WLP072 French Ale Yeast experiment

[sven945]

I've got some WLP072 left over from a biere de garde and I'd heard it's pretty tasty when fermented warm. I've got the starter cold crashing and the wort is boiling right now.

Here's the recipe for 12 litres:

2.5kg lager
200g wheat malt

30g saaz for 90 minutes
20g hallertau mittelfruh @ 20 minutes
20g hallertau mittelfruh @ 5 minutes

I'm going to pitch at about 20ºC and then warm it up to about 23ºC over a couple of days, and see what happens. Slightly above the recommended level, but you don't learn things without experimenting!

 

[strange-steve]

Sounds interesting, never used that yeast but I suppose it could be a bit like a saison when fermented warm, maybe a bit cleaner? What are you expecting it to be like?

 

[The Idiot]

I'm about to do a beer with WLP072 in primary and Yeast Bay Melange in secondary. I've been debating whether to run the primary hot.

 

[sven945]

Sounds interesting, never used that yeast but I suppose it could be a bit like a saison when fermented warm, maybe a bit cleaner? What are you expecting it to be like?

I've just had one sample when doing a gravity reading after a week (admittedly after a few other ales so my memory might not be perfect!) and there's a bit of fruitiness. I wouldn't say it was like a saison (the fruitiness isn't as "bright" if that makes any sense), but there's definitely something a little different to it. I'll have another sample tonight.

Not sure what I was expecting from it to be honest. I'd read heard someone suggesting it could go saison-like when fermented warm. I'd maybe be tempted to go even hotter (28º!) if this brew works out well. I do particularly like the herbal taste from the late addition of the Hallertau hops though.

 

[The Idiot]

I've just had one sample when doing a gravity reading after a week (admittedly after a few other ales so my memory might not be perfect!) and there's a bit of fruitiness. I wouldn't say it was like a saison (the fruitiness isn't as "bright" if that makes any sense), but there's definitely something a little different to it. I'll have another sample tonight.

Not sure what I was expecting from it to be honest. I'd read heard someone suggesting it could go saison-like when fermented warm. I'd maybe be tempted to go even hotter (28º!) if this brew works out well. I do particularly like the herbal taste from the late addition of the Hallertau hops though.

What temperature did you ferment at?

I've just done a brew with WLP072 in primary. It was mashed high (67.5 degrees C) and after primary it'll be going in secondary with Yeast Bay melange for 9 months. My WLP072 was very slow (started at 17 degrees C) and I added some heat the next day. When I checked later it was at 28 degrees C and going like a train.

Having read that the yeast doesn't like a temperature drop, I've decided to give it it's head and see what happens. I'll be tasting before it goes into secondary so I'll feedback on what has happened!

 

[serum]

I've done quite a few with this yeast now and it's nice and clean. I've just got proper temp control sorted so I can keep the temp low. I've found it gives a nice clean taste when kept cold.

I did a few low ABV beers with this yeast and they were really quick to condition and very tasty. Delicious after 2 weeks fermenting and about 10 days in the bottle.

Sounds like a fun experiment to use it warm and I'm interested to see how it goes.

 

[sven945]

What teUIKeyInputDownArrowmperature did you ferment at?

I've just done a brew with WLP072 in primary. It was mashed high (67.5 degrees C) and after primary it'll be going in secondary with Yeast Bay melange for 9 months. My WLP072 was very slow (started at 17 degrees C) and I added some heat the next day. When I checked later it was at 28 degrees C and going like a train.

I'd be tempted to bottle a couple before you add the Melange to see how they turn out at this point! I fermented this at 23.5ºC (intended to ferment at 23, but the morning after pitching I found it at 24.5ºC and didn't want to drop the temperature too much. Perhaps I should have just left it at 24.5ºC.

I've just had a taste and it's a bit like a Belgian blonde. Something like Leffe Blonde, that kind of thing. Not as bright as a saison, and more subtle (and less booze!) than a Tripel, with a bit more body than both, even at 1008.

Bottling probably tomorrow if I can be bothered after work.