Yeast Suggestions for a Belgian Double IPA

[ListerH]

So... I'll be brewing a Belgian double IPA and with a slightly toned down bitterness (around 55 IBUs) and more floral/earthy flavor hopping, I'm worried about balance and ending up with a bit of a sweet mess!

To counter this I am looking at a yeast choice that can probably add some spicy / earthiness, that can tolerate high alcohol levels (OG should be around 1.098)… and attenuate high enough to chomp through the sweetness.

My first thoughts had been SafBrew T-58 (never used this yeast) but I a thinking that lower attenuation will leave me with the sweet mess I'm trying to avoid.

Any thoughts welcome!!

 

[ProblemChild]

I have recently done a hybrid DIPA/Belgian Wit with WLP400. I call it a hybrid as I really could not convince myself what it was - hoppy wit? Belgian IPA? Specialty IPA? who knows.

11.5 lb Franco-Belges Pils
2.50 lb Malted red wheat
.75 lb Carahell
.75 lb corn sugar (10 min left in boil)

Galaxy, Idaho 7, Mosaic, 1.5 oz fresh grated orange peel on the boil (@5 min). Hop Stand and Dry hop same hops

Worked out really well. It finished down about 1.008 which was really quite nice. IBU according to Beersmith was 60.

I only had to get an OG of 1.070 to hit 8% I kept the temps low to keep the yeast from expressing itself too strongly, but it still attenuated very well. Kept it at 66°F until gravity hit 1.020 then ratcheted it up to 72 degrees.

One thing that can be said, I feel it would have been even better with an IBU rating of 70 at that gravity.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have loved every batch that I have made with the Westmalle strain, wlp530. I have used it several times in clones of Westvleteren 12 and a golden strong ale. Both clocked in at 10-11% abv.

 

[couchsending]

Look for a Belgian strain that has slightly less phenol production. Lots of clove doesn’t go well with hops.

Don’t use T-58!!

Achouffe makes some of the better hoppy Belgian beers made with newer modern hops. Their yeast is 3522 or wlp550 and maybe my favorite Belgian yeast. It also is the only Belgian yeast that floccs really well which is nice. It’s slightly lower on the phenol production for sure and can be tweaked depending on temp.

WLP540 and 1762 are essentially the same strain. Both POf- strains that are essentially English Ale yeasts. They’re nice and fruity without the phenols.

WLP515 or Belgian Ale DK is also another great option. It’s a pretty clean Belgian strain that will let the hops shine. It’s hard to find but Northern brewer (gasp) and one other place online carry the Omega version called Belgian Ale DK. It’s the De Koninck strain.

 

[couchsending]

If you have to use a dry yeast I’d suggest BE-256. It’s the De Ranke yeast. Do a little research on their cellaring process to get the most out of it. It’s also POf- I believe but nice and fruity.

 

[Miraculix]

Look for a Belgian strain that has slightly less phenol production. Lots of clove doesn’t go well with hops.

Don’t use T-58!!

Achouffe makes some of the better hoppy Belgian beers made with newer modern hops. Their yeast is 3522 or wlp550 and maybe my favorite Belgian yeast. It also is the only Belgian yeast that floccs really well which is nice. It’s slightly lower on the phenol production for sure and can be tweaked depending on temp.

WLP540 and 1762 are essentially the same strain. Both POf- strains that are essentially English Ale yeasts. They’re nice and fruity without the phenols.

WLP515 or Belgian Ale DK is also another great option. It’s a pretty clean Belgian strain that will let the hops shine. It’s hard to find but Northern brewer (gasp) and one other place online carry the Omega version called Belgian Ale DK. It’s the De Koninck strain.

How tart does 3522 get? I'm not a big fan of tart Belgian yeasts, that's why I'm asking. Tried two dried ones, both tart, me not like.

 

[couchsending]

How tart does 3522 get? I'm not a big fan of tart Belgian yeasts, that's why I'm asking. Tried two dried ones, both tart, me not like.

To be honest I haven’t used it by itself
In a little while... I don’t remember it being overly tart. Maybe find some Achouffe and try theirs? I primarily used it for mixed fermentation beers. I primary with it and then will transfer and add just Brett or Brett and LAB. Certain Brett strains do some wonderful things to the esters it creates. I usually ferment it uncontrolled at 70 ambient. Supposedly if you overpitch it you can get an incredibly clean beer down around 58/60.

