Nut brown ale with WLP 037 Yorkshire Square

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Kaz

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I am having my third glass of a nut brown ale that went into the fermenter around January 2nd. Kegged it on 2/5/2011 and put it on at about 12 psi. I'm wondering if anyone else has used this yeast, this was my first go at it and I bought it on a whim. I like the beer, it just has some flavor that I'm attributing to the yeast, an almost wheatish, clove taste. Anyone else brew a brown ale with Yorkshire Square and if so, what flavor did you get from it? Here's the recipe I used...all grains were steeped at 160F for 30mins.

.5lb Crystal 60L
.5lb Chocolate malt
.5lb Victory
.25lb Munich 10L
7lb Golden light LME
.5oz Williamette 60mins
.5oz Northern Brewer 30mins
.5oz Williamette 15 mins

Pitched a 1.5L Yorkshire square starter at 60F and fermented at 64F for 4 weeks. Kept it at 64-65 during the first 2 weeks. Then kegged. Thanks for any input.
 
I also got the same clovey test in my ordinary bitter. I've noticed this same taste in a more subtle amount in the actual Samuel Smith beer too. A review on White Labs also notes the same "medicinal" taste. I'm guessing it would age out, but seeing as you've had it in keg for a month, I don't know if it will. Have you noticed if the clovey flavor has diminished at all since you kegged it at the start?
 
It was 3 weeks in the keg before I tried it. Like I said, its not an unpleasant taste, just not what I expected. But, I guess since I've never used WLP37, I didn't really no what to expect. A lot of the reviews say that it adds or enhances the nutty flavor of a nut brown ale. I guess the flavor I get could be nutty more so than clove. I'm wondering if my lower ferm temps contributed to the flavor. Anyone used this yeast a bunch and tried it at different temps?
 
I've used this strain in a similar nut brown as well as an oatmeal stout and ordinary bitter before it. I've fermented on the cool side and two batches without much temperature monitoring and I can't say I've gotten "clove" from it. However, I've not been all too pleased with this strain as I too have gotten an unexpected flavor from it. Judges didn't pick up on off-flavors and the brown won 2nd place in a competition (it was 10% amber malt plus an ounce or two of chocolate). I haven't been able to pinpoint the nature or cause of the flavor, and in a way I'm leaning towards a slight infection, bad lot, or mismanaged handling. I've gotten some diacetyl from it and perhaps some mineral notes too.

I'd like to compare the strain side by side with another English strain (or just brew another string of beers) to help me rectify what's going on. I have frozen stocks of this yeast and would like to keep it.
 
After reusing this yeast in an IPA, I can say that it again has a distinct nutty/clove flavor to it. When the beer is young it defintely leans more towards clove, but after conditioning in bottles it becomes more nutty and highlights the malt flavors. As I said before this flavor is present in Samuel Smith's beers though at much lower levels.
 
After a few more weeks in the keg, I've come to really like the flavor this yeast throws off. The clove has faded a bit and the nuttiness really comes through. If I let my Nut Brown warm up a little in the glass, the malt flavors really start to come out too. I wish I had washed and saved some since it is only around in the fall.
 
I just pitched this in a brown about 4 days ago....I'm excited....i used wyeasts version and loved it in my ESB...can't wait to try it ...

are they the same does anyone know?
 
I've also got the "clove" character from this yeast others are talking about. This was my first time using it and I made a best bitter (SMASH). It was 100% Marris Otter & 100% Goldings. Nothing to get in the way of the yeast flavor which I think was the issue with the "clove" character coming through too much. It's been in the keg about a month and some of the yeast flavor has gone away but it's still there. Don't get me wrong the beer is mighty tasty, just not what I was shooting for.

As far as fermentation goes, pitched the appropriate sized starter and fermented on the cool side ~62 (maybe this is the issue?), no long lag time or anything else like that.

I washed the yeast and am going to try it in a nut brown this weekend. I'm interested in seeing how the yeast will perform in a darker maltier beer.

Has anyone else had more experience with this yeast in terms of what temperature is optimal?
 
I think if you search for Yorkshire Square yeast, there is a pretty long thread on some others' experiences with temps and other variables. I think its a great yeast, it just throws some pretty strong flavors that one needs to be aware of before fermenting. It probably does really well with a strong malt bill to balance it out.
 
I just pitched this in a brown about 4 days ago....I'm excited....i used wyeasts version and loved it in my ESB...can't wait to try it ...

are they the same does anyone know?

As far as I now they're different yeast. Wyeast 1469 is Timothy Taylor's yeast, while WLP 037 is apparently Samuel Smith's.
 
why aren't these regular releases? I think there are other strains to you could do the same with...as far as I can tell there is no mark up in price...i don't get it. 1469 is right now my favorite yeast I've used to date. i would buy it regularly. is that why they don't release them...demand? I wouldn't think it to be any more than 001 or 1056. just trying to understand it.
 
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