I used White Labs’s WLP005 British Ale yeast for this brown porter and here’s my report of how the fermentation is going so far.
First and foremost, I did not make a starter. I know, shame on me. I did have enough time to make one. I also used the OG to justify my action…or lack of action. With an original gravity of just under 1.050, I felt confident that ‘straight from the vial’ would be ok.
I am happy to report that a strong fermentation was in progress when I woke up on Monday morning, 12 hours from the pitching of the yeast. It has been going strong for the past 2 days.
I kept it at 72 degrees to get the fermentation going. I had a blanket wrapped around it to keep it warm. The optimal temperature for this yeast strain is 68 degrees so this morning, I removed the blanket and I am hoping that will bring the temperature down a few degrees.
I read that this yeast settles to the bottom fairly quickly and actually ferments from the bottom. A few people on the boards we talking about how this strain does funky things. I may gently rouse the yeast from time to time.
I plan to rack this beer into bottles after 2 weeks of being in the fermenter. We’ll let you know how it turns out.
See other posts about this beer:
Note to self: Don’t tell Mike WLP005 is the Ringwood strain.
Chemgeek
ooooo. It looks so cozy wrapped up in its little blankee.
John
Yeah, I feel like taking a nap for some reason.
claybeer
I recently used this strain for an ordinary bitter and an amber ale and got some astringent flavors from the yeast, almost a wine-y character. This was almost overpowering in the bitter but a nice complement to the amber ale. I initially thought my high fermentation temperature (mid to upper 70’s) for the bitter caused this flavor. But I fermented the amber ale in the 65-68 range and the astringency is still very apparent. Would you let me know if you get any astringency? I’m wondering if this flavor could be coming from my water, since these are the first two batches I’ve brewed after moving to Baltimore.
John
I will definitely report on the taste of this porter. I haven’t heard of any astringent flavors coming from this yeast strain, but we’ll taste it when it is ready and report it on the site.
Shagington
claybeer said, “I recently used this strain for an ordinary bitter and an amber ale and got some astringent flavors from the yeast, almost a wine-y character. This was almost overpowering in the bitter but a nice complement to the amber ale. I initially thought my high fermentation temperature (mid to upper 70’s) for the bitter caused this flavor. But I fermented the amber ale in the 65-68 range and the astringency is still very apparent. ”
I was doing a google search of this yeast and found your post here. I got the same off flavor as well, it’s not like the beer has become infected, more like a finishing flavor that just seems out of place. It happened with my ESB and now my Nut Brown Ale. Anyone else run into this trouble?
John
Hi,
My brown porter came out without any astringency. The flavor ends fairly dry but not astringent. It’s an interesting strain…very clumpy in the bottom of the bottle. Not if I will use it again. I think I will go back to WLP002.
Chris Storey
Just kegged my bitter with this yeast. I don’t like the flavour at all. My usual yeast was unavailable, so I gave this one a try. Weird flavour so far but will bottle condition it for a few weeks to see where it goes.