White Labs Seasonal Vault Releases...

[Nagorg]

Does anyone have any insight as to when they typically release these strains? For example, right now were supposed to be in the March/April period and they list WLP075 and WLP673 for these months. But they still show as being "Pre-Order"...

I pre-ordered some WLP075 a few months back so I'd think that it should be produced soon based on the seasonal release time frames. Just wondering if anyone has any firsthand experience doing this. I'd sure like to know when I might have my yeast..

No, I havent asked them yet.. LOL Just like to see what HBT folks have to say on these things.

 

[Nagorg]

Nobody? Okay, I'll contact them and post back any meaningful info.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

It's a bit unreasonable to expect an answer in less than 12 hours....

The Vault countdown and the seasonal releases seem to work pretty much independently so I wouldn't put too much weight on the Vault showing "Preorder" but it's true, I've not seen any sign of the seasonal release of 075 and 673 yet. However, it seems that their production schedule is kinda messed up at the moment - people had to wait a while for the Vault release of 773 recently and it wouldn't surprise me if they've been making various improvements to their production facilities after last year's diastaticus problems.

 

[Nagorg]

It's a bit unreasonable to expect an answer in less than 12 hours....

Really??? Not sure I've ever seen no comment for that long on my threads before. I'm assuming there just arent that many folks ordering from the vault so no real insight. Cant say I blame anyone because of how long it takes for enough pre-orders to to be placed for what you are interested in to ship.

This seasonal release schedule is nice for folks that might be interested in some of these strains. I hopped on their big "releasing all strains from the vault" thing last year and tried WLP075 and really, really liked it! That order shipped pretty quick because they produced and shipped regardless of how many orders they got.

Now though, I found my order receipt and I forgot that I pre-ordered on 10/12/2017. That's over 5 months ago and a long time to wait in anticipation of the brew you intend to use this strain on! And top that off with an advertised "scheduled release window" and I'm seriously a bit like the kid someone is dangling candy in front of!

Anyway, I e-mailed them and will post back their response if/when I get it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I think you must normally ask really obvious questions. It's kinda a new system so it's not surprise that there's not much experience of it. I think the experience of the WLP773 guys shows some of the problems with the Vault system - I think seasonal releases make much more sense for cider and wine yeast given the natural seasonality of the product. They've ended up getting the cider yeast they've waited for in March, when there's no apples in the northern hemisphere! And being a blend it's not as straightforward to keep and propagate as a single strain - ditto Hansen.

At least you're looking at a fairly popular yeast with a seasonal release as well. I'm waiting for some of the more obscure British ale strains like 26/37/38/39 which have no seasonal release in sight and are picking up about 1 pre-order per month so some of them may emerge from the Vault around June 2030! Strains of particular interest to European brewers aren't helped by the fact that you can only order from the Vault with a US credit card.

This year's White Labs seasonals are here for those who haven't seen them : https://www.whitelabs.com/news/new-year-new-strains-updates-yeast-bank

Anyone seen the forward schedule for Wyeast seasonals? I've not seen anything for what they're releasing in April let alone after that!

 

[Nagorg]

I got a response and I cant say its good news.

In summary, White Labs treats pre-orders from the vault differently than they do the seasonal releases. What that means for me is that I still have to wait until the pre-order number decrements even though they are sending what I've ordered (>5 months ago) to Home Brew shops... They are seriously not fulfilling my order even though they are producing the strain and shipping it elsewhere!

I have to say that I dont think this is right by any stretch!! This experience may very well be the straw that broke the camels back for me. I know that they dont care about the home brew scale usage that comes from me but I know there has been negative talk about them lately. I may not buy any more White Labs yeast after this experience and certainly wont have much positive things to say going forward.

The vault is a farce it seems! Sounds like they really dont want to open it for home brewers.

Have they been covertly bought by AB-InBev or something?? With this response, I'm done with "The Vault" and quite likely White Labs as well!

My e-mail thread today:
------------------------------
On March 30, 2018 11:20:24 AM XXX XXX <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello,
Unfortunately yes. Vault seasonal releases are separate from regular vault releases (they are even handled through different systems and are considered separate programs).
As far as homebrew shops, we have been shipping quite a bit of our Vault Seasonal releases since the beginning of March. I don't know actual homebrew store inventory so you would need to call on that, but they should be pretty easily obtainable!
Cheers,


XXX XXX
Customer Service Supervisor

Advancing Fermentation. Cultivating Community
9495 Candida St. • San Diego, CA 92126 USA
CUSTOMER SERVICE (888) 5-YEAST-5
FAX (858) 693-1026

==============================================

On Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 9:06 AM, Nagorg <[email protected]> wrote:
WOW... So I won't get my yeast that I've been waiting for since October??? Even though you're sending some elsewhere?? Really doesn't seem right...

Can you tell me if WLP075 has actually been sent to Homebrew shops yet or do I need to ask them??

==============================================

On March 30, 2018 9:33:53 AM XXX XXX <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Nagorg,
The vault seasonal release is different from a regular vault release so they don't ship at the same time (and with the shipping cost, is usually a little cheaper straight from your local home brew store). The preorders still need to hit the required 150 preorders to be released, but you could always cancel the order and get it locally if you wanted (or get it locally and keep the preorder).
Thanks!


