Is there a Belgian yeast strain that doesnt need ageing and is sweet and weird? :)

Elysium · Feb 12, 2015

The sweet and weird part comes from the fact that my favorite beer is Rodenbach Grand Cru and that beer is weird as f**k, yet beautiful. I'd like to brew something similar but I dont wanna age it. So, I assume it should be the yeast that gives that twist to the beer.

Are there any strains that I could use? Or any tricks to the brewing process or any special ingredients?
(I am not saying I wanna clone Rodenbach Grand Cru.....it can be a blond ale too, but I really want it to be sweet and "weird"

)

Cheers

UPDATE: the idea of making it sour and weird is ditched. I really dont wanna age it. Any yeast strains that yield a nice Belgian style that is sweet and pleasant? (without ageing)

youreanimpulse · Feb 12, 2015

The "weird" in Rodenbach is from bacteria/wild yeast that requires aging to create that flavor profile. Often 1-2 years aged in bulk for those types of beers (I don't know the specifics on Rodenbach's timeline). To make matters more complex, they also blend that beer to create that profile, since the souring microbes can be unpredictable. World class sour beer takes time, unfortunately. If you want to try, use the Roeselare blend from Wyeast and some dregs from beers like Belgian Geuze or American sours like Jolly Pumpkin or Cascade. Make sure the bacteria doesn't contact any of your clean brewing equipment (use a dedicated carboy). Let it age in a cool dark place for a year, then sample and see if it needs more aging. You will not get anything close by any shorter method. And beware this kind of brewing can be addictive. My sours closet has about 40 gal of beer of different ages waiting for its time. Mmmmm...

Edit: sweet will be a challenge, as Rodenbach gets that from blending in sweeter beer and pasteurizing. But weird isn't too hard

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Elysium · Feb 13, 2015

youreanimpulse said:
T

Edit: sweet will be a challenge, as Rodenbach gets that from blending in sweeter beer and pasteurizing. But weird isn't too hard .

Thanks for the reply.

Let's say I ditch the idea of making it weird. Is there a belgian ale yeast that yields a nice and sweet beer? Surely there is. Something pleasant like the triple karmilet

Homercidal · Feb 13, 2015

Sweet is often a function of several things you put in there. Most belgian yeast will yield some amount of "weird" or "Funk". You could go with an underhopped "whatever" and have it come out sweet. Use plenty of crystal or other unfermentable malts to up the sweetness.

I've done a few Belgian golden Strongs, and if you brew it right it can be drinkable in 2 months (yeah, not that fast, but it's not really "Aging" though either.)

Really, the sky's the limit with Belgian styles. Just make sure to use a Belgian yeast and ferment at the right temps and O2 levels for the flavors you want. They are practically an entire book in themselves.

beergolf · Feb 13, 2015

There really is no way around it. Belgian yeasts do take some time for thw flavors to come into their own.

Like Homercidal mentioned, if you pitch the proper amount of yeast, oxygenate well, and control fermentation temp, you can a brew that is drinkable quicker, but not real fast.

If you keep the gravity on the low end of the range for the style you are brewing, this will help. Some Belgian yeasts are known for taking off quickly but then slowing down and taking a long time to get the last few points of attenuation.

I love my Belgians and have brewed a lot of them. Each yeast does contribute a very specific flavor. I would suggest a very simple recipe and then trying different yeasts to see which ones you like. If you do not want to do that then each commercially available yeast comes from a know brewery. For example WY 1214 is known to be Chimay yeast. So you can try some brews that use those yeasts to see which ones you prefer.

There are some good recipes herer...http://www.candisyrup.com/recipes.html. You will notice that the higher the gravity the longer time they recommend for aging.

enjoy.

trentm · Feb 13, 2015

Elysium said:
The sweet and weird part comes from the fact that my favorite beer is Rodenbach Grand Cru and that beer is weird as f**k, yet beautiful. I'd like to brew something similar but I dont wanna age it. So, I assume it should be the yeast that gives that twist to the beer.

Are there any strains that I could use? Or any tricks to the brewing process or any special ingredients?
(I am not saying I wanna clone Rodenbach Grand Cru.....it can be a blond ale too, but I really want it to be sweet and "weird" )

Cheers

UPDATE: the idea of making it sour and weird is ditched. I really dont wanna age it. Any yeast strains that yield a nice Belgian style that is sweet and pleasant? (without ageing)

Of the Belgian strains I use, the one I isolated from a Westvleteren Blond seems to get ready a little faster than my others and it seems to flocculate much faster. I last brewed with it on November 7, 2014 and have been enjoying now for a couple of weeks. Getting better with each week. It is putatively Wyeast 3787 or WLP530.