Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
One of the most interesting things to come out of the Gallone et al yeast family tree paper from 2016 is the presence of two strains, of Belgian and British origin respectively, at the heart of the US group of yeast typified by Chico and BRY-97. Presumably they represent a connection with the origins of that group. Suregork & friends' recent work has tentatively identified them as WLP030 Thames Valley & WLP515 Antwerp, and the White Labs description of them certainly sounds plausible :
WLP030: "Very flocculant strain for all things English. Great for porters, stouts and ESBs. Lower ester production than most English strains but creates a bigger mouthfeel than most cleaner strains. Attenuation 72-78%"
WLP515: "Clean, almost lager-like Belgian-type ale yeast. Good for producing Belgian-style pale and amber ales, or for blends combining other Belgian-type strains. Presents a biscuity aroma while accentuating hop flavors and bitterness. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation, which can give the yeast a lager-like flavor profile. Medium flocculation, attenuation 73-80%, 67-70°F (19-21°C)"
Looking at the Gallone phenotype data which analysed esters etc produced at 30°C, almost nothing is as clean as WLP030, it's much cleaner than WLP001 for instance. Assuming Suregork's identifications are correct, the only yeast that are cleaner are WLP023 Burton (which is below average for all esters and fusels tested, but is a rather different yeast) and WLP320 American Hefe, along with the POF+ WLP037 Yorkshire Square and the POF+ BE087 ale-yeast-from-lager which _may_ be WLP800 Pilsner. One other mystery is where it might have come from - I'm struggling with the idea of porters and stouts in the Thames Valley, unless it was from Courage or something? Unfortunately the fact that it's been a Vault strain that appeared to be "just another English strain" means there's very few reviews of it, but it's got to be worth a go as a yeast that appears to be cleaner and better floccing than Chico? If nothing else it would allow British brewers (and Belgians with WLP515) to claim some local terroir when brewing their hoppy stuff?
WLP515 has been released on a regular basis in September-ish and is now on the Vault waiting list. Omega explicitly say that their OYL-049 Belgian Ale DK is equivalent, and Wyeast 3655-PC Belgian Schelde is a clean yeast "from East Flanders-Antwerpen". Or it could be easier to just buy a bottle of de Koninck - I've not seen anything definite to say that they bottle with the production strain but it certainly has lots of yeast. They actually make quite a feature of drinking the dregs after the beer, other breweries even make branded shot glasses for the purpose.
The DNA and phenotype data suggests that WLP515 is best regarded as a sibling of BRY-97, WLP051 California V and WLP090 San Diego - clean but with a characteristic spike in propyl acetate (pear/pear drops). But noone thinks of it like that because of the name, so they make Belgian beers with it when perhaps they would be better making hoppy stuff instead. But they seem to like it :
White Labs reviews :
WLP030: "Very flocculant strain for all things English. Great for porters, stouts and ESBs. Lower ester production than most English strains but creates a bigger mouthfeel than most cleaner strains. Attenuation 72-78%"
WLP515: "Clean, almost lager-like Belgian-type ale yeast. Good for producing Belgian-style pale and amber ales, or for blends combining other Belgian-type strains. Presents a biscuity aroma while accentuating hop flavors and bitterness. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation, which can give the yeast a lager-like flavor profile. Medium flocculation, attenuation 73-80%, 67-70°F (19-21°C)"
Looking at the Gallone phenotype data which analysed esters etc produced at 30°C, almost nothing is as clean as WLP030, it's much cleaner than WLP001 for instance. Assuming Suregork's identifications are correct, the only yeast that are cleaner are WLP023 Burton (which is below average for all esters and fusels tested, but is a rather different yeast) and WLP320 American Hefe, along with the POF+ WLP037 Yorkshire Square and the POF+ BE087 ale-yeast-from-lager which _may_ be WLP800 Pilsner. One other mystery is where it might have come from - I'm struggling with the idea of porters and stouts in the Thames Valley, unless it was from Courage or something? Unfortunately the fact that it's been a Vault strain that appeared to be "just another English strain" means there's very few reviews of it, but it's got to be worth a go as a yeast that appears to be cleaner and better floccing than Chico? If nothing else it would allow British brewers (and Belgians with WLP515) to claim some local terroir when brewing their hoppy stuff?
WLP515 has been released on a regular basis in September-ish and is now on the Vault waiting list. Omega explicitly say that their OYL-049 Belgian Ale DK is equivalent, and Wyeast 3655-PC Belgian Schelde is a clean yeast "from East Flanders-Antwerpen". Or it could be easier to just buy a bottle of de Koninck - I've not seen anything definite to say that they bottle with the production strain but it certainly has lots of yeast. They actually make quite a feature of drinking the dregs after the beer, other breweries even make branded shot glasses for the purpose.