XXX XXX
Customer Service Supervisor

Advancing Fermentation. Cultivating Community
9495 Candida St. • San Diego, CA 92126 USA
CUSTOMER SERVICE (888) 5-YEAST-5
FAX (858) 693-1026

 

[deadwolfbones]

As they say, you can cancel your preorder and buy from someone else. Probably the best course of action here.

 

[Nagorg]

As they say, you can cancel your preorder and buy from someone else. Probably the best course of action here.

Followed by forgetting about the vault and that strain and what will now be known as "The yeast company that shall not be named.." in my book.

I seriously cant believe they would produce the strain but not fulfill orders that had been sitting for months!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

In summary, White Labs treats pre-orders from the vault differently than they do the seasonal releases. What that means for me is that I still have to wait until the pre-order number decrements even though they are sending what I've ordered (>5 months ago) to Home Brew shops...

Which is what I said...

Personally it looks like a win-win, I can't see why you're bitching when in fact this system works better for you.

They say Hansen was last released two years ago, and since then there have been 50 pre-orders. So at that rate, it would have been released in four years time. All they've done is said they will send you some when they get 150 orders, they've given you no indication of time.

Right now, you can buy it as a seasonal release. If they also fulfilled all the Vault orders, then the Vault count would be reset back to 150 and so it wouldn't be released for six years rather than four. So it is working in your favour, even if it is a kinda messed-up system that needs tweaking in various ways.

Interesting they imply there's been no problems with the release schedule, as I've still not seen the March seasonals in any of the British stockists of White Labs.

 

[Electrake]

They generally sell off everything in the vault once a year in one big sale. I ended up with funky cider, some pedio, nordic ale, and something else last year in one purchase. It was great

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Ok, as long as you have a US credit card...

 

[Nagorg]

I can't see why you're bitching when in fact this system works better for you

I'm bitching because I've been planning a brew based off an assumption that I'd get my yeast because they were going to produce it anyway as a seasonal. Granted that was clearly my bad for assuming something like that. It just doesn't make any sense to me that they would not fulfill existing orders for something that was being produced anyway.

Right now, you can buy it as a seasonal release.

Well, you might think so but I called 2 different LHBS in the area and neither has it. And when I asked about ordering some from them I was told that they dont even see it available on Yeastman. One of the LHBS is reaching out to them for more info and I'll hopefully get that info next week.

So perhaps my expectations have been misguided. In any event its not a good consumer experience. Maybe they could do a better job of clarifying what the expectations should be.

I'll probably sit on my order and wait for it. But my expectations are aligned now.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I'm bitching because I've been planning a brew based off an assumption

You know what they say about the word "assume"...

when I asked about ordering some from them I was told that they dont even see it available on Yeastman.

This seems to be the real problem - the March seasonals just don't seem to be making it out in the wild for whatever reason. Not only do none of the British stockists have them but I've just checked some of the big US ones and they don't have any sign either. Coupled with the problems people had over the WLP773 Vault release, one does wonder what's happening with their small-batch production behind the scenes. You've got a legitimate right to ***** about that.

 

[Nagorg]

Update:

My LHBS said that when they called WhiteLabs they didn't know it wasn't showing up on Yeastman for order. They actually did have some available and supposedly fixed the Yeastman problem so it shows as available for order.

I was able to take advantage timing for my LHBS placing an order with them and have some WLP075 on its way. I figured this was a good opportunity considering my main Vault order is still sitting at 98 orders needed before shipping; it will be a while it seems...

So, lesson learned about the vault. Its only for the most patient so don't plan any brew sessions until your order actually ships. And just because you see the strain of interest as a seasonal release, just know that your order will not be shipped from that production run.

While it did work out that I am getting the my yeast of interest twice, I still don't think it makes a lot of sense to produce a strain while leaving prior orders for that strain unfulfilled.

Doesn't matter if you agree with me on this or not; I feel let down by this experience in general regardless. I'd much rather had received my yeast as an order being fulfilled in sync with a seasonal release.

Anyway, there you have it!

 

[couchsending]

Ordered some German Lager X from the vault last fall. Got the email that it had been released from the vault right before the new year. Yeast didn’t ship for almost two months even though it was produced at the end of 2017. Ordered 4 vials, they sent me 1. Waited two more weeks to get my additional 3 vials.... twice. So 7 vials of 2+ month old yeast for the cost of 4, which was nice. Whole procedure was a joke.

 

[GPP33]

Update:

My LHBS said that when they called WhiteLabs they didn't know it wasn't showing up on Yeastman for order. They actually did have some available and supposedly fixed the Yeastman problem so it shows as available for order.

I was able to take advantage timing for my LHBS placing an order with them and have some WLP075 on its way. I figured this was a good opportunity considering my main Vault order is still sitting at 98 orders needed before shipping; it will be a while it seems...

So, lesson learned about the vault. Its only for the most patient so don't plan any brew sessions until your order actually ships. And just because you see the strain of interest as a seasonal release, just know that your order will not be shipped from that production run.

While it did work out that I am getting the my yeast of interest twice, I still don't think it makes a lot of sense to produce a strain while leaving prior orders for that strain unfulfilled.

Doesn't matter if you agree with me on this or not; I feel let down by this experience in general regardless. I'd much rather had received my yeast as an order being fulfilled in sync with a seasonal release.

Anyway, there you have it!

I agree with you on this. Seems they could ship the vault orders with the seasonal release and just restart the vault order count at zero.

 

[Nagorg]

I agree with you on this. Seems they could ship the vault orders with the seasonal release and just restart the vault order count at zero.

WORD!