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White Labs WLP300 Yeast Review

White Labs has always been a favorite of mine, no matter the yeast variety, they produce excellent beer and are very reliable yeasts. Aside from the fact that you get a great product, you get a really cool test tube looking vial that is already labeled, which you can use to store harvested yeast after your primary fermentation is complete.

One yeast that I can give nothing but rave reviews to is the WLP300 German Hefeweizen yeast. From the quick start, the raging fermentation and excellent final flavor profile, this yeast is a show stopper in your summer Hefeweizen. Below are some stats on this yeast and how I have effectively used it in my beers. Mrmalty lists this as the strain as Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen Yeast.

• Starter recommended?: YES
• Starter size (for 5 gallons): 1 quart
• Starter OG: 1.040 – 1.050
• Starter incubation time: 24 hours
• Blow off recommended?: YES
• Optimum fermentation temperature: 68F-72F
• Suggested ambient air temp during first 24 hours of fermentation: 65F
• Suggested ambient air temperature after 24 hours of fermentation: 70F
• Scent during fermentation: Bananas
• Flavor profile: Bananas and cloves
• Flocculation: LOW
• Attenuation: 72%-76%

Liquid yeasts yield a much lower cell count than the common 11g dry yeast packets. Dry yeast are also packed with nutrients and reserves so they are ready to ferment immediately after being re hydrated, liquid yeasts are not. This is why a starter is imperative. 24 hours is all that is really required to get this yeast really cranking and ready to pitch. See how to make a yeast starter at brewersfriend.com.

Typically with this yeast, my beer OG is low, 1.040 – 1.050 and the volume is 5.0 gallons. For the proper pitching rate for the above described conditions you will need about 158 BILLION yeast cells, requiring a 1qt starter. Quickly boiling up some DME OR using your actual wort from your brew and allowing the yeast to incubate for about 24 hours is all that you need to get this yeast ready to brew.

The ambient air temperature is important to note with this yeast as it ferments. Optimum fermentation temperatures are tight, between 68-72F, so temperature control is imperative for good consistent results. After pitching, this yeast will require approximately 8-10 hours to show real visible signs of fermentation. Fermentation is violent, heating up the wort to at least 5-7F greater than the ambient temperature. Therefore when fermentation begins, it is best to keep the ambient temperature at approximately 65F for the first 24 hours of violent fermentation, after this point you should safely be able to raise the ambient temperature to 70F to finish the remainder of the fermentation. Due to the violent fermentation associated with WLP300, a blow off tube is required, you can expect up to a quart of fluid to blow out of a typical 6 gallon fermenter.

Please note that on each vial of White Labs yeast it claims to be pitchable yeast, direct from the vial. While this may be true, in most cases you will be under pitching into your wort, experience a longer lag time and a less desirable fermentation.

See how to brew the CCB Hugh Hefeweizen with this yeast at brewersfriend.com.

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How To Make a Yeast Starter (OG 1.040)

Creating a simple starter can help assure viability of your yeast prior to brew day, it can also work very effectively to increase the yeast cell count so that you do not under pitch (too few yeast cells) your brew. Under pitching can stress your yeast, impede a healthy fermentation, increase lag time and lead to off flavors. Create your starter anywhere from 24-72 hours prior to pitching.

When to use a yeast starter:

• First, check our Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator.  In general, for a typical ale – 11 grams of dry yeast is enough.  With liquid yeast, a starter is recommend to hit the pro pitching rate (which you want).
• When brewing a beer with an OG of 1.060 or greater – ALWAYS.
• When brewing  a Lager beer – ALWAYS – the colder fermentation temperature requires a higher yeast pitching rate.  A 1-2 quart starter has always been sufficient for my five gallon batches of Munich Helles or Oktoberfest.
• If your yeast is old or past its expiration, stepping it up with a starter is safer, but you should always try to use the freshest yeast possible. Liquid yeast is pretty much completely dead after just under 5 months.
• Yeast pitch rates is a complicated subject, click here to read our article Yeast Pitch Rates Explained.

What you need to create a simple starter:

• Extra light DME (3-4oz)
• 1 quart water
• 4-6 quart sauce pan with lid
• Pyrex flask or a 1 gallon glass carboy
• Tin foil
• Room temperature liquid yeast or dry yeast that has been re hydrated in 95F-105F water

The process:

• Bring 1.5 quarts of water to a boil in the sauce pan.
• Measure 3-4 oz of DME and introduce this to the boiling water, stir well, boil 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from heat, placing lid on the sauce pan.
• The boiling process should have reduced the volume to ~1 quart.
• Cool the starter wort in a shallow, cold water bath or in the refrigerator until it reaches the target fermentation temperature of the beer you will brew with it.
• Once cool, pour the starter wort into a sanitized flask or carboy.
• Secure a piece of tin foil on the opening of the flask or carboy and shake vigorously to aerate the wort.
• Pitch the yeast (add yeast into the flask / carboy containing the aerated wort).
• Seal container with a clean piece of foil, or a cork fitted with an air lock.
• Place starter in a dark area where it can maintain the proper temperature for fermentation.

