WLP644 Bruxellensis trios Galaxy single hop

[sven945]

So my plan for my first brew from the Brewuk lucky dip is with the WLP644 strain. I've heard it works well with Galaxy hops, so since I don't have anything (other than tettnang) in the freezer, I thought I might try a single hop. At least in part because it's cheaper. I quite fancy something with a little bit more malt flavour than the IPAs that are often recommended with this yeast.

How does this sound?

12 litres total

2.5kg pale
0.3kg wheat
0.45kg crystal 40L

Hops:
7g Galaxy FWH/0mins
7g Galaxy 10 mins
14g Galaxy aroma steep

Maybe some dry hops.

Beersmith says it should come out at 6%, with 25 IBUs.

My yeast went out of date in August so I'm going to make a starter, though apparently this yeast gives out some lovely flavours when stressed. I don't want to pitch it and discover it's doing nothing at all, so I think a starter for a couple of days would be a good idea.

How does that sound to other people?

 

[mike77]

This is a good yeast so you lucked out on the lucky dip. I used this for brewing through the summer a few years back when the house was about 24c temp. Made some fruity IPAs with it. On that note this yeast needs to be fermented warm like a saison. The website states between 21c and 30c so find a nice warm cupboard.

As for the recipe my personal preference is for about 40 to 50 IBUs and I prefer to get most or all of those IBUs from late additions starting at 20 mins with additions every 5 mins, flameout. That way I get maximum flavour without overbittering.

Yes I would do a starter on old yeast and yes also to a dry hop.

 

[sven945]

Thanks! I'll maybe add 7g at 20 minutes and see where that takes me with bitterness.

My flat tends to be about 22° so that should be okay I think. I'll maybe wrap it in a towel to keep the heat it gives out in, but I'll keep an eye on it to stop it overheating.

 

[mike77]

Also, not sure if you harvest and re-use your yeast or not but these liquid yeasts are worth it

 

[strange-steve]

This yeast gives some lovely tropical fruit flavours like a brett strain so I reckon it'd be awesome with galaxy. Definitely worth dry hopping too.

 

[sven945]

Also, not sure if you harvest and re-use your yeast or not but these liquid yeasts are worth it

I haven't done yet, but I might try it if this yeast is as good as people say. I haven't got much storage space in my fridge but I've heard you can take a small sample of yeast and reuse the vials for storage, but I'll look elsewhere for techniques with that.

I made my starter yesterday in a big glass bottle. I couldn't see any activity (though I wasn't expecting it), but the amount of yeast at the bottom has multiplied hugely from the small amount in the bottom of the vial I got.

This yeast gives some lovely tropical fruit flavours like a brett strain so I reckon it'd be awesome with galaxy. Definitely worth dry hopping too.

Thanks, it's a nice feeling when people think my ideas sound good! I'll definitely dry hop then. My thinking behind not bothering was simply to speed the whole process up, which isn't the right way to go about things.

 

[sven945]

I've upped the bitterness by putting 10g FWH, and I'm going to put in 7g at 20, 15, 10 and 5 minutes (I read someone else said they do that, so I might give it a go!). Plus 15g once it cools below 79º. I got pellet hops so I'm not bothering with bags, meaning I can do more additions.

 

[trueblue]

Are the Galaxy leaf hops and if so where did you get them, rarer than rocking horse sh*t.

 

[sven945]

Pellets, sadly (if leaf is your thing). I got them from Brewstore, my local. They deliver too. With them you just get what they've got in terms of leaf or pellet.

 

[trueblue]

As with other places they only have pellets. I really want to brew the galaxy delight recipe again but it pellets don't suit my set up.

 

[strange-steve]

As with other places they only have pellets. I really want to brew the galaxy delight recipe again but it pellets don't suit my set up.

If it's a filtering problem then I'd suggest just go ahead and use the pellets without a filter. I (and many others) just dump everything into the FV, hops and all and I've not noticed any problems from doing so.

 

[sven945]

I just tipped carefully when transferring the wort to the FV. I probably lost a couple of pints because of it. If I'd seen this post before doing that I'd have just tipped the lot in probably!

 

[trueblue]

If it's a filtering problem then I'd suggest just go ahead and use the pellets without a filter. I (and many others) just dump everything into the FV, hops and all and I've not noticed any problems from doing so.

I have tried pellets a couple of times and always seem to get a haze. Galaxy delight is a very light beer so it does notice. I know a lot of people don't worry about clarity but I do.

 

[strange-steve]

Do you use finings? I brewed a kolsch recently which I fined with gelatin and it is crystal clear, it had everything from the boiler tipped into the FV.

 

[trueblue]

With the Galaxy pellets I did use gelatin it helped but still had a haze

 

[sven945]

So this has been fermenting for about ten days and has come down to 1024, from 1069. Higher OG and lower volume than anticipated. Volume is one thing I'm not good with, but mostly because I wing it (and my note taking has gone downhill since I lost my note book).

The gravity hasn't dropped in four days, so I'm assuming it's stuck. I mashed high (67ºC) because I read the end result should be pretty sweet. Beersmith estimated 1012 final gravity so I assume I've got a stuck fermentation. My temperature control is limited to non existent so it's mostly been sitting at 22, but I have tried to give it a kick up the backside by sitting it in the sink of hot water which brought it up to 26º, but that didn't last very long.

I'm going to have a go rousing the yeast and trying to warm it up again to see if the gravity drops at all again. I really must get a tub of water to sit it in with aquarium heater soon.

 

[strange-steve]

As far as I know this yeast can be a bit of a slow burner, so I wouldn't worry about it just yet. I would give it a good 4 weeks in the fv before thinking about bottling. Some belgian strains seem to take a break mid-fermentation before kicking off again so I'd just leave it be for now.

 

[sven945]

Thanks. I've done some more reading and a few people have reported it starting quickly, slowing down but eventually getting there. I suppose I'll have to wait before getting on with my next brew! (Or perhaps this is an excuse to get another FV with airlock...).

 

[krispn]

Zombie thread alert

@sven945 How did this turn out? Did it take the extra few weeks to ferment out?

I ask as I'm making a Moasic SMaSH with WLP644 and I too have read that it can slow down a bit - I'm considering putting the ferm. fridge back up around 25c to let it finish off. Mine has come down from 1.062 to 1.020 so far but seems to have slowed a bit.