Odell's yeast

[jsguitar]

I got this going from the dregs of 2 bottles of their IPA. It was pitched into a pint of wort and then dumped into 2 qts after a few days. This is now at about 5 days total.



It's definitely a top cropper!

I plan on doing a pale ale first and then an IPA with it.

Does anybody have any experience with this yeast? I've heard that it may be a German Ale/Kolsch yeast like WLP029. If it is like WLP029 then I think I'll shoot for fermenting around 65F (?). It looks like it may take a while to clear too.

 

[beardown2489]

No idea as to what the answer might be.

Might be worth an email to the brewery. They might not specify what yeast they use, but they might be nice enough to give instructions on how to use it.

 

[jsguitar]

Thanks. I just sent them an email asking for tips on using it.

 

[beardown2489]

Let us know if they help you out or not

 

[BigFloyd]

Let us know if they help you out or not

Chances are they will. The folks at Odell's that I've met (my #2 son lives near their brewery) have been quite nice.

 

[stpug]

I've used Odell yeast many times and it behaves exactly like in your starter picture. HUGE top cropper - the best I've ever used and I always top crop the fermenter. My process is: pitch yeast, 12-18 hours later I'll scrap the scum/dirt layer and toss it; another 18-30 hours later when it's about ready to come out the airlock I'll crop it into a quart sized jar and fill to the top with yeasty foam; this takes care of the blowoff problem and gives a HUGE amount of pure, thick, sticky yeast. Good **** for sure!

I have found it behaves very much like WLP029 with similar flavor/ester characteristics (mostly neutral but ever so slight fruitiness), and have found it's lower threshold to be the same (62F), at least until it's well into fermentation and then you can drop a degree or two if you like.

It's a low-med floccing strain that does NOT strip away the bitterness or hop/malt aromas. It's also a high attenuator with ~81-83% at 148-150F, and 76-78% at 152-154F.

Fantastic yeast and makes an outstanding Alt and Kolsch! I've also used on american styles with great success. It's single biggest disadvantage is flocculation, even with fining, but if you can handle hazy then have fun with it. The next "disadvantage" is that you'll need to top crop it or plan on a yeast blowoff, but that's only if you look at it that way . I also think it gets better into later generations (at least mine seems to) - granted we don't really know what generation we're collecting from to begin with.

 

[jsguitar]

Thanks for all the great info @stpug !

 

[jsguitar]

Well, this is indeed a great yeast. I'm tasting a recipe I did 8 days ago here and it's really good already. It fermented furiously. I started it out at about 62F. My cooling system overshot a little and cooled it to 60 for a day or so. I let it rise to about 63 for about 5 days and then let it warm to about 65.

It still has a couple inches of yeast on top. It's been some time since I've used wlp029, but it does remind me of it. There's still a very slight hint of sulfur (on first sniff anyway) with a relatively dry, very clean, hop-present finish. It's a flippin awesome ale yeast.

 

[jsguitar]

I forgot to mention that I never got any help from Odell. I got a nice reply from a person that said they'd forward the question to the brewers......but nothing. It does seem like a very easy to use yeast though and I still love them