When you are ready to use the starter you can swirl the flask/carboy to rouse the yeast and pitch the entire volume of the starter into your awaiting wort. Likewise, you can chill the starter after fermentation to facilitate the settling of the yeast, on brew day decant the “beer” from the flask/carboy and pitch only the yeast slurry left in the bottom. The starter should start bubbling in about 24 hours and can be pithced into your batch 24-48 hours later (ideal), or up to a week if you refridgerate it.

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Yeast terminology attenuation and flocculation

Flocculation describes the process of yeast sticking and clumping together once all the nutrients have been used. As the yeast gathers, they become too heavy to remain in suspension in the beer, and fall to the bottom of the fermenter, mixing with the sediment and nutrients. Home-brewed beer can use yeast to carbonate bottles (aka bottle conditioning), so this process also occurs in the bottles, causing the yeast and ‘trub’ to form a thin layer along the bottom of the bottle.

The strength of this “clumping” is determined by a host of factors from O2 levels in the beer, temperature, and nutrient levels, but the primary factor seems to be the strain of yeast itself (in truth, flocculation is still being researched, and has a few mysteries remaining.) Flocculation occurs near the end of the yeast life cycle, so a yeast that flocculates early will not convert as much sugar, and result in a lower-than-expected alcohol content. Strong flocculation gives a clearer beer, while weaker flocculation can lead to a cloudy beer, sometimes with a yeasty taste. Hefeweizen yeast is a good example of a strain that has very low flocculation, meaning a lot of it is left behind in suspension. Traditional non filtered hefeweizens should look cloudy from the yeast (not the wheat as some might think).  The clove like signature flavor in a hefeweizen comes from the yeast.

Attenuation describes the overall efficiency of a yeast strain in converting sugars into alcohol under a specific set of conditions. Higher gravity beers require the use of yeasts with higher attenuation rates. Attenuation is listed as a percentage, meaning the percentage of sugars present in the wort that get converted into alcohol. Most beer yeasts have a 65-80% attenuation rate. Wine & mead yeasts have a higher attenuation rate. The exact attenuation rate can be found for a given beer by comparing the starting (pre-yeast) original gravity (OG) to the final gravity (FG) of the finished beer.

When selecting yeasts, the beer style should be considered. When brewing a Belgian Witbier, a yeast strain with a 65-70% attenuation rate would be appropriate. A “stronger” yeast (higher attenuation) could be used, resulting in a higher alcohol content, but the overall flavor & style of the beer would be “off” from the standard. The attenuation for yeast for an English ale would be lower than the yeast for a Belgian brown.

The attenuation of a particular batch is affected by anything that would affect the health of the yeast. Unexpected flocculation, changes in temperature and insufficient nutrients can all lower attenuation.

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Yeasts the difference between ale and lager

Beer snobs will insist that there are truly only two types of beer: ales & lagers. While it’s amusing to hear them explain why a German Dopplebock is a lager while a Wietzenbock is an ale, the truth is that they’re not actually talking about flavors or styles, but yeasts.

Yeasts are living organisms. The distinction between ale yeasts and lager yeasts is based on the temperature range at which they are most active, and where in the wort-suspension the yeast concentrates. Ale yeasts are top-fermenting. During the most active stages of fermentation, usually within the first 5 days of pitching (or adding) the yeast to the wort, ale yeast is visible on the surface of the beer, amidst the foam and bubbles. Lager yeast is active at the bottom of the beer, and is easily missed after the first week as it mixes in with the sediment.

The top- versus bottom-fermentation is an aesthetic difference though; the real distinction is the temperature at which the beer should ferment. Ale yeasts ferment best between 60 -75 degrees F; (12-24C) going below this range slows fermentation, causing the yeast to be “sluggish”, while going above the range increases the risk of bacterial growth and other contamination, as well as causing off-flavors from the yeast. A friend’s batch of hefeweizen suffered because the home thermostat was set to cycle to lower temperatures at night.

Lager yeasts are a slightly different animal. While they ferment best between 35 & 55 degrees F (2-13C), for the first day, the temperature should be in the ‘ale’ range. This is because of the life cycle of yeast: for the first 12-24 hours, the yeast is converting starches in preparation of reproduction and releasing CO2. After this initial “blow off” is done, the beer should be placed in a temperature controlled environment (like a refrigerator) and gradually chilled down to lagering temperatures. Note ‘gradually’; when cooling the wort, the goal is to chill quickly to limit exposure to wild yeasts and bacteria. When chilling the beer to lager it, no dramatic steps are necessary, as the beer should already be in a carboy with an airlock. Sudden, rapid changes in temperature can ‘shock’, or even kill, yeast. Smaller batches are inherently more susceptible to temperature shock due to the smaller volume of liquid.

