Wlp655 vs wy3278

[Cardassian]

Hi,

So I am planning my first lambic (with the intention of moving towards gueuze) and am trying to work out what yeasts to use.
I am thinks of a blend with other Brett added.
Does anyone know what strains are used in these?
Also does anyone have any experience its both these strains and could let me know what to expect/ what the differences are?
I figure I need to ask a lot as these beers are a big time investment.

Thanks in advance.

P.s. Would I be better mixing my own fro all individual strains and skip using a mix altogether?

 

[tagz]

I would probably do some experimenting before you select a blend/strain/dregs for a large batch. For my first sours I brewed up a 5 gallon batch and split it into 5 one gallon jugs (my neighbor drinks Carlo Rossi). I used Roselare as the base and then added specific bottle dregs to each one. Each batch ended up very different and it gave me a better sense of what I would want in a larger batch. The main take away was that commercial blend didn't sour much on its own. The dregs really provided most of the character.

 

[505-Brewer]

I have used wy3278 with dregs successfully. Excellent lambic in. 6-9 months before the brett really kicked in and I left it to age. Not sure what sours/dregs you can get but Lindemanns Oude Cuvee Renee is quite widely available and sours really well. Its quite lactic but the brett mixture in 3278 adds complexity. Very tasty. Mash hot or use maltodextrine for an extract batch. Make a batch every three months to keep the pipeline going. I find I really enjoy them young but have several year old batches going. Enjoy and please let us know how it goes. Cheers.

 

[secondbase]

Many strains of Brett are found in lambic (Brux,
Lambicus, Drie, etc). If you are looking for complexity I would recommend pitching bottle dregs of your favorite unpasteurized sour beers along with your blend. You won't learn much from a single pitch of Brett in a mix of bugs but if you're set on it I would recommend a fruity and aromatic strain like drie or Clausenii.

 

[mitchard]

I haven't used WLP655 yet, so I can't say much on the difference between the two. But I have used WY3278 several times in a couple different lambic-inspired beers, which are turning out pretty nice so far. As noted, dregs are key for getting a deeper, more complex beer. The WY/WLP pitches will work on their own, but the dregs will definitely add more to them. I've heard both strains can be pretty unimpressive on their own.

 

[tagz]

As above, my only caution is that if you add lots of dregs you might end up with a very acidic beer or something undesirable. Someone above mentioned Cuvee Rene. My one gallon jug of Roselare + CR is a diacetyl bomb (even 4 months after bottling). Another was so acidic it could only be used for blending. Just be aware that biodiversity can be a great thing, but tossing all your favorite sours into one batch might not give you what you're looking for.

 

[Cardassian]

Cheers for the information guys.
Unfortunately over here in New Zealand it's hard to find unpasteurised beers to get dregs from. That's why I was thinking of mixing the commercially available varieties.
Will continue to look out for some commercial beers to collect dregs from.

 

[tagz]

Ah gotcha. I did read a post at Brewerij Chugach that might be useful. He won some awards with 3278. Sounds like it might have more character than Roselare at least.

https://brouwerijchugach.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/lambiek-zomer/

 

[Cardassian]

Ah gotcha. I did read a post at Brewerij Chugach that might be useful. He won some awards with 3278. Sounds like it might have more character than Roselare at least.

https://brouwerijchugach.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/lambiek-zomer/

Great article. Thank you very much.