after cold crash before pressure transfer and bottling, waiting to see if it's clear in the bottle in a few days.
Time and a cool temperature clears most beers but if they want to keep working because of residual sugar then that time is much longer.

 

[moon_street]

The Duvel yeast allegedly WLP 570 is meant to be a beast to clear according to Mitch Steele in an article I read. The Duvel brewery uses three centrifuges and a few weeks of lagering before bottling the Duvel. I lagered mine a month and fined it after cold crash before pressure transfer and bottling, waiting to see if it's clear in the bottle in a few days.
Time and a cool temperature clears most beers but if they want to keep working because of residual sugar then that time is much longer.

I was looking it some inline filters. Not sure i am ready to go there. Reviews weren't great. Thinking about experimenting with yeasts. The flocculation tendency of the different strains just went up in priority in my selection process after this experience.

 

[Kickass]

@moon_street what was your gelatin process? Used correctly, gelatin is pretty reliable. Used incorrectly, it’s utterly worthless.

 

[MikeCo]

How do you like the flavor of BE-256 in a golden strong? I've read it's not a very expressive yeast compared to other belgian ale yeasts. I've always used Wyeast 1388 in BGS, buit am curious about other options.

 

[moon_street]

@moon_street what was your gelatin process? Used correctly, gelatin is pretty reliable. Used incorrectly, it’s utterly worthless.

I boil 1/2 cup water in a covered pot. let it cool a little to about 160 f or so. Sprinkle about 3/4 tsp of gelatin on the surface of the water. Let it cool a bit. and pour into the keg.

 

[moon_street]

How do you like the flavor of BE-256 in a golden strong? I've read it's not a very expressive yeast compared to other belgian ale yeasts. I've always used Wyeast 1388 in BGS, buit am curious about other options.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on Belgian yeasts, but here's my two cents. I read this one was more expressive on the esters and less so on the phenol flavors. I would agree with that. But would add that is is subdued on both counts, just skewed to the fruity side. Another thing, the fermentis stat sheet says sedimentation time = fast. That I don't agree with. Still settling after almost 4 weeks. Also read people like to blend this yeast with other Belgian strains to dial in specific flavor profiles. Sounds interesting. One final note... this yeast attenuates WELL. I would have preferred a little more residual sweetness on this one. Maybe more crystal in the malt bill?

 

[MikeCo]

Maybe more crystal in the malt bill?

I've always used Pilsner only with sugar in my recipe. Some light crystal or aromatic would reduce the attenuation, as would a higher mash temperature. I have gotten 1.005 with my recipe which I think is perfectly fine flavor-wise.

 

[moon_street]

I've always used Pilsner only with sugar in my recipe. Some light crystal or aromatic would reduce the attenuation, as would a higher mash temperature. I have gotten 1.005 with my recipe which I think is perfectly fine flavor-wise.

It's all a matter of taste. But for me... next time i would add something. I guess my preference leans more towards a tripel than a golden strong. A tripel on the dry side would be is something i might try soon. I have some T-58 in the fridge (trying out some dry belgian yeasts as you may have noticed). But people seem to either love it or hate it. Would really like to try some split batches with belgian yeasts... but need a few more doo dads to get that rolling.

 

[moon_street]

Golden strong is getting better every day i try it. It actually seems to be getting more body and sweetness as it ages. Not sure that is possible... just an observation.

 

[MikeCo]

Golden strongs and tripels can be identical in malt bills. I think the yeast is what really makes the difference with WY1388 being the typical GS yeast. Using BE-256 probably resulted in a beer that can be considered a tripel as much as it is a GS. I also want to try T-58; I'll be interested to hear your results if you try it.

 

[moon_street]

Still not clear. Yeast is still settling out of this beer. And it is bone dry. BE-256 is one tenacious mother. I knew there was something up when it went down to 1.003 in 3 days flat.

 

[moon_street]

One more comment on this beer. Taste has really come around over time... and it eventually did clear. But I really do not enjoy drinking it. Not 100% sure, but I think there may be a considerable amount of fusels in this one. Most likely I let the fermentation go a little too fast. But again, this yeast is a beast. My guess is... you need excellent temperature control technique / equipment to get the most out of this yeast.

 

[DuncB]

Thank you, I had a preliminary test of my Belgian GS and it was pretty good, needs another 30 plus days of cool conditioning to get the yeast packed down hard in the bottle. I'm going to culture a duvel bottle next time to use in the beer at packaging stage. I recultured WLP 570 and might have overpitched into each bottle when packaging.