What Belgian Yeasts Do You Use?

[Zephyr259]

As per the title. I'm keen on brewing a few Trappist beers of all sorts, I've got Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes which has done good work on the brunette I've brewed but it's very spicy (still a bit young) so I was looking for something to contrast it.

Options seem to be Wyeast 1214 (Chimay), Wyeast 3787 (Westmalle) for more fruity esters or Wyeast 1762 (Rochefort) for a cleaner finish good for dark strongs (which I really like).

I know we have some keen brewers of Belgian styles on her so anyone got experience with any of these yeast or any other of the Belgians?

Thanks.

 

[MarkBowie]

There’s a good book called “brew like a monk” you can pick up for a couple of quid off of Amazon, I’ll find the link.

 

[MarkBowie]

Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/093738187X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

There aren’t any good used offers at the minute but might be able to search Fleabay etc.

 

[Sadfield]

I went with the Westmalle as it sounds like the middle of the three. I think how you approach the temperature of fermentation is probably more relevant than the choice of strain.

+1 on Brew Like A Monk.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[Ajhutch]

I'm a White Labs rather than Wyeast, but I've gone with WLP500 for my next Belgian Dubbel, which I believe is Chimay so the same as 1214. I chose it because I like Chimay beer's fruity yeast flavour.

 

[jceg316]

Brew like a monk is a great book, possibly my favourite brewing book.

I've used quite a few, mostly dry Belgian yeasts. T58 is the most robust I've found and flavour wise is quite strong. It has a powerful fermentation with a large krausen, better to have a blow off tube than an airlock!

Fermentis has another Belgian yeast, used to be called Abbaye but I think they've changed the name. That one is more suited to Trappist style beers and has lower attenuation than T58. It's not as robust though and would really benefit from temperature controlled fermentation.

I have used a MJ yeast, don't remember which one but didn't think much of it. I've also cultured up yeast from a bottle of Rochefort successfully before.

The reason I've not used liquid yeasts is because I've not really had a proper way to control fermentation temperatures properly, and this is quite a crucial step in getting a good Belgian beer. I find liquid yeasts are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations whereas dried yeasts aren't

 

[chthon]

The Fermentis Abbaye is now called BE-256. I like it very much for a more subdued style abbey beer.

 

[GerritT]

I used MJ41 for this one. Not quite sure what to think of it, I racked to secondary and left it outside in a bin liner to mature a bit in the cold. It's a lager after all :/

 

[strange-steve]

I've used the 3787 and the 1762, personally I was a little disappointed with the flavours from the 1762 but I'm a big fan of the 3787. A bit more subtle but great flavours and very versatile.

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I probably should have said but I already own and have read Brew Like a Monk cover to cover, great book.

So we're currently at 2 votes for Westmalle and 1 for Chimay. I've used T-58 and it's ok but just ok, I've got a fermentation fridge and stirplate so I'm much more keen on the liquid yeasts.

Steve: Why were you disappointed in 1762, too clean or something else? Part of why 3787 was tempting is that it's used by Westmalle, Achel and Westvleteren so it can do a lot of different things based on how it's handled.

 

[strange-steve]

Steve: Why were you disappointed in 1762, too clean or something else? Part of why 3787 was tempting is that it's used by Westmalle, Achel and Westvleteren so it can do a lot of different things based on how it's handled.

No it definitely wasn't too clean, if anything the opposite. I know a Belgian yeast should have plenty of character but there was a slight flavour to it that I wasn't keen on, though that's probably just personal taste. I've tried a few beers with 1762 and they all had that same flavour even when fermented nice and cool. I won't be in a hurry to use it again, I'll happily stick to the 3787. That being said, I won a gold medal in a BJCP comp last year using 1762 in a Rochefort clone.

 

[Zephyr259]

That being said, I won a gold medal in a BJCP comp last year using 1762 in a Rochefort clone.

Nicely done! Have you shared the recipe on here? I'd love to see it.

Do you get the same odd flavour from Rochefort themselves?

I may have to do some kinda side by side experiment one of these days, just a bit tricky as my wife's not a massive Belgian fan and I'm not sure her dad is either so I could end up with a lot of beer to drink. :-)

 

[dad_of_jon]

I used mj's belgian range of dried yeasts with the triple being my least favorite although i'm not so much a fan of triples thesedays! Their saison yeast is very versatile!

 

[strange-steve]

Nicely done! Have you shared the recipe on here? I'd love to see it.

Yeah the thread for that brew is here.

Do you get the same odd flavour from Rochefort themselves?

No, Rochefort 8 is probably my all time favourite beer and the flavour profile from the 1762 just isn't quite the same.

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks for the heads up Steve, I might try culturing up some Rochefort dregs (assuming they bottle with their primary yeast). I got a trappist ale selection from BeerofBelgium.com a few months ago and I'd probably agree that Rochefort 8 was my favorite of them all.

 

[strange-steve]

I'm pretty certain they do bottle with their primary strain. If you're going down the culturing route, I'd probably do so from the Rochefort 6, I'd imagine the yeast will be a tad healthier. I'd be interested in your results if you do so, keep us posted.

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing, I ordered 2 each of the 6, 8 and 10 the other night along with some other goodies. :-) I will of course keep people apprised of what happens.