[bluesman]

I use WLP029 for my Kolsch and have used it a dozen times or more without ever getting banana. That's very strange. I too would contact White Labs for further discussion.

[philm63]

Ok, the take form the folks at While Labs essentially is that because I pitched at such a low temperature and held it there through fermentation until clean-up time, this condition may have stressed the yeast sufficiently to cause the production of Isomyl Acetate, which is the banana aroma I'm getting. Still doesn't explain why it dropped in 4 days, but there it is.

Next time maybe I'll pitch at 62 F, and once active, I'll drop it slowly to 60-ish and let it rip until done, then raise back up to finish out.

[majorvices]

Ok, the take form the folks at While Labs essentially is that because I pitched at such a low temperature and held it there through fermentation until clean-up time, this condition may have stressed the yeast sufficiently to cause the production of Isomyl Acetate, which is the banana aroma I'm getting. Still doesn't explain why it dropped in 4 days, but there it is.

Next time maybe I'll pitch at 62 F, and once active, I'll drop it slowly to 60-ish and let it rip until done, then raise back up to finish out.

I pitch this yeast at 56-58 all the time, hold for a couple days then ramp up to 64 for a couple days then finish out at 66-68. That is what gives me the best white grape/pear aroma, which is why I really like this strain.