I was getting ready to toss some yeast a couple of weeks ago because of a suspected infection with one That will be a separate topic soon. Got to the harvested WB-06 I had used for a Hefeweizen instead of using my regular WY 3068. Ordered the dry yeast during hot weather. The WB-06 produced a drinkable beer but was a poor excuse for a Hefeweizen. The beer poured crystal clear. The yeast in the bottle was so compacted it was hard to swirl into solution to pour into the glass.
Thought I would give it a second chance instead of completely dismissing it. Brewed the same Hefe yesterday. Over pitched this time with an estimated 382 billion cells for 5.25 gallons in the fermentor. Used distilled water also instead of well water even though WY 3068 produced an excellent Hefe with the well water. Maybe this yeast didn’t like the mineral content. I started this fermentation warmer at 68°F. I was expecting a blow off tube would be needed at this temperature. Unnecessary as you can see in the picture.
Temperature of the beer was at 68.9° this morning. Bumped the temperature of the water bath to 70°. Maybe this will coax some Hefe flavors from the yeast. Will probably bump the temperature to 72° tonight if fermentation activity doesn’t show increased vigor.
Have you had any poor results fermenting with WB-06?