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Author Topic: Winter Wyeast PC Strains  (Read 9927 times)

Offline stpug

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #30 on: February 06, 2016, 12:01:32 pm »
Do you know what your fermentation temperature was for these batches.

Yeah I do (I forgot to put that in the descriptions above):

Best Bitter: Pitched 66F and raised to 70F with fermwrap within few hours, fermented 70-72F for 7 days.


You would think you would be able to coax some pretty good character out of the yeast with that fermentation schedule.

Coupled with the (scary) low pitching rate, that's what I was aiming for. So far, I just have to surmise that this strain doesn't have big British yeast ester production. It's certainly not bad or off-putting in any way, just more neutral and clean than I had hoped for. The Best Bitter is actually quite tasty - just not as pronounced in the yeast department as I wanted.  I think it is a great strain for those that want to keep the yeast character minimized but still present (and, at least so far, want high attenuation). Not all that different from WLP013 minus the 'oakey ester' they mention (granted, I can't say I've ever experienced the oakey ester in any of the beers I've brewed with it).

Offline narcout

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #31 on: February 06, 2016, 03:49:17 pm »
I'm planning on trying the 1768 next weekend in a 100% Golden Promise ale, though I'm still deciding on pitch rate and fermentation temp.
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #32 on: February 06, 2016, 03:59:53 pm »
Will be brewing an ESB with the Thames Valley II next week.

Offline erockrph

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #33 on: February 06, 2016, 10:54:55 pm »
Sounds like I'm not missing much so far. I can only get White Labs locally, so I have to order Wyeast online. I only like to order liquid yeast from MoreBeer, since they are the closest to me, but still doesn't have the winter seasonals yet.

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Offline stpug

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #34 on: February 09, 2016, 08:11:41 am »
Cool.  Thanks for posting.

I've got two packs of 1768 waiting to go.
I'll be interested in your impressions of this yeast when you have a chance to use it. The obvious beers to try to brew with it is something British, particularly a bitter, and you should brew a nice British beer to see if it gives what you're after. HOWEVER, make sure to collect some slurry/yeastcake and follow up with an american style beer (pale ale, amber ale, ipa, american brown, blonde even, etc) because I'm liking how my amber ales are coming out with this strain (haven't brewed my blonde yet). It's plenty neutral that it doesn't impress me as a british yeast strain and brings more to the beer than the usual standby (chico). It's all just opinion of course.

I'm planning on trying the 1768 next weekend in a 100% Golden Promise ale, though I'm still deciding on pitch rate and fermentation temp.
I'm also very interested in your impressions and process. Keep us posted.

Sounds like I'm not missing much so far. I can only get White Labs locally, so I have to order Wyeast online. I only like to order liquid yeast from MoreBeer, since they are the closest to me, but still doesn't have the winter seasonals yet.
As far as missing out on a hugely British yeast strain, you're definitely not missing out (IMO). So far I'm happy with the beers I'm producing with 1768, but I would not choose it for my estery british beers. I'm liking it in my american ales though; it seems to have more to it than the old fallback (chico) but not so much that you're thinking about it when drinking.

One characteristic that I've noticed in both beers I've had a chance to drink plenty of is that they both contain noticeable body. This is not too surprising in the amber ale that used a high percentage of crystal malts, but it WAS surprising in my best bitter that had a dash of crystal plus some invert that would lighten the body. I may be wrong but I suspect that this strain has a higher level of glycerol production than the average yeast, which enhances the mouthfeel of the beer a fair amount. Belle Saison and 3711 would be another notable yeast strain with increased glycerol production, thus the reason it can produce a 1.000 beer with big mouthfeel. All speculation of course.

Edit: Lastly, 1768 does not clear very well for me. It will eventually clear but sure takes it's time. Even gelatin has not worked very well. It may just be my process, ingredients, or some other factor.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2016, 01:21:52 pm by stpug »

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #35 on: February 09, 2016, 08:49:57 am »
Cool.  Thanks for posting.

I've got two packs of 1768 waiting to go.
I'll be interested in your impressions of this yeast when you have a chance to use it. The obvious beers to try to brew with it is something British, particularly a bitter, and you should brew a nice British beer to see if it gives what you're after. HOWEVER, make sure to collect some slurry/yeastcake and follow up with an american style beer (pale ale, amber ale, ipa, american brown, blonde even, etc) because I'm liking how my amber ales are coming out with this strain (haven't brewed my blonde yet). It's plenty neutral that it doesn't impress me as a british yeast strain and brings more to the beer than the usual standby (chico). It's all just opinion of course.

It may be a bit.  I've got two batches of bitter waiting to be bottled.  These were a test of S-04 at different temps. 
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #36 on: February 19, 2016, 05:13:40 am »
Made a 1.8qt starter for my ESB with WY 1882 Thames Valley II. Saved 500 mL for another day, and pitched the chilled decanted slurry into the wort around 1 pm yesterday. 

Man, this yeast took off like gangbusters. Active fermentation 4-5 hrs later with huge, foamy, high krausen middle of night and next morning. Fermenting around 67-68F and the wort is rockin inside the carboy. I have been brewing lagers lately, so this is definitely very active in comparison.  Lots of yeast flying around inside. Literally....

Will keep posted with the final results after kegging.

