Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:36 am
I'll see if I can throw some different strains into the mix on this thread:
WY3864 VSS Canadian/Belgian- My favorite Belgian style yeast so far. Nice Belgian-style phenolics that I've had trouble getting with other strains. I pitched at 63F and it rose to 70F. Gets increasingly phenolic with higher temps, yet seems fairly resistant to creating fusels. A word of caution: Do not sanitize with bleach when using this yeast. You'll produce chlorophenols that will ruin your beer. Probably true with a lot of the Belgian yeast strains, but I personally had a bad experience with this one.
WY3726 VSS Farmhouse ale- Nice. I really liked this one. I started the fermentation coolish, pitched at 64 and it freely rose to 70F. Nicely balanced, not too estery, and retained Belgian phenolics well.
WY3522 Belgian Ardennes- First time I used it, turned out wonderful with flavors just like La Chouffe. Pitched on the yeast cake for a second round, and all the good flavors were lost. Third time I tried to use this yeast, lacked the spicy and phenolic notes of the first time and had too much esters, probably from too much yeast growth. Didn't keep track of fermentation temps at the time, so I can't report anything about that contribution. Conclusion: Can be a terrific yeast, but a bit finicky. Never was able to reproduce results from first batch.
WY3787 Westmalle- Tried it once. Pretty bland, and I overcarbonated the beer so carbonic acidity overpowered any "Belgian flavors".