Belgium Yeast Strains Pitch Rate

Belgium has evolved a buttload of yeast strains. If you say which one you're using and what your own goals for the beer are, people could probably give you some useful input. Beware broad advice like "Belgian strains should be under-pitched."

 

I have only brewed a couple tripels (used 3783). I tried to pitch a good amount, not under-pitch, not over-pitch. In all cases, I ended up with the typical characteristics you would expect for a tripel.

I have done a lot more saisons (dupont dregs and 3724 and others). Same story as above. I suspect many of the people who bitch about 3724 and stalling have under-pitched.

Like you, I have seen people suggest that stressing yeast is a good idea for a belgian yeast, but I have not seen anything that I would consider anything more than hearsay.

TL;DR I treat belgian yeast like yeast and I try not to abuse it.

 

Since you added a bunch of spices, I don't see why you would want to focus on phenols. Since you pitched big and fermented hot, spicy phenols should be low and fruity esters should be high.

The "ideal" pitch rate depends on the yeast strain and what you want to achieve. What the yeast produces also depends on oxygen, OG, fermentation temperature and mashing schedule. Low pitch rate and no oxygen can produce some rustic qualities that some people appreciate and others consider to be a poorly made beer. High pitch rate and plenty of oxygen can produce a cleaner beer that can still contain moderate esters and phenols. Some would consider the result to be perfect and others simply say, meh.

I use various pitch rates, oxygen levels, fermentation temperatures and mashing schedules to achieve what I want to get from the yeast. One constant is I always make a starter and use nutrient even with low pitch rates.

So what did you hope to get from the yeast that didn't happen?

 

I would say this is a very good place to start. I do not know how you determine your starter volume vs yeast production but as long as you stay consistent it should not be a problem.

Lower pitching rates produce more/different yeast character than pitching on a cake as far as WY3787 goes I can tell you that from experience.

 

I don’t have any specific comments on pitch rate but an important variable for Belgian Ale yeast strains is fermentation temperature.

You might be interested in reading this chart from White Labs: http://www.whitelabs.com/files/belgianchart_0.pdf

Cheers!

 

^^^ @fishtizzy you might find this link interesting in regard to your question about magic formulas for yeast temps in the other thread. I haven't had a chance to take a hard look at the chart, but it should give you some idea of the possibilities that exist for strain and temperature combinations.

 

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