need help with a Belgian yeast selection!

[natural320]

hey guys,
every once in a blue moon, my wife goes on a beer kick...so I wanted to try to indulge her by brewing up a small batch of wit, and then take that yeast cake and throw a tripel on top of it.

she LOVES La Fin du Monde (so she is more into the sweet-fruity than spicy phenolic), so that it the main inspiration for the tripel, but I was hoping to use a yeast that can make a decent wit as a precursor.

I've never brewed Belgian styles before, so I have no experience with their yeasts...but I think I've narrowed it down to Wyeast 1214 "Abbey" or 3942 "Wheat" since the Unibroue yeast is currently unavailable (and I'm brewing Saturday, so culturing from a bottle won't work at the moment)

Anybody have input as to which yeast I should choose for my scenario?

 

[homebrewdad]

1214 is the same as WLP500, which I have used, and it's a very nice yeast. For me, I get both fruity and spicy notes out of it.

 

[Polboy]

After trying few strains i selected 3787 as my belgian house strain, i had homebrew witbeer fermented with 3942 and it was great but i dont brew a lot of wheat beers so havent try it myself

 

[natural320]

1214 is the same as WLP500, which I have used, and it's a very nice yeast. For me, I get both fruity and spicy notes out of it.

that's cool, whats types of fruit and spicy notes are you getting? like more citrusy, or banana-y, or dark fruit like plum/raisin?

After trying few strains i selected 3787 as my belgian house strain, i had homebrew witbeer fermented with 3942 and it was great but i dont brew a lot of wheat beers so havent try it myself

what does the 3787 bring to the table ester/phenol-wise? can you recall what the wit you tasted was like on your palate?

my trouble with the "search" has been nailing down which yeast brings what! they (the package descriptions) all say "fruity and spicy" :smack: haha but what fruits and spices! normally I would just wing it and see, but my wife is quite picky when it comes to beer

 

[Randy_Bugger]

Generally speaking, higher fermentation temps will produce more fruity esters and lower fermentation temps will produce more spicy phenols with Belgian yeasts.

Look at this chart here:

http://www.whitelabs.com/files/belgianchart_0.pdf

The last beer I made with 3787 had both fruity and spicy flavors. It's hard to say what fruit 3787 tastes like. It just tasted pleasantly fruity and not like a specific fruit. The spicy aspect was similar to cinnamon and nutmeg, but not identical.

 

[Randy_Bugger]

What type of fruit profile are you looking for?

 

[bgeek]

A guy named Chris Owen did a little experiment with his homebrew club. Seems the banana flavor dominated the fruit profile of WLP500. I've had good luck with WLP550 for a generic balanced fruitiness with a hint of banana.

 

[natural320]

I had ~just~ stumbled across that chart a few minutes ago actually!

I am looking for something "La Fin du Monde"-ish. so light(er) bright(er) fruit with that honey-like sweetness that La Fin finishes with. once you said it, it dawned on me that you are 100% right Randy: "fruity" is actually the best descriptor, and nailing it down to a specific one isn't that easy.

I also just stumbled across an old BYO article on high gravity Belgian yeasts, and the #1 recommendation for a tripel is the same 3787 you also referenced. I think I might lean more towards that one now after your info and that article

 

[natural320]

hmmm, my work is blocking that link B, I'll check it out when I get home!

 

[natural320]

I think I'm going to go with the 3787! thanks for the suggestions guys

 

[homebrewdad]

that's cool, whats types of fruit and spicy notes are you getting? like more citrusy, or banana-y, or dark fruit like plum/raisin?

I personally get a lighter fruit flavor. Not really banana, though.

 

[natural320]

the "lighter fruit" is definitely what I am after here. I asked my wife again what she wants the beer to taste like...and here's what I got:

"Yummy."

this is what I gotta deal with!

 

[TNGabe]

If you hadn't ruled it out already, 3942 isn't what you're looking for. I don't know how they decided to call it 'Belgian Wheat' but it's from DeDolle. I think it's a pretty neutral strain, although I've never used it at higher fermentation temps. I like it a lot as the the base for funky/sour beers, but on it's own it's very plain.

I've never used the wyeast wit strains, but I think 3944 is what you want. I think La Fin du Monde is more phenolic than estery.

 

[pdxal]

3522/Achouffe is getting a lot of attention lately for a nice balance of fruity and spicy flavors. Might be an option.
Just remember if you use 3787 have LOTS of headspace and warm it up at the end of fermentation to be sure it finishes. Last few gravity points are slow to come, but if you don't heat it up and give it time you'll have bottle bombs/gushers.

 

[natural320]

I did end up using the 3787, and despite using Fermcap, there was nearly a gallon's worth of krausen formed within 36 hours! fortunately, I only did a 3 gallon test batch, so there was plenty of room for the yeast to go batshizzle crazy