Wyeast german ale 1007

[autonomist3k]

I'm fermenting a wheat beer with wyeast 1007, The beginning of the fermentation was in upper part of the range at 65 degrees, I've since raised it slowly to 68 to help it clean up. It was a very vigorous fermentation, I lost about a pint out of my blow off tube.
From everything I've read about the yeast it seems that it's supposed to be a neutral yeast, but I'm tasting cloves and bananas, is this normal for this yeast or could I have messed it up somehow?

 

[pdxal]

It's throwing clove and banana flavor because you fermented it warm and it is a wheat beer grist with plenty of precursors for those flavors. Range for 1007 is listed as 55-68, and fermenting at 65 degrees room temp with a vigorous fermentation probably had the wort temp at 70+. I wonder if maybe you underpitched it and didn't oxygenate as well.

 

[autonomist3k]

I used a proper size starter and oxygenated using pure oxygen and an oxygen stone.
I also use a fermentation chamber with the temp probe taped to the side of the carboy, so my fermentation temps should be pretty precise.

Could those flavors be cleaned up by the yeast during conditioning?

 

[pdxal]

Doubtful, but might as well wait and see. Good luck.

 

[autonomist3k]

Thanks, and now I wait..

 

[Codfishhead]

That’s one of my go too yeast. Used it in over a dozen beers in the last couple months. It’s a very neutral yeast.

I have never had any kind of banana coming off it. Are you sure you pitch enough?

 

[m00ps]

I use it in the high 50s low 60s and theres usually a tiny bit of sulfur/egg aroma when its very young. Cleans up just fine though. Never had any hefe-like aromas
I've never used it in wheat though

 

[autonomist3k]

I'm 100% sure I pitched enough, did a starter with the beersmith pitching rate calculator.

I let it sit for about an hour on the counter in the hydrometer cylinder and tasted it again and didn't pick up those flavors any more, it then tasted like a young beer to me, maybe my perception changed for some reason, or maybe while it sat there the co2 coming out of solution carried those aromas away.

 

[BrotherBock]

From everything I've read about the yeast it seems that it's supposed to be a neutral yeast

It is, but not when fermenting as warm as you have it. 1007 can ferment way cooler. Ferment in the mid 50's to get a much cleaner beer. I've tried a Kolsch that used this yeast fermenting in the low to mid 60's and I thought it was very unlike a kolsch. Way too many esters.

 

[highgravitybacon]

It's throwing clove and banana flavor because you fermented it warm and it is a wheat beer grist with plenty of precursors for those flavors. Range for 1007 is listed as 55-68, and fermenting at 65 degrees room temp with a vigorous fermentation probably had the wort temp at 70+. I wonder if maybe you underpitched it and didn't oxygenate as well.

Barley has more 4VG precursor than wheat. The most common cause for phenolics is wild yeast contamination or chlorine in water.

 

[autonomist3k]

It's not flavors I would think is from wild yeast, and I filter the chlorine out of my water, I'm pretty sure that this flavor is because I fermented at the top of the yeast range as a couple others said.
What is 4VG??

 

[pdxal]

4VG is 4-vinyl-guaiacol. It causes clove flavor (and perhaps some other phenols) and is a product of the breakdown of ferulic acid in malt. It is generally thought to be more predominant in wheat malt and in beers made with a certain genotype.
Chlorophenols would cause a band aid or medicinal flavor.
Banana flavor/aroma is an ester and wouldn't likely come from contamination or chlorophenols.
To cause a lot of clove on purpose one would typically perform a ferulic acid rest around 44°C as well as ferment a wheat yeast cooler and perhaps overpitch (though Stan Hieronymous mentions a variety of opinions on this belief in Brewing With Wheat as does Kai Troester).

 

[autonomist3k]

Wow, good info, thanks!