Something like WLP026, only better?

[riromero]

I made an ESB several months ago with WLP026 "Premium Bitter Ale" yeast. The ester profile was perfect. Sort of fruity but too complex for me to describe accurately. It also pulled my 1.055 wort way, way down to 1.005 or so. As a result, the beer had a harsh alcohol taste for a long time. The harshness went away eventually but the beer was still very, very dry.

I'm wondering whether there is an alternative English style yeast that will give me a complex, fruity ester profile without the high attenuation of WLP026?

 

[Brew-boy]

There are several other fine English ale yeast from White labs my personal favorite is WLP002 you can try WLP005 as well. A harsh alcohol is a fermentation issue, what did you ferment at?

 

[mysterio]

Try the Burton Ale yeast, I forget which number it is. Very complex ester profile, quite distinctive. Thats what British beers are about, the yeast malt and hops playing in symphony without one dominating.

 

[riromero]

There are several other fine English ale yeast from White labs my personal favorite is WLP002 you can try WLP005 as well. A harsh alcohol is a fermentation issue, what did you ferment at?

I actually tried WLP002 since then. It doesn't have the pleasing ester flavor like WLP026. Is WLP005 more distinctive than 002?

And I fermented at 65F which is even lower than White Labs recommended. Many others have reported WLP026 fermenting hot here also, so I don't think it's my procedure.

 

[greenbirds]

+1 on WLP026. I made a 1.063 English IPA that finished at about 1.006 and tasted pretty hot and with a slight funk. Left it in bottles for 5 months, but it never really mellowed out. May have been a sanitation issue, so don't take my statements to the bank.

WLP023 would be worth looking into; that yeast produces some nice fruity esters. Looking at White Labs website, WLP005 or WLP006 might also be possibilities.

 

[bmock]

+1 on WLP026. I made a 1.063 English IPA that finished at about 1.006 and tasted pretty hot and with a slight funk. Left it in bottles for 5 months, but it never really mellowed out. May have been a sanitation issue, so don't take my statements to the bank.

Holy thread revival!

I was Googling WLP026 because I just had an entire batch of Brown go down the sink last night. They were all gushers. Normally I would suck it up and blame sanitation, but this wasn't the typical infection. I had a ton of particulate in each bottle and the whole sink smelled like rot. Not sour, not horseblanket. I see that WLP026 isn't on their release schedule this year. Problems maybe?

Anyhow, I saw on another thread that this yeast is "ugly" and that it attenuates to close to 90%. Maybe I bottled too early. I doubt it since it was in the primary for 3 weeks. Ug. I hate this yeast.

 

[remilard]

Not used 026 but fullers (002, 1968) has an ester profile I like in bitters (more berry like than banana) and is a low attenuator. The only thing I dislike is that it is probably the most flocculant yeast in existence (like extreme) and it is difficult to wash. I would rarely use it for anything terribly big (low attenuation) so it isn't a huge hardship to just make a starter and not deal with reusing it. If you are a hardcore repitcher, I would avoid it.

 

[riromero]

Holy thread revival!

I was Googling WLP026 because I just had an entire batch of Brown go down the sink last night. They were all gushers. Normally I would suck it up and blame sanitation, but this wasn't the typical infection. I had a ton of particulate in each bottle and the whole sink smelled like rot. Not sour, not horseblanket. I see that WLP026 isn't on their release schedule this year. Problems maybe?

Anyhow, I saw on another thread that this yeast is "ugly" and that it attenuates to close to 90%. Maybe I bottled too early. I doubt it since it was in the primary for 3 weeks. Ug. I hate this yeast.

I may have given the impression in my original post that I was giving this yeast the thumbs-down. But it's quite the opposite. The ESB I made with this was one of the best beers I've ever made. The taste complexity of the yeast with a moderate level of hops was just fantastic. The only minor drawback for my tastes was the overt dryness (which many of my friends preferred). I was hoping to find a yeast strain with a similar ester profile that attenuates lower. Then I would arrive at homebrew Nirvana.

But my WLP026 batches have also been the ones that change most dramatically over time. The taste at 2 weeks, during transfer to secondary was foul; close to dumpable even. At five weeks the foulness was replaced by a harsh rubbing alcohol taste. I kept going, and eventually, to my amazement, it turned into the best I've ever made.