How bad is it to use a yeast not meant for your type of beer?

[polishdude20]

I've got a batch of witbier fermenting in which I used white labs wit 2 yeast. I'd like to reuse the yeast but not make another wit. How ill advised is this? I'm guessing its fine for similar styles but as you go out to less similar ones it makes a big difference? What about using this yeast for a stout?

 

[VikeMan]

The Wit II strain (and all the available Witbier strains AFAIK) produce phenolic flavors, because they have the POF+ gene. I suppose you could use this yeast in some other Belgian styles, but IMO it wouldn't work well in a stout, unless it's intentionally a "Belgian Stout." (Not a fan of that style.)

 

[bkboiler]

Maybe try lots of chocolate malt, some lactose and call it a chocolate banana cream pie...
Probably want to include carabrown for graham cracker flavor...
I'm off the rails, I know...
Let us know how it turns out...
Ps- I'm reading radical Brewing right now, so I blame it on Randy.

 

[Yooper]

Alot of yeast are fairly neutral, but NOT wit yeast. They've got clove and fruity ester flavors that don't play well with most other beer styles. You can save it in a mason jar in the fridge, and then use it in a future wit if you'd like.

I keep several strains on hand in the fridge, for my most used beer styles.

 

[Beernik]

You might be okay with a Belgian PA or IPA.

 

[bkboiler]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/what-else-can-i-brew-with-hefeweizen-yeast.674767/
Had to look this up...it's called a Dampfbier!

 

[VikeMan]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/what-else-can-i-brew-with-hefeweizen-yeast.674767/
Had to look this up...it's called a Dampfbier!

I'm puzzled by this suggestion. OP wants to reuse a Witbier strain, not a Hefe strain. The two aren't very similar, IMO. Is there something about Wit yeast that you think would work well for a quasi-Dampfbier? Or are you just suggesting that a beer made with a Wit strain and an all barley malt grain bill would be good?

 

[bkboiler]

Whoops...I completely misread that...
maybe just go 1% caramel wheat, 4% white wheat, and 95% mild ale malt, and pitch mandarina Bavaria hops in whirlpool and dry hop.
That way any clove will be met with lots of orange...
Will taste like a Belgiany IPA I bet!

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I'd vote for either harvesting/storing the yeast for later, unless you're like me and just simply cant stand wits, or ferment with it at the lower end of the temp range and hope that limits some of the expressive characters of that strain. Cheers!

 

[polishdude20]

I'd vote for either harvesting/storing the yeast for later, unless you're like me and just simply cant stand wits, or ferment with it at the lower end of the temp range and hope that limits some of the expressive characters of that strain. Cheers!

How long can you store these for usually?

 

[Yooper]

How long can you store these for usually?

I think I've gone eight or nine months, but made a small starter to ensure viability for that one.

 

[Immocles]

I brewed a hefeweizen last august sometime using 3068. I kept a small jar of it because I planned to make a dunkelweizen sometime in like October. I didn't get around to it until April. I dubiously pitched the jar direct, with no starter (had a back up plan though!). It fired up within a day and made a nice beer. So the yeast will keep for a good while in the fridge, but I would advise a starter if its been an uncomfortably long time.

 

[budbo]

As long as 1 of those billions of cells is alive it is viable.