Beer Forum

What originally started out as hop-focused experiments, I'm taking some of those ideas in a slightly different direction w/ some new strains from the Yeast Bay. New school homebrewing focus to their offerings w/ A big Saison/Belgian and brett focus in the portfolio, plus the Vermont strain as the most notable straight-sacc "clean" strain. Banked and produced at white labs.. http://www.theyeastbay.com/ You guys ever tried these? So far I've tried Vermont Ale, Wallonian Farmhouse and Funktown Pale Ale on an IPA. I've only brewed a couple of batches with 'em so far, but the signature character on first impressions comes across as really peach ester from Vermont Ale (seems well suited to pair with "tropical" hops), Smoke & spicy phenols on the Wallonian and sandalwood-like aromatics from the brett strain on Funktown. Next, it makes me want to try an APA w/ the Vermont, a dubbel or a roast-forward beer w/ the Wallonian and a neutral blonde ale w/ the Funktown. I have a couple of other experiments going with their Beersel and Lochristi brett blends, but it is too early to tell what I might get out of those yet. A cool alternative to the other strains out there, I thought it was a pretty cool twist to see these guys working through White Labs to get some new strains out there for us to check out.

Hey Nate

My Yeast Bay shipment of Vermont Ale, Funktown and Saison/Brett just arrived today. I'm doing a 10 gallon split batch of saison next weekend (5 gallons Wyeast 3711 French Saison with Comet, Crystal and Belma) and (5 with Yeast Bay Saison/Brett, Nelson Sauvin and Belma). I'll post my thoughts on the Saison/Brett strain. Thanks for the notes on the Vermont, Wallonian and Funktown strains. Cheers!

-Chris P.

I believe their Vermont Ale strain is reportedly the "Conan" strain from Alchemy Brewing.

brewinhard wrote:I believe their Vermont Ale strain is reportedly the "Conan" strain from Alchemy Brewing.

This is correct, most of the yeast companies have a similar strain from Heady Topper.

Yeah I bought the Vermont mostly to test out and see how much of the Heady Topper ester profile it creates.

The Saison/Brett strain is already spoken for but I'm open to suggestions on what to do with the Funktown and Vermont Strains. I have the capability of doing 10 gallon batches and have copious amounts of Centennial, Cascade, Columbus, Simcoe, Summit, Belma, Millennium, Bravo, UK Pilgrim, Comet, Amarillo, Simcoe, Crystal and Horizon in my freezer. I've already done about 25 gallons of pale ales and wheat beer the last couple months on top of 15 gallons of IPA so please don't suggest those

FUNKTOWN PALE ALE
Funktown Pale Ale is a blend of our Vermont Ale strain and a unique strain of Brettanomyces that is well suited for primary fermentation. The combination of the citrus/peach esters from the Vermont Ale strain and the light funk and pineapple/mango esters from the Brettanomyces produces a unique flavor and aroma profile that is fruit-forward. Expect this blend to finish drier than the Vermont Ale. Approximately 58 billion cells/vial.

We recommend following a similar fermentation scheme as is used for the Vermont Ale, fermenting at 67-69 ºF for 3-4 days, and then raising the temperature to 72 ºF until a stable gravity is reached.


Temperature: 68 - 74 ºF
Attenuation: 78-80%+
Flocculation: Medium-Low

VERMONT ALE
Isolated from a uniquely crafted double IPA out of the Northeastern United States, this yeast produces a balanced fruity ester profile of peaches and light citrus that complements any aggressively hopped beer. Expect this strain to take off fast and ferment wort quickly, though elevating the temperature following the bulk of fermentation may be required to raise the attenuation.

In order to achieve high attenuation, we recommend fermenting at 67-69 ºF for 3-4 days, and then raising the temperature to 72 ºF until a stable gravity is reached.

Attenuation has also been reported to increase when repitching after the first generation.

Temperature: 66 - 70 ºF
Attenuation: 75 - 82%
Flocculation: Medium-Low

I did a 9 gallon split batch of rye saison with Nelson hops and used The Yeast Bay Saison Blend, Saison with Brett and East Coast Yeast Farmhouse Brett (B). The later two are still in the fermenter. Plan on leaving them for 3 months to allow the brett character to develop. The Saison Blend portion had very high attenuation and has some subtle ripe stone fruit notes and spiciness akin to dupont. I plan on trying some more strains soon.