Offline stpug

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #37 on: March 01, 2016, 04:56:45 pm »
Updated my notes on 1768 in the following post:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=25511.msg332750#msg332750

Summary: IMO, it's a great alternative yeast for brewing mostly neutral beers while still retaining the malt AND hops.  Not great for British-style beers. IMO.

Offline narcout

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #38 on: March 02, 2016, 12:07:25 pm »
Summary: IMO, it's a great alternative yeast for brewing mostly neutral beers while still retaining the malt AND hops.  Not great for British-style beers. IMO.

Well, that's not really what I was hoping to hear.  I'm still planning on using it in my Golden Promise ale; it just got pushed because I fractured my foot and have been on crutches the past few weeks.
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Offline stpug

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #39 on: March 02, 2016, 01:29:33 pm »
Summary: IMO, it's a great alternative yeast for brewing mostly neutral beers while still retaining the malt AND hops.  Not great for British-style beers. IMO.

Well, that's not really what I was hoping to hear.  I'm still planning on using it in my Golden Promise ale; it just got pushed because I fractured my foot and have been on crutches the past few weeks.

Hopefully your experience with it is different than mine in regards to ester production. I was so hopeful beforehand and have just settled on the fact that it's a good yeast but not what I was looking for.

Hope your foot heals up quickly so you can get your next ale brewed :D

Offline brewinhard

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #40 on: March 04, 2016, 01:04:40 pm »
Made a 1.8qt starter for my ESB with WY 1882 Thames Valley II. Saved 500 mL for another day, and pitched the chilled decanted slurry into the wort around 1 pm yesterday. 

Man, this yeast took off like gangbusters. Active fermentation 4-5 hrs later with huge, foamy, high krausen middle of night and next morning. Fermenting around 67-68F and the wort is rockin inside the carboy. I have been brewing lagers lately, so this is definitely very active in comparison.  Lots of yeast flying around inside. Literally....

Will keep posted with the final results after kegging.

Kegged this one this afternoon.  Craziest fermentation I have observed in a long time. This yeast strain took a 1.056 ESB wort down to a 1.013 in under 24 hrs held at 68F. Krausen quickly dropped back into the beer after fermentation was done, and fearing an underattenuated batch, I rolled the carboy gently to rouse the yeast every few days.

The hydrometer sample was quite promising. This yeast strain let the malt shine through nicely while keeping the hops (50 IBU's) in balance. Slight fruity undertone, but not as potent as WY 1968. Drops super clear, very quickly. Can't wait to carb this one up and really give it a try.

Will repitch this into a cool fermented Irish Red (around 60-62F) to keep the esters in check. If all goes well with that, I am going to use it on a big daddy imperial stout.

Offline Ethan J

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #41 on: March 07, 2016, 06:41:02 am »
Made a 1.8qt starter for my ESB with WY 1882 Thames Valley II. Saved 500 mL for another day, and pitched the chilled decanted slurry into the wort around 1 pm yesterday. 

Man, this yeast took off like gangbusters. Active fermentation 4-5 hrs later with huge, foamy, high krausen middle of night and next morning. Fermenting around 67-68F and the wort is rockin inside the carboy. I have been brewing lagers lately, so this is definitely very active in comparison.  Lots of yeast flying around inside. Literally....

Will keep posted with the final results after kegging.

Kegged this one this afternoon.  Craziest fermentation I have observed in a long time. This yeast strain took a 1.056 ESB wort down to a 1.013 in under 24 hrs held at 68F. Krausen quickly dropped back into the beer after fermentation was done, and fearing an underattenuated batch, I rolled the carboy gently to rouse the yeast every few days.

The hydrometer sample was quite promising. This yeast strain let the malt shine through nicely while keeping the hops (50 IBU's) in balance. Slight fruity undertone, but not as potent as WY 1968. Drops super clear, very quickly. Can't wait to carb this one up and really give it a try.

Will repitch this into a cool fermented Irish Red (around 60-62F) to keep the esters in check. If all goes well with that, I am going to use it on a big daddy imperial stout.

This mirrors my experience with this yeast as well. Pitched into a 5 gallon batch of 1.044 Special Bitter, 35 IBUs, was at 1.012 the next day. The beer dropped bright in about 7-10 days. Kegging today, will report back.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #42 on: March 07, 2016, 07:01:29 am »
I am looking at the Thames Valley II strain.  Anyone brewed with that before?

I am about to rack a beer that used it and repitch the yeast in another beer.

Offline narcout

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #43 on: March 18, 2016, 10:38:43 am »
I'm finally getting around to brewing with the 1768 tonight.  I have a smack pack from January 11, 2016.  So it's probably got what, 60-75 billion viable cells?

I'm trying to decide between pitching just the smack pack or making a small starter to pitch at high krausen. 

Standard ale pitching rate would be 180 billion cells for the beer I have planned, so if I pitch just the smack pack I'll be somewhere around 33-40% of that.

Maybe a low pitch rate with a warm fermentation will coax some good character out of it.
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Winter Wyeast PC Strains
« Reply #44 on: March 18, 2016, 11:44:53 am »
I am looking at the Thames Valley II strain.  Anyone brewed with that before?

I am about to rack a beer that used it and repitch the yeast in another beer.

Been drinking my ESB for a good couple weeks now.  Love the flavor profile from this strain.  Nice balance of malt and hops come through with pretty complex fruity esters. Not as fruity as WY 1968 but just slightly under.  Brewing an irish red next with this strain and will ferment it at 60F and see what it brings to the table.