Some people prefer to make a lager yeast starter at room temperature, then pitch into cooled wort from the kettle, then move the fermenter into the fridge. Lager yeast may also need a dialectal rest, which involves raising the temperature into the 60-65F range for a couple days to let the yeast clean it self up. Diacetyl is a butterscotch like flavor and can be seen as a defect in certain types of lagers, especially light lagers.

Posted in Lagering, Yeast Cultures | 2 Comments »

White Labs Burton Ale Yeast or Wyeast Thames Valley

Earlier this year I brewed 3 pale ales with WLP023 Burton Ale Yeast. According to mrmalty, it is the same Wyeast strain as: 1275 Thames Valley Ale Yeast.

I had success with this strain, and propagated it a few times without any problems. The beer is excellent but I would like to warn fellow brewers. This strain is not suited for light ales. It is suited for deep flavored, malty amber or dark beers with higher levels of bitterness. The yeast imparts a roasted/burnt spicy flavor at the end. This addition does not compliment a light grain bill and I see it as a defect in one of my batches. I can see how the flavor goes really well with the beers matched to the high sulfate levels in the brewing water in Burton/Thames. Next time, I would use it in an IPA, Porter, Stout, Brown Ale, etc. It is a bit of a risk for a Pale Ale, or anything lighter, but you might enjoy the spicy roasted character in the aftertaste so I encourage people to try it out.

This yeast finished fermenting in about 10 days every time. It tended to get easily kicked up when siphoning. It is rated as medium flocculation, I would call it low but not super cloudy like a hefeweizen. Compared to results I got in the past with WLP002 English Ale, the beer is not as clear, but definitely has more character in the flavor profile.

I did three batches with it, playing around with hop varieties against the same grain bill (90% Pale 2-Row, 10% Crystal 40). I tried a Chinook/Centennial ale, a Nugget/Centennial ale, and an all Cascade ale. All were geared for 35-40 IBU, with the first hop listed as the bittering hop and the second hop listed as the aroma hop for 10 minutes.

In terms of attenuation (how well it converted sugar to alcohol), it is above expectations. White Lab’s website says this yeast gets 69-75% attenuation, but I got slightly higher. I was doing a one step mash at 152F for 60 minutes. The fermentation temperature was between 65-68F in the house.

Batch 1 attenuation : 76.2% FG was 1.010
Batch 2 attenuation : 77.2% FG was 1.008
Batch 3 attenuation : 82.6% FG was 1.008

The next time I do a run of pale ales I will try a different yeast variety with the same grain bill and hops to see how it changes. My bottles are almost all full again so I need to have a party or something.

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Money Saving Tips – Repitching Yeast

Update 11/12/2011: Check out the article on Bad Batches to see why you might want to avoid re-pitching yeast, or if you do so, make sure to understand the risks involved.

Did you know you can save ~10% on your next batch of home brew by re-pitching yeast? Some brewers buy new yeast for each batch. That is a good way to guarantee results provided the yeast is within the expiration date and has been refrigerated properly. However, at $7 a hit that comprises about 20% of the cost of the batch! With a little planning in terms of recipes and beer styles you can easily cut this in half or a third. It is a normal thing to do. The commercial breweries reduce their costs by repitching over and over.

Harvesting the yeast cake at the bottom of a finished primary fermentation vessel is easy. After siphoning off the beer into the secondary or bottling bucket the yeast will be left behind. Pour the yeast slurry (also called the yeast cake) into a sanitized container for safe keeping. You may need to loosen it up with some clean water. The yeast can be saved for several weeks in the fridge. It can be siphoned into regular 12oz bottles and capped, or put in a jar with an airlock.

The yeast can also be repitched immediately if you rack or bottle your old batch while you are cooling your new batch.

Do not repitch yeast that came from a contaminated batch, or had a weak or incomplete fermentation. Any yeast that had a healthy fermentation will work for this technique and it can be repeated many times. The maximum I have heard is ten times. That is getting up there and would limit choices of beer styles. Yeast can be a big factor in flavor and body. See a complete list of yeast strains by clicking here.

Posted in Economics of Brewing, Yeast Cultures | 13 Comments »

Expired yeast was a dud

I have only had one bad experience with expired yeast. It was White Labs Southern German Lager. I found out after I got home it was about 6 months out of date!  I made up a normal starter using a half pound of DME and 4 pints of water (half gallon), to get a gravity of ~1.045. I cooled it down and pitched the ‘expired’ yeast into a 1 gallon glass jar. It just sat there for a few days and hardly bubbled through the air lock but a few times. I ended up tossing the whole thing out. This has taught me to always check the expiration date on the yeast.

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