The DNA and phenotype data suggests that WLP515 is best regarded as a sibling of BRY-97, WLP051 California V and WLP090 San Diego - clean but with a characteristic spike in propyl acetate (pear/pear drops). But noone thinks of it like that because of the name, so they make Belgian beers with it when perhaps they would be better making hoppy stuff instead. But they seem to like it :
I just went to White Lab's tap room last week and tried a Porter brewed with 5 different yeast strains and was immediately and fully SHOCKED at the huge mouthfeel from White Lab's "Antwerp Ale" strain. 5 beers brewed with the same wort and 5 different yeast strains; one with hugely velvety mouthfeel.
It's a nice, very mellow, belgian strain that puts off a lot of sulphur during fermentation. Probably the cleanest "belgian" yeast I've used. Don't expect a lot of belgian estery/phenolic quality from it....
I was pretty disappointed with 515. It can be super clean without any Belgian character if you don't hit the right temp ranges...
It is a cleanish strain, with a nice smooth mouthfeel, and only a very subtle fruit/spice belgian charecter. It also makes a solid biere de garde...
I absolutely love 515, best Belgian strain out there, imo. But I'm not much of a fan of the overly phenolic and estery character us Americans tend to expect in Belgian ale. [@Brulosopher]...
The finished beer initially had a pretty big citrus zing, more than I would have liked. In talking to other people, it was probably a combination of the yeast (others have said it tends to have citrus notes)...Definitely minimal esters! I'd say it's almost bordering on boring, to the point that I might as well have just used US-05...
It's about as clean as you'll get for an ale yeast. I have got some plum out of higher temps...
Tastes & smells like a Belgian style ale thankfully. Not a lot of esters, which is what I was looking for...
I highly recommend the DeKoninck strain, WLP515 Antwerp Ale Yeast. It's clean-fermenting with a slight fruitiness. I ferment low, around 64, then lager for a month as I prefer my BPA super clean, but a lot of folks around here ferment 515 in the low 70's with a saison-ish temperature ramp to boost the esters.
I used the Wyeast Schelde in my Belgian Pale Ale this winter and it got me 3rd place in its category at the War of the Worts here on the east coast. It fermented a little cool (around 63F) but there was a tartness I don't get from other strains....
The Antwerp was definitely more subdued...almost too subdued and rather one dimensional...
I plan on keeping it down near 66 for the first few days, letting it rise, and then cold conditioning in the garage, to try to replicate the process used at DeKoninck.
seems to bottom ferment, produces a tiny krausen, and kicks off lots of sulfur just like many lager strains. At 68*F it is mostly clean but a little spicy, has a great character without all the crazy phenolics a lot of Belgians produce. If you can find it, I would recommend you give it a try, I love that yeast.
Fermenting in the low 70s (ambient temperature) worked out great. The beer ended up with a good amount of belgian funk to it.
White Labs reviews :
"My Favorite Yeast"
I concluded that WLP515 was consistently creating the types of beer I fell in love with while in Belgium...Fermenting this yeast on the cool end of the spectrum (64-65F) in a pale beer together with the right amount of noble hops (this yeast pairs perfectly with Tettnanger), will resemble something close to a German Pils, with just a touch of esters and almost non-existent phenols. Fermenting on the higher end (70-71F) will, in my opinion, create the most amazing Belgian style blonds or dubbels you've ever had, producing a very subtle and balanced background of esters and phenols. Looking to brew a Belgian style Pale Ale? Ferment with this strain mid-range (67-68F) and you'll hit a home run.
"LOVE this strain, wish it was more readily available. "
I've used this strain a few times now to make a belgian amber loosely based on Palm Speciale. I've tried a few other strains but none of them quit hit the mark. Does not have the strong phenolic or ester character of most belgians, but instead does a good job of balancing the malt and hops. Just won my first home brew competition using this strain.
Fermented an all-grain batch with O.G. of 1.060 at 64-66F. Final result had a sharp, mildly unpleasant after-taste at 6 weeks that completely disappeared by 8 weeks, leaving a very tasty brew - wow!
If Belgium could lay claim to a WLP001 California Ale type of yeast, WLP515 Antwerp Ale could possibly be it. It ferments out clean-like (as Belgian yeast goes) and it displays favoritism to hops – simply use less, if you prefer, and the malt balance is there. It does a very good job at making refreshing lighter beers and they tend to taste better fresh as opposed to modestly aged – you may notice some spice or citrus zest adjustment is necessary in the recipe as the beer mellows. WLP515 is fairly active in the first generation and it is a relatively fast ferment once it gets underway and in successive generations. It consistently has a rocky kraeusen even if fermented lower than the recommended temperature range. It will ferment quite successfully at 48-50 degrees F and is surprisingly active in this temperature range – most other ale yeasts would seem pretty sleepy – and it is even faster than many lager yeasts in this range. But for fermentation time versus flavor profile WLP515 really shines at about 65 degrees F or so – this gives the most flavor bang for the buck. If you want lots of earth or fruit or banana or bubble gun or spicy phenolic flavors in your beer then this yeast will disappoint you – it’s much too tame for that.
Last edited: