How often do you use more than one yeast strain on primary ?

I haven't done this much - but I think it's a very, very good idea. There's an article on it in a recent issue of Zymurgy.

The main drawback of using multiple strains is that you can't harvest and repitch as much, I think it's something like a max of 3 times. Obviously, if you pitch one strain then pitch another a few days later, you wouldn't be able to repitch at all.

I've been blending 3711 into 3724, with good results.

 

I just brewed a Saison, starter of WY3711 initial pitch, then after 48 hrs and 65% attenuation, pitched a package of WY5112 Brett Brux to start helping out and propping with some of the residual simple sugars. My thought process was to add before the 3711 was completely done fermenting all the simple sugars, as to not stress the Brett out too much as it competes for food supply, thus lowering the intensity of its character. Looking for balance, not a stable in a glass.

 

I'm sorry, I don't understand your question.

If you pitch one strain and then another, then repitch your slurry from that batch into a second batch, you will have the second strain mixed in with the first at the outset of primary for that second batch. The character of the first and second batch won't be the same. Not to mention that the rate of growth of that first strain in the first batch (after being oxygenated) will be much higher than the rate of growth of the second strain on the first batch. This wouldn't be true the second time you pitched - both strains will grow.

If you're not worried about consistency between the two batches, then yeah, go ahead and repitch - but then I'd argue why not just pitch both strains at the outset of primary of your first batch anyway.

Hope this all makes sense.

 

How so? If I pitch Yeast A (sacch), top crop it after 24 hr activity, store it & then pitch Yeast B (ie Brett) say at 48 hr, Yeast A crop would be clean and homogenous, and perfectly fine to repitch.

 

I think he is speaking in general brewing terms, ie, the bulk of us probably repitch from the cake post fermentation as opposed to top-cropping. But yes, if one were to top-crop the first strain then pitch the second, you could reuse the first strain again and do the same w/o the issue of the ratios changing with consecutive repitching.

 

Yes, I was referring to bottom cropping. If you top crop this way you'd be fine.

 

I can shed some light on my own experiences:
A pale ale made with Windsor and Nottingham and a Belgian dark ale with the Westmalle strain and the Chico strain.

In both cases, I got beers that were intermediate between the two yeasts in flavor profile. Because Notty and Chico are fairly neutral w/ regard to esters (in the case of the Windsor blend) and phenolics (in the case of the Westmalle blend), both beers had a subdued profile.

Both these blends were accidents. Don't ask.

I also made a Biere de garde in which I intentionally used California lager and European ale yeast. I honestly can't remember what I was thinking. The beer ended up seeming a bit sweet - underattenuated, maybe?

I have a few other experiences with Brett and Lacto blends in primary for saison and Berliner weisse, but I suspect you are thinking about blends of Saccharomyces.

 

Not sure how it will work out but I plan on blending 3724, 3725, and 3726 for a Saison in primary, all at the start and seeing how it turns out. I'm hoping it will be rustic, fruity, spicy, dry, complex, hints of all 3 strains.

 

Even if you don't top crop because you ferment in carboy, you can still do a sanitary thief transfer from actively fermenting beer at 24 - 48 hr to harvest. I've done this a few times with best results at ~36 hrs. Transfer 360 ml into a small mason jar, try to top to brim and let sit for a few hrs warm with loose lid to flush any O2 picked up during transfer, then store in fridge. You should see thin layer of yeast drop out, which can later build back up.

Method works really well for less flocc yeast that suspends well. Anyone else do this?

 

I did something similar. I used the saison dupont strain because it is notorious for stalling and pitched brett brux trois with it. The samples I have taken for gravity readings all taste great, brett is there, but the saison is most prominent. I'm excited to see what this does over time.

 

I just

What date did you pitch the Trois? I did a 100% Trois Blonde that recently won a BOS at competition, Brett complexity really kicked up and shined at the 2 month mark. Prior to 2 months, it was just classic Belgian phenol with some mild tropical fruit.

 

once. sort of by accident. wound up using a blend of bavarian wheat yeast and US-05 on my elderberry wheat beer. Won't do that again. that beer needs straight bavarian wheat yeast, US-05 doesn't do it justice in any way.Can't say there were "off" flavors, but the grist and (low amount of) hops used in my elderberry wheat recipe aren't complimented by US-05's clean profile. You could readily taste the difference (even tho it was a 50/50 pitch).

 

Just passed week three in the fermenter. Its a bit more funkky than a straight saison already, I am really looking forward to what is to come. I was going to dryhop with an oz of nelson at week 5 and bottle after four days of dryhopping.

 

A lot! Blending yeast strains in the correct proportions can add a lot of depth and complexity to a beer, and strengths of one strain can often make for deficiencies in another (i.e. attenuation).

Cheers!