I've made two different beers using four different Wyeast strains, looking for a very clove/phenolic flavor, and not gotten this taste in any of them. Anyone else had this problem with Wyeast? I've tried 3636, 3068 in a dunkelweizen, and 1388 and 3522 in a Belgian Blonde Ale. I've been underpitching and trying to keep temps north of 70 during fermenation to enhance the flavor, with minimal success. My last effort was going to be with 3944, but thought I'd ask if you might get better spicy Belgian/German weizen flavor out of White Labs strains before I try another Wyeast pack... or is anything wrong in my thinking about the process. Thanks.
High fermentation temps enhance banana and supress clove flavor, try fermenting closer to 60 for less banana and more clove.
Like HB42 said, ferment your weizen's cold. Additionally, if you want more clove phenolics, do a protein rest around 108-110 F to promote formation of ferrulic acid for your hefe's/dunkels. Additionally, if you want major clove go for Wyeast 3942, their belgian wheat beer. I've done a couple beers with it and it really produces a lot of clove phenolics (No Banana) even when fermented at 68 F.
YEAST STRAIN: 3942 | Belgian Wheat™ Isolated from a small Belgian brewery, this strain produces beers with moderate esters and minimal phenolics. Apple, bubblegum and plum-like aromas blend nicely with malt and hops. This strain will finish dry with a hint of tartness. This doesn't sound right, I thought it would have been: YEAST STRAIN: 3944 | Belgian Witbier™ This versatile witbier yeast strain can be used in a variety of Belgian style ales. This strain produces a complex flavor profile dominated by spicy phenolics with low to moderate ester production. It is a great strain choice when you want a delicate clove profile not to be overshadowed by esters. Has anyone else had this experience with Wyeast, or better results with the corresponding White Labs strain? I'll try to keep temps lower and think about the acid rest as well.
Also, whether or not an acid rest makes a difference is debatable: http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2010/06/04/how-much-effect-does-a-ferulic-acid-rest-have/
For some reason I thought the protein rest temp range was much lower than it actually is (May have been thinking of the beta-glucanase temp range).... I'd rather not spew out mis-information, so thanks for the correction.
I probably wouldn't cite a counter example with numerous asterisks in the procedure (e.g. pitching lager yeast towards the end of primary, different temperature ranges for primary fermentation, different grain bills). I think if it makes a difference in your beers its worth it, if it doesen't, then its not worth it (It made a difference in my weizens, so I do it).
WY3944 and WLP400 both produce excellent, phenolic witbiers. I was surprised that 3942 produced a large amount of clove flavor, especially given the description of the yeast strain, but it did.
