wb-06 experience

[stz]

Hello HBT.

Just a quick one to let the forum know about a recent fermentation using this yeast. My intention was to produce a 'whoops' banana bomb (I won't go into full details, but think white stout with actual banana, lactose, vanilla, oats, banana ice cream/milkshake pale).

I did a bunch of reading about alternatives to the whole ferment it as hot as it wants to get thing which is apparently a lie, so instead went stepped mash, FAN rest to produce substrate for ester production, under pitching to stress the yeast at the cooler end of fermentation with gradual increases to ensure the yeast finishes and starts to throw those esters towards the end.

Away I went under pitching at 18C (64F) and increasing my temperature 1C per day (2F) until I was at 26C (78F). I performed a single rouse and let it sit for another 3 days at this temperature before cold crashing close to freezing for 2 days before packaging. This was quite a big beer irrespective of dextrins and lactose with an OG of 88 so while I expected a PG in the region of 18-20 still quite a lot of work for the yeast to do.

Anyway I have a cloudy wheat beer with an ideal amount of yeast in suspension, but I have a clove bomb instead. Like spiced cake territory of clove. This is just FYI, but if I was to try again I'd either seek out another yeast (other dry yeast seemed worse choices so wet) or just hope for the best with a fermentation conducted exclusively at 24C (75-76F). I assume that any substrate for ester formation was consumed at the lower temperature and by the time I was fermenting hot I was just producing booze.

 

[lumpher]

I've been using that yeast often for close to 10 years now, probably around 50 times. Don't expect anything but cloves from it, regardless of temperature modifications, atmospheric conditions, moon phases, who's on first base, or which foot you're standing on when you chant your ritual magic yeast-casting spell.

 

[Bosh]

Found that yeast to be incredibly mild, no bananas whatsoever.

 

[mmahu]

I do not like WB-06. Clovey, TART and no banana. It is not hefe material.

 

[dmtaylor]

You fermented cool for the first 48 hours when the yeast is extremely active. How did you expect to get banana at a cool temp of 64?!

Next time ferment it hot.

 

[Kharnynb]

as far as i'm considered, wb-06 is lawnmower-beer stuff.
danstar munich is a tad better, but not much.
mangrove jack's m20/m21 are better hefe/wit dry yeast, but still won't beat liquid yeasts.

 

[stz]

I had available wb-06, munich, munich classic and a yeast called kristallweizen. I chose the wb-06 as the best of a potentially bad bunch. I did ferment cool, this is because apparently banana isn't just down to fermenting it warm. It is supposed to be a relationship between pitch rate, oxygen, glucose and maltose and I wanted to test this. A lot of things I'm reading generally laugh at the idea that you are supposed to ferment hot, but also they tend to laugh at banana flavour (thanks Germany!). I think the next time I'll not overcomplicate things, standard mash, pitch at 16C, turn off the heating, but set a limit on the cooling for a 23-24C ferment so it can rise naturally and use THE RIGHT WET YEAST.