WB-06 vs. Wyeast 3638 -- results are in! ;)

Sorry, no, this is NOT a Brulosophy exbeeriment. :wink:

I would however love to share with you my yeast pitching and ferm temp experiment results, based on my own taste buds alone. A little background for my theories is explained in a previous thread:

I split a 2-gallon batch four different ways, for 1/2 gallon each. I used Wyeast 3638 in two portions, and WB-06 in the other two. Confusing matters somewhat is that I wanted to test multiple variables, which I couldn’t do very well in just 1/2 gallon each. I wanted to test both pitch rate, and fermentation temperature. So what I ended up doing was severely underpitching both of the 3638 batches, but fermenting one at about 60 F, and the other at 70 F. Then for the WB-06 batches, I fermented both at 70 F but pitched one per mrmalty.com recommendations, and for the other I used just 1/4 as much as he recommends for the underpitch. I actually weighed the amounts of yeast for this one, which was 1 gram for the standard pitch and just 0.25 gram for the underpitch (in 1/2 gallon each). Needless to say, I still have almost an entire pack of WB-06 leftover for future experiments if I desire!

All batches took off fermentation within 34 hours, with the cold underpitched one taking the longest, and the biggest pitch of WB-06 taking just like 8 hours or something, not exactly sure because it occurred while I was asleep, but by 12 hours it had a nice big creamy krausen. The others started in between 16-20-some hours.

The cold ferment was the last one to clear. I actually brought it up to 70 F two days ago to help it finish, which it did right away.

This morning I tasted samples from each, twice and in different orders to make sure I understand all that’s going on and didn’t suffer from palate fatigue. So now, without further adieu, here are my minimally edited personal tasting notes:

Final Brix=5.5 across the board, which for my gauge equates to FG=1.008 if my calculations are correct (OG was 1.046). All taste fairly watery, with the warm fermented ones also tasting hotter. The watery character makes sense because I used zero crystal malts, and most folks do. None have a prominent clove character (unfortunately), but all have some banana as anticipated. The cold fermented one (3638) is the most lovely. The warm fermented 3636 is nearly identical but hotter and more watery. The WB-06 ones, I am not as impressed with. They are both more tart and yeasty, and are also more hazy than 3638. The bigger pitch WB-06 also tastes appley with “that house flavor” (a recurring problem of mine), whereas the others don’t have that. I’ve a mind to dump the big pitch one, it is the worst of all, but I think I’ll just blend the WB-06s and make that a bigger sub-batch, and do the same with both halves of the 3638, combining those as well, as the differences are not as distinct as I’d anticipated. I’m going to taste all in the reverse order before bottling to make sure this is all accurate.

I’m also contemplating an experiment adding a tincture of allspice (not clove, which is more harsh and more woody – allspice is a milder character), just to the WB-06 half to see if that improves it at all. Tincture will have just 1/128 tsp allspice for the ~0.8 gallons WB-06 (which yes, I am able to accurately measure – I have a spoon for it!). But I’ll taste again before deciding.

Later… Yup, I was right. The only real good version out of the 4 sub-batches is the cold fermented 3638. Warm fermented 3638 is okay but not as smooth. And the WB-06 ones both are downright not very good, with the big pitch one having the additional red apple ester that I think does not belong in there.

All are too dry and watery to my palate. So I’m going to add lactose, believe it or not! 1.5 oz in 2 gallons should be enough just to add the slightest body without anyone noticing. I’ll add it with the priming sugar and bottle all later today.

And yes, I will attempt to “fix” the WB-06 version with the allspice. I’m a wild and crazy guy!!

Hope you all find these results interesting. It was really fun to do this. Next time I’d like to ferment the WB-06 cold AND underpitched to see if it brings out the clove more! Fermented hot and overpitched, it tastes like banana AND red apple – kind of gross in my opinion. But it might turn out alright fermented cold. I’m not throwing it in the trash quite yet. Although it does seem quite tart indeed.

This is consistent with my theory that all weizen beers and Belgian ales should be purposely underpitched. See much more detail here:

Fermentation temperature, I think cool in the low 60s F is better than warm at 70 F or more, and others will beg to differ with me on this and that’s fine, but it seems to make the most sense to me based on all my experience.

Further experiments are planned for Danstar Abbaye vs. dregs from La Fin du Monde in the next 3-4 months. Stay tuned if interested. :slight_smile:

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Nice work. I’ve heard people recommend under pitching Belgian style before but the cooler fermentation temp surprised me.

Also update us after they are conditioned. I have often been fooled passing judgement before the beer is “finished”

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Fair enough. I will update later. Keep in mind, the WB-06 will be adulterated with just the slightest touch of allspice, which may or may not affect results after bottle conditioning. My intent was not to turn this into a “winter spice beer” but to give it just the tiniest faintest hint of clovy spice, which currently it really does not have.

Thank you Dave for taking the time and effort to do this test… I assume when you say house flavor, its probably a nod to home-brew beginners flavor…? Yes, I’ll second Brew Cat’s let it become carbed and do a final thesis… I’ve got some ready to keg this week, dark wheat winter warmer… We spiced it during the boil, I didn’t say anything… I’d spiced AFTER primary ferment… So, will you do an experiment with the yeast cakes you know have ? Perhaps? Again, thank you! Sneezles61

Just popped my first bottle with WB-06. Predominant character is the sourness – holy wah! It is very sour. Not like a Lacto infection or a Berliner, but just very tart for a non-bacterial brew. Other than that, it’s super bready. There is banana and clove but those characters are much less pronounced than the sourdough bread thing. I even added 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to the second half of the glass, and surprisingly it didn’t do anything to reduce the sourness, I can’t even tell that I added it.

Looking forward to tasting the 3638, either later tonight, or tomorrow.

And how’s this for foam stability and lacing?!

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That’s a thing of beauty! Out of curiousity, did the allspice come through at all? I love reading about experiments like this, thanks again!

:beers:
Rad

Oh, no, I could not taste the allspice at all. I didn’t use enough. I wanted it to be subtle, but it was a little TOO subtle I guess! Oh well. Still a great beer anyway actually. No longer overly appley. Just very tart is the main thing.

Okay, now I popped the first version with 3638 yeast. Very nice. Actually very similar in character to the WB-06, but without tartness. Smells like saltine crackers. Tastes the same, crackery, with a decent amount of banana, and very low clove. My dad is going to love this beer when I go back home for Christmas. The head is not nearly as prominent on the 3638 beer yet compared to WB-06, but I imagine that will change in the next week. It’s just a little slower yeast, and these bottles are of course naturally carbonated, and priming was the same, so 3638 just needs a couple extra days to catch up.

So, all in all, I’m actually impressed with both yeasts, the main drawback of WB-06 being the tartness. Otherwise the two are actually very similar, and either would be decent options to use again in future, especially 3638.

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Lower pH tends to suppress the formation of esters, so I’m wondering if the tartness is responsible for the wb-06 having less character. Maybe bumping up the kettle pH a bit would get more banana and clove into the beer before the yeast drop the pH? More variables…