A replacement for White Labs Belgian Saison III (WLP585)?

I attended HomebrewCon 2018 in Portland, OR this past June and one of my sub-tasks while being there was to see if I could find a ‘replacement’ for the now discontinued WLP585 yeast (one of my favorites for making Saisons). One vendor I visited to discuss this with was Fermentis. I spoke to Napoleon Bonyouchoa and I related to him what I appreciated about WLP585 - its nice combination of fruity (esters) and spicy (phenols) flavors. He suggested that I do a co-pitch of Fermentis T-58 and BE-134 at a ratio of around 3:1 (T-58 to BE-134). Will this mysterious mix get me what I want?

I figured what the heck, let’s give it a go.

The Saison that I brew every year (my only brew of the summer – August) is pretty simple:

· Pilsner malt

· Table sugar (1 lb. for a 5 gallon batch)

· German Magnum hops for bittering

· Czech Saaz hops for flavor (last 10 minutes of boil) and aroma (end of boil).

· OG = 1.058

· FG = whatever the yeast strain will get me (as low as possible preferably)

For my Saisons the ‘magic’ is the flavors that the yeast provides.

Heretofore I have had no experience with either T-58 or BE-134. Below are some extracts from the Fermentis spec sheets for these two products:

T-58

“Specialty yeast selected for its estery somewhat peppery and spicy flavor development. Yeast with a medium sedimentation: forms no clumps but a powdery haze when resuspended in the beer.

FERMENTATION: ideally 15-20°C (59-68°F)”

BE-134

“The SafAle™ BE-134 is a Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus and is characterized by a particularly high attenuation.

This typical yeast strain is recommended for Belgian Saison-style beers. It gives fruity aromas with a slight spicy character (POF+) such as clove notes. This strain will bring highly refreshing and drinkable beers.

FERMENTATION: ideally 18-28°C (64.4-82.4°F)”

To achieve around a 3:1 ratio I decided to pitch an entire package of T-58 (11 grams) and use 4 grams of the BE-134 package. I also decided to rehydrate these yeasts prior to pitching.

Now, what fermentation temperature conditions would be ‘best’? I have read a few folks post that they liked their beers fermented at 68 °F with T-58 and since that temperature is within the recommended ranges of these two yeast strains I decided to use the temperature of 68 °F for the first 3 days (72 hours) of the fermentation. I am guessing that most of the work being done by the T-58 strain will be completed at this point in time so I chose to then let the fermentation temperature free rise to permit the BE-134 to complete the job.

I typically prefer my homebrewed Saison beers with about 6 months of bottle aging. I bottled this batch 9/14/18 so this beer is still a bit ‘young’ for my preferences but I still think it is worthwhile reporting on it.

Is this mix of Fermentis yeast an exact equivalent of WLP585? It is pretty obvious it is not but from my perspective a more proper evaluation would be: does this yeast blend replicate what I am looking for (and prefer) in producing a Saison beer?

My evaluation criteria are:

· Does this Fermentis blend create an enjoyable combination of esters (fruity flavors) and phenols (spicy flavors)?

· Will it achieve a very low final gravity?

I am happy to report that both of the above criteria are met by this Fermentis blend!

The flavor profile is indeed a tasty combination of fruity (and some citrus) and spicy flavors. The aroma/flavor proclaims Saison for me!

The final gravity I measured (after 2+ weeks in the primary) was 1.002. This is a desirable metric for me. I should highlight that while this low final gravity is indicative of a ‘bone dry’ beer the yeast (BE-134?) did produce some glycerol (in my opinion) which creates a little bit of a luscious aspect to the body/mouthfeel. Perhaps the best way to characterize this is an off-dry finish? No matter the specific word selection here the body/mouthfeel of this beer is perfect for my palate.

Cheers to Napoleon Bonyouchoa for his great suggestion!

P.S. Drew (@DrewBeechum) please feel free to add information from this post into your wonderful blog about Saison yeasts if you deem it to be worthy. Or better yet, are you willing to give a 3:1 blend of T-58/BE-134 a try with your basic Saison recipe and subsequently report on it? The more ‘data points’ the better.

@jbakajust1 @rotsaruch

 

Jim, he responded to me in a thoughtful and serious manner. That makes him a smart ass?

Cheers!

 

Jim, if you are “ever allowed to brew a saison again” I would recommend this blend and I would very much like to hear about your experience with your batch.

Needless to say but there are a number of variables which will impact fermentation and the flavor profile of the resulting beer (e.g., fermentation temperature(s), etc.).

Cheers!

Jack

 

Well, your post does have the word "ass" in it so....

Cheers!

 

What final gravity did you achieve with ECY11?

Cheers!

 

During my verbal discussion at HomebrewCon 2018 the 'issue' was a production aspect. The gentleman did not provide specifics.

My guess is that when they produced this blend as a vial package they could grow the two strains separately and then combine them at the end of production within the vial. Now that they are growing the yeast(s) within a package things are different.

Feel free to send a message to White Labs specifically asking about this,

Cheers!

 

Peter, feel free to reach out to White Labs if you desire more details. They have the information you seek?

Cheers!