Best dried Belgian strain?

[JonBrew]

Hi,

Looking to get a feel for what the best dried Belgian strain is. I gather T58 is used widely on a commercial level so guessing it must be worth a look. Are there any others folk would recommend? I like the stronger ester/phenol producers generally.

Cheers

 

[Sadfield]

I've used Safale BE256, MJ M31 and M47. All produce nice beers, just check the stated alcohol tolerance on the MJ as one of then peaks at 9%, if you are planning a Quadruple.

 

[jceg316]

I haven't made a Belgian ale for a while, but T-58 was my go to yeast, really liked it.

 

[prog99]

Crossmyloof Belgium ale is very good. I’ve also used one of the MJ ones whose name escapes me at the moment.

 

[JonBrew]

Thanks guys. I've ordered up some MJ31 Belgian ale as the description is that it produces high levels of spicy phenols. I'm planning on using it in Belgian Christmas ale so hoping it will work nicely.

@jceg316 and @Sadfield - any top tips for coaxing the best out of either the T58 (which I'd like to try in future) and/or the M31 strain, i.e. temps or pitching rates?

 

[jceg316]

Thanks guys. I've ordered up some MJ31 Belgian ale as the description is that it produces high levels of spicy phenols. I'm planning on using it in Belgian Christmas ale so hoping it will work nicely.

@jceg316 and @Sadfield - any top tips for coaxing the best out of either the T58 (which I'd like to try in future) and/or the M31 strain, i.e. temps or pitching rates?

From a new sachet of T-58 I would rehydrate and pitch into 25 litres of wort. Before I had temp control would just leave it fluctuating. This would stress the yeast out a little and bring out the phenolic and spice flavours. However this can also be achieved by keeping at around 23C in a controlled environment.

It's a very active fermentation, I think every time it's come out the airlock, possibly consider a blow off tube.

 

[JonBrew]

@jceg316 thanks for that, very helpful. I've ordered up some T58 too for future use.

As a correction to my post above, it's actually the M41 I've ordered - I believe the M31 is a Tripel strain. Both sound good though.

My plan is to pitch at 18, just let it free rise, and only restrain it if it gets too high too quickly.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I've used T-58 a lot and it's good/excellent. Recently, though, I used T-58 and MJ M-41 together and got an 11% and a 12% ABV in a Tripel and Quad, respectively. I wasn't able to get those numbers with just T-58s.
I'm bottling a second Quad today that used just two packs of M-41 and this will likely tell me which is responsible for the ease of reaching FGs. I suspect it's the M-41 but we'll see.

The Tripel has excellent aroma and flavor from using the combo. It will be a while before I have an opinion on the flavor the yeast provided in the Quadrupels.

 

[DavidDetroit]

My plan is to pitch at 18, just let it free rise, and only restrain it if it gets too high too quickly.

That's how I did the three Belgians I made last month. I pitched at 70F. Technically, I should have pitched closer to the room temp. After three days, I moved my fermenters to a 68F room in the house.
I'd like to hear how it turns out for you.
Cheers.

 

[Argentum]

Lallemand Abbaye is the dry version of WLP500/WY1214.

 

[Sadfield]

My plan is to pitch at 18, just let it free rise, and only restrain it if it gets too high too quickly.

Similar to what I do. I pitch at 19-20°c and let it do its thing. I don't bother controlling as I tend to do 10-12l batches that only appear to peak at 23-24°c.

My theory on why some homebrewers end up with Belgians that have hot alcohols or require long conditioning, is when they try to replicate, or force the temperature of fermentation to match those of commercial breweries, where the volume and thermal mass of wort is much different. Adding external heat IMO stresses the yeast leading to unpleasant phenolics and alcohols.

If you like Clove like phenolics, have a look at Ferulic Acid rest in mashing.

My next project (getting geeky) in developing my Quadruple recipe is to move to an open, shallower Fv. The lower the ratio between height an surface area increases ester production as more CO2 is gased off.

 

[Keruso]

Hi,

Looking to get a feel for what the best dried Belgian strain is. I gather T58 is used widely on a commercial level so guessing it must be worth a look. Are there any others folk would recommend? I like the stronger ester/phenol producers generally.

Cheers

I've tried MJ M41 a couple of times, I found it gave an overwhelming banana taste which did eventually reduce over time.

 

[chthon]

The M41 goes deep, I use this to brew a Duvel clone.

 

[JonBrew]

Similar to what I do. I pitch at 19-20°c and let it do its thing. I don't bother controlling as I tend to do 10-12l batches that only appear to peak at 23-24°c.

My theory on why some homebrewers end up with Belgians that have hot alcohols or require long conditioning, is when they try to replicate, or force the temperature of fermentation to match those of commercial breweries, where the volume and thermal mass of wort is much different. Adding external heat IMO stresses the yeast leading to unpleasant phenolics and alcohols.

If you like Clove like phenolics, have a look at Ferulic Acid rest in mashing.

My next project (getting geeky) in developing my Quadruple recipe is to move to an open, shallower Fv. The lower the ratio between height an surface area increases ester production as more CO2 is gased off.

That's an interesting theory and it makes a lot of sense. You often here that belgian brewers ferment high but I guess the hydrostatic pressure in those commercial size FVs will suppress ester and possibly even fusel production (?).

Your shallow fermentation idea sounds interesting. I might try open fermentation on this brew to see if helps coax out some stronger esters.

 

[Sadfield]

Here's some of the source for my ramblings....

http://edsbeer.blogspot.com/2018/07/fermenter-geometry.html?m=1

https://edsbeer.blogspot.com/2016/10/ester-synthesis-during-brewery.html?m=1

There's an interesting point in the second one, regarding increased temperature changing esters, and not just increasing their levels.