Can We Help Chad With His WLP565 Problem

[hopbumpingbrewer]

Chat said on the 11/16/08 show with Homer Smith that he had tried to finish out a Saison with WLP565 (Dupont)

Here is my 2 bits on the matter.

I agree, Chat that your mash temp was fine. BUT..........................

WLP565 takes a very very VERY long time to ferment.
Seriously, I had used it and had it sit at 1.022 for 2 weeks. I figured that it was done, done, done. I then put it in bottles. They became the most volatile bombs I have ever had.
It kept on fermenting, very very slowly. In Farmhouse Ales (brewers publications) the author indicates that there may be many strains in wlp565, including brettanomyces.

That would explain much. I would rack this beer to a second fermenter and leave it for a month or more in order to let it finish.

Now on another Saison note. Next year try the WLP566(platinum strain). It took my 1.048 Saison down to 1.005. (89% Attenuation). I really like this yeast & not just for its attenuation %.

Give it a try.

Bump

[Mylo]

I was thinking the very same thing. 565 is a tempermental bitch. 566 is a beast. It took my version of JZ's strong saison from 1.071 to 1.008 - 88% AA.


Mylo

[phrieken2]

but since that platinum strain is no longer in season, has anyone tried using WLP 550 for a saison?

[Gahr]

but since that platinum strain is no longer in season, has anyone tried using WLP 550 for a saison?

I have not used the 550 for saisons, but I have used it for other Belgians with great results. The "Farmhouse Ales" book recommends this yeast for one of the spiced versions of saison, so I guess it is a decent alternative to the 565. Don't expect it to produce a Dupont clone, though. The phenolics stand out more in the 550.

By the way, 565 is a single strain, but the actual yeast used by the Dupont brewery might be a multi-strain culture (I've heard four). I tried the 568 Saison Blend recently (which is a four-strain blend), and it took four weeks to ferment out from 1063 to 1008, so I guess the thing with saisons really is to be patient. The beer turned out excellent.

[hopbumpingbrewer]

By the way, 565 is a single strain

I hope you are right, but honestly, its behavior would argue otherwise.

"Farmhouse Ales" by Award Winning Brewer Phil Markowski , Brewmaster, Southampton Publick House, has some interesting information on this yeast, with pretty much the same debate going on, however with it is between yeast companies.

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[Chupa LaHomebrew]

I've brewed a lot of saisons, and I have used all these yeasts except for 566, which is on deck for my next brew.

Whitelabs 565 is from the Dupont brewery, but I agree with Jamil on this, it will NEVER dry out a saison to the proper levels. If you use this strain, you really have to add sugar, and you still might have to add another yeast to finish it out. Even being patient, this yeast might not dry the beer out to a true saison dryness. A much better choice is the standard Wyeast version.

550 is the Lachouffe strain, and ferments fairly dry. It would be a good strain to use if the original strain did not attenuate properly. It does not kick off a saison yeast character though, it is more mellow, and therefore good for spiced versions.

I used the Wyeast "Farmhouse" saison strain, and it is a powerful fermenter, but the yeast kicked off more banana esters than I like. Still it ferments dry and I'm drinking a very tasty saison off my kegerator that was brewed with this yeast.

My all time favorite saison yeast, is the French saison yeast sold by Wyeast. It has amazing character and it is a workhorse strain. You won't believe the dryness and wonderful flavors and aromas kicked off by this yeast. Everyone should give this one a shot next year.

Good luck with your saison Chad, I am listening to the show right now, and I haven't reached that part yet. Too bad "Dulle Teve" (Crazy Bitch) is already a beer name being used by De Dolle.


(OK, just listened to the show. Chad, if you are tasting brett, you are either confusing the musty/earthy character that this yeast throws off, or you have some infection. Finishing with cali 001 was a good choice.)

[Gahr]

I hope you are right, but honestly, its behavior would argue otherwise.

"Farmhouse Ales" by Award Winning Brewer Phil Markowski , Brewmaster, Southampton Publick House, has some interesting information on this yeast, with pretty much the same debate going on, however with it is between yeast companies.

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I aggree that the behavior is rather unusual compared to "regular" beer yeasts. I, for one, have grown accustomed to beers usually fermenting out in less than two weeks, and grow pretty impatient when I have to wait two more weeks and swirl my fermenter regularly to dry a beer out. But I guess that's my problem, not the little critters'... I think the 568 blend contains the 565 strain in addition to three others, so it will retain the 565 flavor profile, but eventually dries out. I haven't heard comments from others who have tried it, but I'm reallly pleased with my own results. While I'm not directly cloning Dupont, there are definite similarities.

[hopbumpingbrewer]

Perhaps next year, I will give that strain a try.

I really like the Saison D'Epeautre strain(WLP566),

however experimentation is one of my favorite aspects of brewing. Not to mention that I hate waiting until August for the release of 566. By then summer is almost over and I am ready to start drinking bigger beers.

Saison has been one of my favorite summer styles for many years now. Perhaps next year I will actually get to drink mine IN THE SUMMER.

Great discussion,
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