Yeast Blending

[Deemon147]

Hey all.

Looking for some answers on blending yeasts as I've never tried before, nor have I experience with many Lager yeasts. And due to all home brew shops being out of a White Labs Cream Ale strain I looked into what this could be possibly made up of. Supposedly it was a mix of lager and ale yeasts.

I read on an American forum that this particular yeast (WLP080) was made up of White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast & White labs WLP029 German Kolsh Yeast. However looking at their optimum fermenting temps after purchasing, they are the same 18-21. I was expecting the German to be a lower temp as I ignorantly thought it was a lager one...I  was wrong. However I am going to go ahead and use these two.

So my questions are:

Has anyone used the WLP029 German Kolsh Yeast before and does it just give off lagery characteristics even though it is an ale?

Has anyone blended yeasts together and what are the main tips for pitching correctly, ie is a starter required, should I be vigilant that I shouldn't over pitch(the two together is enough for 10Gallons)?

Thanks in advance!

[Simon_]

I use wlp029 quite a bit. I use it at about 17c. I'm sure 18c would be fine too. I ferments very cleanly with a bit of sulfur.

I've pitched 2 german lager yeasts together because I didn't have enough of either one by itself and I didn't expect it would be noticeable that there were 2 of them and it wasn't noticeable. I'd say you'd want the different yeasts to have an overlapping optimal temperatures

[Bubbles]

Looking for some answers on blending yeasts as I've never tried before, nor have I experience with many Lager yeasts. And due to all home brew shops being out of a White Labs Cream Ale strain I looked into what this could be possibly made up of. Supposedly it was a mix of lager and ale yeasts.

As a suggestion, you could use a blend of dry yeasts. A couple of the Coopers kits come with a "combi" yeast which gives both ale and lager characteristics. I haven't used it in a few years, but I remember being very pleased with the results at the time.

Has anyone blended yeasts together and what are the main tips for pitching correctly, ie is a starter required, should I be vigilant that I shouldn't over pitch(the two together is enough for 10Gallons)?

It depends whether you're blending for flavour of for attenuation. If you're interested in a cream ale blend, I'm guessing you're looking for fruity ale characteristics but with the high attenuation and slight sulphur character of the lager yeast. In this case you're probably better of making a single starter using both strains.

To take a different yeast blending example.. if using different yeast strains, like an English and an American strain, you may need to give the lower attenuating yeast a head start before pitching the high attenuator. That way you give the English strain a chance to develop the fruity esters, before the American strain chews up most of the residual sugars. It's just another blending approach you might want to look into.

If pitching a second strain after fermentation has started, it needs to be alive an kicking or it might not do the job. I've heard that top cropping is the most reliable way of achieving this.

[DEMPSEY]

I am planning a brew next starting with Windsor yeast and 48 hours later pitching Nottingham yeast. It was recommended to me to get the profile from the Windsor and then to help with the finishing gravity as Windsor usually finishes high.

[imark]

Couldn't see the point of doing it unless it was driven by some reason that meant it would give you a desired end result that a single pitch wouldn't give you. If you have that in mind fire ahead. Or if you want to do it for the hell of it same. Otherwise, it's just a PITA.

[DEMPSEY]

What I am doing is done by commercial brewers and is recommended by the yeast company themselves.

[Deemon147]

Thanks all, going by the answers, not much to be worrying about so . Will go ahead making a starter using both and let you know how it turns out. Will try keep it at the low end of the temp spectrum also. Easily enough done in this current weather too!

[Bubbles]

What I am doing is done by commercial brewers and is recommended by the yeast company themselves.

Absolutely. WhiteLabs, on their website, recommend using an American ale yeast to finish a WLP565 saison fermentation, which can be a slow and tricky strain to deal with.

It's good for the yeast companies, they sell two vials instead of one.

[Eoin]

Koelsch is an ale yeast, a very clean lagerlike one, but none the less, it's an ale yeast.

Can be a very nice beer too.

[Simon_]

What I am doing is done by commercial brewers and is recommended by the yeast company themselves.

Absolutely. WhiteLabs, on their website, recommend using an American ale yeast to finish a WLP565 saison fermentation, which can be a slow and tricky strain to deal with.

It's good for the yeast companies, they sell two vials instead of one.

Interesting thoery here  that wlp565 stalls because it doesn't like fermenting under pressure and an open ferment might rectify it.

[Bubbles]

What I am doing is done by commercial brewers and is recommended by the yeast company themselves.

Absolutely. WhiteLabs, on their website, recommend using an American ale yeast to finish a WLP565 saison fermentation, which can be a slow and tricky strain to deal with.

It's good for the yeast companies, they sell two vials instead of one.

Interesting thoery here  that wlp565 stalls because it doesn't like fermenting under pressure and an open ferment might rectify it.

Cool, nice find!

Interesting theory. Though I wonder if I'll ever get to test it out. I tend to brew my saisons in the summer, as I don't have fermentation control. And fruit flies, which are in abundance in summer, absolutely LOVE Belgian yeast aromas. I'd be wary about doing open ferments with Belgian yeasts.

I had a Trappist ale yeast starter going on a stir plate last year and a fruit fly got under the foil I have put over the flask. Obviously not tight enough, but when those critters smell a free meal, they're pretty determined.