I’ve made a number of wheat beers over the years, with different yeasts, and it always seems to result in very active ferments compared to other ales.
I have an Oberon clone going now, and pitched WLP320 straight from the tube. About 36 hours before I saw airlock activity, but it sounds like a popcorn popper for 24 hours [love it]!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kind of action from a non-wheat, even when I’ve pitched 1L starters.
Is there something about wheat malt that leads to this kind of activity?
I don’t know what other beers you make, but maybe it could be that your wheat beers are lower gravity than everything else and therefore have a higher pitching rate.
Most wheat strains are ‘true top cropping’ yeast. Wyeast 3068 even calls for a 33% head space and EVERY time I use it, it blows off.
I have never had a wheat beer not be a violent ferment.
I’ve brewed OG’s from 1.035 up to 1.090, with and without starters, dry and liquid yeasts. Kinda all over the map. It just seems that my wheats are always very active compared to my other ales.
I love the sound and smell of a
rockin’ ferment!
I think part of it is that wheat has a lot of foam-enhancing proteins, hence the krausen is extra generous for a given fermentation rate.
Belgians are the ferments that rock the most for me. The krausen just keeps going on those.
