WLP029 Kolsh yeast

[irishrover32]

hi im brewing an american wheat beer with amarillo and simcoe, im gonna use WLP029 as i hear its great in this style of beer, my question is how long and at what temp should i ferment at? what kind of esters can i expect with this yeast and what temps give them off the most. any info appreciated

cheers

 

[CadillacAndy]

I usually try to stick to the lower end of the temperature range with WLP029 - specifically 62F. I've used it several times in my American Wheat recipe across several different temperatures and decided I liked regular California Ale Yeast better. I get apple, white wine/grapes and pear-like esters from this strain and it just muddies up the hop flavor and aroma I think.

Esters are typically formed a couple of different ways. The pitch rate effects them the most. If you under pitch, the yeast have to grow more cells to properly ferment and during the growth phase is typically when the esters are produces. If you ferment warmer, the yeast cells reproduce more quickly so more esters are produced. If you want to maximize ester production, under pitching and fermenting warm would be the way to do that. If you want to keep the esters low, pitch a correct amount of healthy cells, oxygenate and keep the temperatures low during the growth phase. You can increase them as fermentation starts to slow down to help keep the yeast active.

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, with the kolsch yeast, it will produce a lot of sulfur flavor that takes quite a while to mellow, I use this yeast in a simple amber ale I make for my wife, ferment @ 63 deg for the first 7 days then raise to 70 for another week, then secondary for 2.5 months minimum, before kegging and then its 14 days on the gas before she even pulls a pint, we have tried several things to speed up the process, but it takes that long for this beer/yeast combo to become good.

I use cali WLP-001 on most of my beers, I would highly recommend it over the kolsch.

Hope this helps !

Cheers

 

[irishrover32]

hmmmm im getting a little scared now, its for a competition coming up on august 9th do u think im cutting it fine, i wont be racking to secondary i planned on 3 weeks in primary and then to bottles, should i stick with some US-05, OR maybe i could split the batch that could be fun (until it comes to bottling)

 

[CadillacAndy]

hmmmm im getting a little scared now, its for a competition coming up on august 9th do u think im cutting it fine, i wont be racking to secondary i planned on 3 weeks in primary and then to bottles, should i stick with some US-05, OR maybe i could split the batch that could be fun (until it comes to bottling)

I've easily turned around beers with this yeast in way less time. I would personally say that if you're able to split the batch and use US05 and WLP029, go that way. If it's for a competition having options is the way to go. I'm going to bet that the US05 one turns out better.

 

[unionrdr]

The sweet spot for the WL 029 kolsh yeast is 65-69F. I use it to brew my hybrid lagers without any of these ester flavors mentioned. Bottle condition at no more than 70F. Then two weeks fridge time to emulate the lagering phase if you aren't able to lager it. It gives a good balance of flavors with a bit of crispness on the back if served cold.

 

[irishrover32]

cheers for the advice, im gonna split the batch in two and see how that works.

 

[irishrover32]

so im gonna brew this on saturday, im going to primary with the us-05 for 2 weeks then bottle, but what will i do with the kolshe yeast, im goin away in 3 weeks for 1 week so my options are bottle the kolshe batch after two weeks like the S-05 or leave it in the primary for 5 weeks as i wont get another chance to bottle it till then so which one 2 weeks or 5 weeks

 

[CadillacAndy]

I'd say 5 weeks. It will really give the yeast time to settle. Try to rack it without moving the carboy so you don't stir up the yeast again if possible.