Pitching for a specific style

So in the next couple of weeks I will probably brew a Hefeweizen and was wondering a bit. I’ve read “some” places that say the esters WLP300 gives off are banana/clove like. The more stressed the yeast, the more of these esters they give off.

I don’t want my beer to be overwhelmed by banana and clove, so I obviously would want to make sure I am on the mark as far as pitching goes. I’ve used the brewer’s friend calc to see how much. My estimated OG is at 1.051, so I would need a 1L starter for this yeast since my vial was manufactured in January. A 1L starter would give me a slight overpitch of about 25 billion cells according to the calc. Not a big deal right? I am probably overthinking it. Reading too much about overpitching vs. underpitching :lol:

I would think this slight of an overpitch wouldn’t matter at all.

Just to clarify, the banana flavor is esters, the clove flavors are phenolics. If you ferment on the lower end of the temperature range for the yeast you should get more clove, and the higher end of the scale you will get more banana.

Overpitching 25% isn’t going to make any noticeable difference in this case :slight_smile:

If you don’t like much banana and clove, I’d first recommend that you use a different yeast. There are a lot of options and some don’t produce hardly any or none at all if that’s what you like. If you must use the WLP300, then I would just do a standard pitch rate, stick with the liter or maybe overpitch slightly, and keep things a little cool in the mid to upper 60s. If you ferment low 60s, you’ll get more clove. At 70 F you’ll get more banana. So the best route might be to aim in between on temperature so you get a little of both.

Ah interesting!

I don’t mind the flavors, from my past experience trying them, but I just don’t want them overpowering. I was thinking of fermenting at 63 degrees. So I’d probably get more clove than banana. I’m fine with that.

I already have the vial of WLP300 so I’m going to go with it. Like I said I really don’t mind the flavors, just didn’t want them to be out of control. Didn’t know about the temp range and the difference between the two, thanks very much for that bit of info! Now I know what to do next time if it doesn’t turn out how I want it :slight_smile:

Over pitching and fermenting cool will give you more clove than banana, though the clove will fade in the bottle before the banana. The banana will remain light. Under pitching will give you more esters by by the yeast being stressed.

I prefer more clove than banana.

I’m a clove guy myself. Both the clove and banana fade with age. If you like it, drink it young. If it seems too strong, you can certainly wait 6 months and it will fade a lot.

I have to say I really don’t understand this concept of a beer sitting around for months. I seem to never be able to keep beer around for that long.

I have found the flavors in NBs’ Bavarian Hefeweizen faded to much after three months. Had to drink the next brews faster. It was a hardship, but I was driven by the need for flavor.

I won’t have any issues finishing it :slight_smile:

Actually my friends are looking forward to it as well so I’ll have help if I need it. Or I may just shove them out the door and hoard it all for myself!

:cheers:

Then you are not brewing enough. :cheers:
When I reorganized by brewing area in the basement a couple of months ago I found a secondary with beer that never got kegged. Was waiting for a keg to get empty then got moved under a table, next thing you know it gets forgotten about.

:cheers: