Beer Forum

I am planning on brewing a couple of Belgians this weekend. My initial plan was to add two Belgian yeast strains to my 1600 mL starter, chill, decant, and split into the two batches. I understand that some yeast are more dominant than others and can completely take over a fermentation, while the other yeast really doesn't contribute too much from the background.

Has anyone out there experimented with adding multiple Belgian strains to a batch? Which strains seem to lend equivalent flavor contributions to the end product, or is one yeast always going to dominate to a degree?

If there is a good mix, I plan on tailoring the beers to the two styles that I would normally use the two strains for.

It is hard to tell as it really depends on the individual yeast freshness and viability. If you made a single starter with both yeasts in it,then the healthier one will most likely dominate, but you could also get a little from the other as well. Your best bet, might be to brew a simple style (say belgian blonde) and split the batch with each half getting the different yeast. You can then taste each side by side and see how they compare and if they would work well together or not. You could also blend some from both batches together and get a real feel for the final product you may be shooting for. This will put you in the right direction for making these yeast choices according to your tastes and style preferences.