isomerization
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Another benefit of WB06 is that it stood out in terms of biotransformation based on the presentation shared by Isomerization. It results in lower geraniol and higher linalool and citronellol compared with the other strains tested. According to this presentation by a Lab Manager named Kate Steblenko from Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, biotransformation results in lower concentrations of geraniol and increased concentrations of citronellol, linalool, and nerol. Also there data shows that this process takes about 3-4 days (slides 15 and 16). They describe linalool as resulting fruity, tropical, fruit loops, and candy flavors (slide 19). All together it seems like WB06 has desired biotransformation properties and may be better at it than other yeasts tested.
That said I do think finishing too low is a concern with WB06. Julius tastes much sweeter than my recent beer with about an 85% attenuation. My wife and I drank them side by side. The Julius was about 5 weeks old and was not tasting its best, but that did allow the julius base to shine through and made the sweetness more apparent.
Based on possibility wb06 over attenuating and the lack of complete banding match, I've been looking for an alternative to wb06 that might have similar biotransformation properties but without the over attenuating characteristic. Any ideas? A liquid yeast would be nice because than I could hopefully create a starter to reuse across batches rather than throwing away the remainder of the wb06 pack each batch. What do people think of the below yeasts? I don't believe the manufacturers reported attenuation of over 80% for any of them. These liquid yeasts could explain why there are pictures of yeast starters at TH in the past.
Also since it seems like WB06 is a close match for the yellow star colonies, but not a perfect match. Would a yeast similar to wb06, like a different wheat beer strain, have a similar but slightly different banding pattern? Or could it have any banding pattern under the moon?
- WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale yeast)
- Wyeast 3333 (German Wheat)
- Wyeast 3638 (Bavarian Wheat)
- Wyeast 3944 (Belgian Witbier) <- this was one of the tested yeasts and doesn't appear to match TH colonies.
- Wyeast 3942 (Belgian Wheat) <- this one is actually described as having apple, bubblegum and plum-like aromas
View attachment 612121
I will agree that the WB-06 DNA banding pattern is the weakest link among the 4 studied yeast, but given the appearance of 3 other dry yeasts (from Fermentis/Lallemand family), I think the current ID is supported. Also keep in mind those weren’t on the same gel, so the vertical scale might be distorted, especially at the low bp end (bottom of gel).