I believe it’s one of the primary strains that Anchorage uses a bunch. Gabe pitches it at 78 when using Brett in secondary with it. I generally don’t go that hot.

 

[GnenieGone]

My goto. Builds up nice yeast cake to dump a quad on it.

 

[SirSpectre]

Wyeast 3522 - Ardennes. Balanced esters, good flocculation. Used it a ton for Belgian Pales. Awesome yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

To be honest I haven’t used it by itself
In a little while... I don’t remember it being overly tart. Maybe find some Achouffe and try theirs? I primarily used it for mixed fermentation beers. I primary with it and then will transfer and add just Brett or Brett and LAB. Certain Brett strains do some wonderful things to the esters it creates. I usually ferment it uncontrolled at 70 ambient. Supposedly if you overpitch it you can get an incredibly clean beer down around 58/60.

I believe it’s one of the primary strains that Anchorage uses a bunch. Gabe pitches it at 78 when using Brett in secondary with it. I generally don’t go that hot.

Oh, nice information on the brett side of beer. Care to say which brett strain worked well for you when combined with 3522 and how long you let it work till bottling?

 

[SirSpectre]

Oh, nice information on the brett side of beer. Care to say which brett strain worked well for you when combined with 3522 and how long you let it work till bottling?

And personal preference with Brett: Wyeast 5112 - Brett Brux solo strain. I love the slight tartness it gives and restrained funk. Last time I used it for bottle conditioning and left it for 4 months. Perfect. It will keep sucking away for a quite a while if done with a full mixed. Leave it for 6 months, and neutral strain and bottle with sugar or force carb.

 

[couchsending]

All the Yeast Bay strains are awesome, I pretty much only use Brett from them.

I personally love TYB-184. It works incredibly fast and produces some acidity as well. I'll usually
pitch it when primary is finished and usually around 1.010. 184 takes it down to around 1.004-1.006.
It creates a lot of flavor. Wouldn't surprise me if it only took a month to get to that gravity and
flavor profile. I'm never tried to push it and just wait 2-3 months. pH will usually be around 3.9 with
no LAB.

 

[SirSpectre]

All the Yeast Bay strains are awesome, I pretty much only use Brett from them.

I personally love TYB-184. It works incredibly fast and produces some acidity as well. I'll usually
pitch it when primary is finished and usually around 1.010. 184 takes it down to around 1.004-1.006.
It creates a lot of flavor. Wouldn't surprise me if it only took a month to get to that gravity and
flavor profile. I'm never tried to push it and just wait 2-3 months. pH will usually be around 3.9 with
no LAB.

Also Brett Brux

 

[Northern_Brewer]

So... I'll be brewing a Belgian double IPA and with a slightly toned down bitterness (around 55 IBUs) and more floral/earthy flavor hopping, I'm worried about balance and ending up with a bit of a sweet mess!

To counter this I am looking at a yeast choice that can probably add some spicy / earthiness, that can tolerate high alcohol levels (OG should be around 1.098)… and attenuate high enough to chomp through the sweetness.

I guess the first thing to ask is what exactly do you mean by a "Belgian DIPA" - are you looking to be able to say that the yeast comes from Belgium, or are you looking for a yeast from anywhere in the world, that imparts Belgian-style phenolics? WLP515 Antwerp/3655 Schelde/Omega DK (or perhaps the cheapest, harvesting from a de Koninck bottle) brew like a US yeast, so they are a cute hack when you want to brew with Chico but feel obliged to have something with Belgium on the label.

Similar story with WLP540/1762, which is effectively a high-ABV version of Ringwood or S-04 - WLP540 is a British yeast that allegedly came to Rochefort after their consultant rummaged in the Palm yeast bank in the 1960s.

If you're looking to ferment out 1.098 then you're talking >11% ABV, which is going to limit what yeasts you can use - it knocks out the hefe/wit yeasts for instance unless you use a second yeast to finish the job. Ditto the de Koninck family.

If you're going for some phenolics, then an interesting choice might be WLP073 Artisanal Country Ale, a newish bière de garde strain which is currently on its ?first? release as a seasonal from White Labs. As it's so new nobody knows much about it, but it sounds promising - attenuation up to 80%, ABV tolerance 8-12%, "slight esters and mild phenols, while preserving the sweet aromatics from the malt bill. This strain fully attenuates, leaving the beer with a crisp, dry finish".

You might want to make a bière de garde or patersbier or something as a way to build up your cell count before making the big beer?