Safbrew WB-06 for a Belgian Golden Strong ale

[Mark yeah]

I've cooled the WB-06 to 3C for its conditioning phase. I was a little concerned that it may not have carbonated, so I applied what seemed like a picojoule of energy on the pressure release valve and it wanted to take off like a rocket! No problems there then.

I also transferred the WLP-570 from lagering into a keg and primed with the requisite amount of dextrose and priming yeast. I have to say, it smelled right on the money as far as pear/lemon esters go, very reminiscent of Duvel. I can't recall the WB-06 having the same aroma when kegging, but I couldn't really smell a lot back then so I will won't draw any conclusions just yet.

The WLP-570 will be 2-3 weeks behind the WB-06, so all going well I should be tasting mid-late February.

 

[Miraculix]

I've cooled the WB-06 to 3C for its conditioning phase. I was a little concerned that it may not have carbonated, so I applied what seemed like a picojoule of energy on the pressure release valve and it wanted to take off like a rocket! No problems there then.

I also transferred the WLP-570 from lagering into a keg and primed with the requisite amount of dextrose and priming yeast. I have to say, it smelled right on the money as far as pear/lemon esters go, very reminiscent of Duvel. I can't recall the WB-06 having the same aroma when kegging, but I couldn't really smell a lot back then so I will won't draw any conclusions just yet.

The WLP-570 will be 2-3 weeks behind the WB-06, so all going well I should be tasting mid-late February.

Thanks for keeping us updated! I'm really looking forward to reading the final results!

 

[zasada]

And how it's going?
I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the experiment...

 

[Mark yeah]

And how it's going?

And how it's going?
I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the experiment...

The wlp570 has one week left of carbonating in the keg, then a month of conditioning at 3C. The few I bottled have firmed up nicely already so I'm not anticipating any issues, although I'm giving it an extra week just to be sure.
Ive resisted the temptation to try the WB06 (which is cold conditioning) as I want to do something of a blind side-by-side when they're both ready.

 

[Miraculix]

The wlp570 has one week left of carbonating in the keg, then a month of conditioning at 3C. The few I bottled have firmed up nicely already so I'm not anticipating any issues, although I'm giving it an extra week just to be sure.
Ive resisted the temptation to try the WB06 (which is cold conditioning) as I want to do something of a blind side-by-side when they're both ready.

Good plan!

 

[Mark yeah]

WLP570 keg is now in conditioning at 3C where it will stay for 4 weeks, which means I'll be targeting the 24th of Feb for the grand unveiling and tasting. In the meantime, I need to source a commercial bottle of Duvel...

 

[zasada]

Still impatiently waiting...

 

[Miraculix]

Still impatiently waiting...

#2!!!

 

[Mark yeah]

Me too. I've got a bottle of Duvel so let's just hope I don't die in the next 10 days

 

[Miraculix]

Me too. I've got a bottle of Duvel so let's just hope I don't die in the next 10 days

Fingers crossed!

 

[Mark yeah]

It's Friday, and despite the best efforts of a major cyclone:

Cyclone Gabrielle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and a pretty reasonable earthquake:

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred 50 km north-west of Paraparaumu, New Zealand on Wed Feb 15 2023 7:38 PM. The quake was 54 kilometres deep and the shaking was strong close to the quake.

The quake may have been felt in Amberley, Arthur's Pass, Blenheim, Cambridge, Castlepoint, Cheviot, Collingwood, Culverden, Dannevirke, Eketahuna, Feilding, French Pass, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Hanmer Springs, Hastings, Hawera, Hunterville, Kaikoura, Karamea, Kawhia, Levin, Martinborough...

www.geonet.org.nz

I've managed to survive. So tonight's the night! I'll be tasting the beers and reporting the results. Stay tuned!

 

[Mark yeah]

All beers poured with a massive white fluffy head, carbonation being no issue. The Duvel was, perhaps, slightly lighter in hue, but not a lot of difference in appearance

 

[Mark yeah]

So here are my tasting notes without any editing:

Blind 1
Aroma: fresh, yeasty, slight lemon
Taste: bready, light esters, tartness, slight esters (pear/lemon)


Blind 2
Aroma: mild grain, slight lemon, slight pear
Taste: bready, light esters (pear), slight yeast bite, tart


Duvel
Aroma: pear, slight lemon, esters
Taste: Stronger pear and lemon esters, zingy, slight caramel/diacetyl

 

[Mark yeah]

Beer 1 is WB-06
Beer 2 is WLP-570

There really is very little separating these beers, they are almost interchangeable. I would say I preferred the WB-06 slightly over the WLP-570 as it didn't have the slight yeast bite, which was down to my brewing rather than anything wrong with the yeast.

The Duvel was superior to both my beers (which was not unexpected) and contained more of a "zingy" ester profile. It also had almost no bready/grainy flavours and what I can only describe as a plasticky, estery flavour which I find a common trait in commercial beers vs homebrew (anyone else find this??)

I would certainly recommend WB-06 for this beer style and would be curious to see how others get on with it. I'm also curious to see how time affects these beers, and will update this thread as they change.

 

[beervoid]

Beer 1 is WB-06
Beer 2 is WLP-570

There really is very little separating these beers, they are almost interchangeable. I would say I preferred the WB-06 slightly over the WLP-570 as it didn't have the slight yeast bite, which was down to my brewing rather than anything wrong with the yeast.

The Duvel was superior to both my beers (which was not unexpected) and contained more of a "zingy" ester profile. It also had almost no bready/grainy flavours and what I can only describe as a plasticky, estery flavour which I find a common trait in commercial beers vs homebrew (anyone else find this??)

I would certainly recommend WB-06 for this beer style and would be curious to see how others get on with it. I'm also curious to see how time affects these beers, and will update this thread as they change.

Give it some time, probably they centrifuge at duvel

 

[Protos]

Nice blind tasting comparison!
I noticed you mentioned tartness in both your homebrewed beers but not in Duvel. Does Duvel taste significantly less tart than the WB-06 beer?

 

[Mark yeah]

Nice blind tasting comparison!
I noticed you mentioned tartness in both your homebrewed beers but not in Duvel. Does Duvel taste significantly less tart than the WB-06 beer?

No - and I did realise this afterwards. They were all similar in this respect, WB-06 no more than the others

 

[beervoid]

Any phenolic banana flavors?

 

[Mark yeah]

Any phenolic banana flavors?

None whatsoever on any of the beers. The commercial beer was a little more forward with esters, but they were all fairly subdued compared to other Belgian yeasts

 

[Miraculix]

Thank you!