1762 Abbey II flavor character control

[cosmo]

I brewed a Belgian Blonde with 1762 Belgian Abbey yeast as one of my first beers about a year ago and it came out great. Some bannana esters were easily detectable and very little hot alcohol. At that time I did not use any temerature control or monitoring, so I have no Idea what happened. I do know that I pitched cold (about 65F) and the ambient temperature was pretty warm (maybe 77F). I have since tried to duplicate my results several times using temerature control and cannot get the fruity esters without the hot alcohol taste. I would like to know what other peoples experiences are with this yeast. I have recently read that starting cold and ramping up the temperature helps produce more fruity esters. I would like to know how temperature, pitching rate, oxygenation effect the fruity esters as well as the hot alcohols and spicy characters. What is the sweet spot for this yeast? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

[Spidey]

The book Brew Like a Monk is an invaluable resource for the information that you want. If you don't have it, go buy it now. I haven't used this particular strain, so hopefully someone else will comment about their personal experiences with it. Another point of note, the comparable White Labs strain WLP540 Abbey IV is out now as a platinum release.

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

Maybe something else changed, like pitch rate or oxygen level?
If alcohols are too hot I'd drop ferment temp, not raise it, and see what kind of esters you get.
Stick on carboy thermometers are invaluable if you don't already have them.
Pitching cold is nice, like 65.

[Bellmer]

I hate that yeast...

I always get bananas, hot alcohol, and no belgian character, regardless of the temp that I ferment it at. I'll be interested to see what solutions are proposed here.

[cosmo]

Spidey, I have brew like a monk. It does hav a lot of great info. I just started reading the section on yeast/fermentation last night. I wanted to get some personal experiences.

[Bellmer]

For Belgians, I usually pitch at about 67, leave it there for 48 hours after I see activity, let it rise to 70 for a day, then 72, then let it free rise afterwards. Works really well with Trappist High Gravity and the Saison II strains, but crappily with the Abbey II.

So...I guess that doesn't really help in this case, but it's my personal experience.

[cosmo]

Chupa, I think you are right about dropping the temp to reduce hot alcohols, but I think that also reduces esters. The last batch I fermented at 72F. I think I'll drop that down to 67-68F next time. I also agree with pitching at a lower temp. That seems to jive with Brew Like a Monk. I'll start at 65 and let it gradually rise to about 67, then start controlling the temp. I use one of those digital indoor/outdoor thermometers with the probe taped to the side of the carboy. I use several layers of paper towels taped over it to insulate the probe from the ambient air. That ensures that I'm measuring the wort temp and not the air. That seems to work well for me. How about oxygen level and pitching rate? will a slightly lower pitching rate produce more fruity esters? And conversely, will a higher pitching rate reduce the esters? last time I did a 2L starter with 1 large smack pack. I'm thinking about skipping the starter. I also aerate by rocking the carboy for 5 minutes. I'm not sure what effect if any a change in the aeration would have. Thanks for your feedback. Please keep them coming.

[cosmo]

Belmer,
The WYeast reccomended temp range is 65-75F, so I would think that your temp schedule would work, but it seems this yeast must have a sweet spot. I hit the sweet spot the first time by accident. I think it might be someware within 65-68F. It also seems that a slow rise in temperature for the first few days may also help.