Extra-potent WLP530?

[c0nsumer]

Have any of you used WLP530, White Labs' Belgian Abbey Ale Yeast? I got a starter going two days ago, and even the starter is fermenting like crazy. With 16oz of wort in a 64oz growler I was getting almost 1.5x the volume of wort in krausen. When I added the second dose of wort (to step the starter to a greater volume) bringing the growler half full, I had krausen blowing into the airlock.

This yeast is just crazy... I can't wait to see what happens when I pitch it tonight.

-Steve

PS: If you want to see pictures of what I described above, click here (http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/berryale/DSCN1339) for the first image, then click >> to step through the following three.

[HogieWan]

what kind of beer are you pitching that into?

[c0nsumer]

It's a lightly hopped wheat extract-based beer which I will then rack on to two kilos of mixed berries. I got the idea from these boards, but ended up changing it around a bit at the last minute (read: when at the LHBS talking to people).

If you'd like to see the recipe, it can be found here (http://www.nuxx.net/files/beer7_notes.txt).

It's almost 1pm now, and I'm going to try and leave work at 4pm. That'll put me around 9pm - 10pm pitching time.

[brewmonkey]

That is one of my favorite strains to work with. You should be quite happy with your results.

[c0nsumer]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
That is one of my favorite strains to work with. You should be quite happy with your results.

Oh, that's good to hear. I mostly picked it randomly while looking for a combination of reasonably high attenuation, lack of spicyness (I figured it'd clash with the berries), and 70F-72F optimum fermentation temp, because I don't want to have the AC going full tilt all the time.

(Although my basement sits at 69-70 most of the time... Maybe I should just do it down there... Hmm...)

I'm really liking it thus far, though. I can't begin to imagine how hard this is going to go both once pitched and when I rack it on to the berries.

[toneyc]

I am curious, what is that multicolored object in the background to the left in picture number 10?

:)
Toney.

[c0nsumer]

Originally posted by toneyc
I am curious, what is that multicolored object in the background to the left in picture number 10?

It's Mustu, my pet robotic fish. More info on them can be found at this site (http://tinkerville.cutthatout.com/mutsu/). I've got the original American version with the non-round bowl and the blue fish.

-Steve

UPDATE: Here (http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/random_stuff/DCP_2034) is a picture of mine, sitting in that same spot on the kitchen counter.

[brewmonkey]

Seems the Police and FD like to visit you a bit more then most people would like...:eek:


Edit: Anyone with a fingernail collection, let alone 2...well never mind. That's just wierd dude.

Edited Edit: Maybe you should change the folders name from "Random Stuff" to "Some Really Wierd Shit"?

[c0nsumer]

Honestly, it's because of the average age of people living in here, I think.

And yeah, lots of photos of stuff. You know, I've honestly thought about what it'd take to convert those fingernails into usable gelatin for clearing beer. But then I couldn't serve it to anyone else... And it brings up all sorts of questions about if it'd be vegan or not... It's so confusing!

There's a ton of photos in that gallery if you take a look through. I tend to take pictures of lots of things.

For what it's worth, I've got the water heating on the stove for tonight's batch of Wheat Berry Ale -- or should that be Berry Hefeweizen -- on the stove.

[c0nsumer]

As a bit of a follow-up, here (http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/berryale/DSCN1359) is a shot of the fermentation setup 9-10 hours after pitching the yeast. This is right around the time I left for work this morning. (Yep -- I was a bit late.)

This is a ~1.060 OG beer† which I pitched the aforementioned 32oz starter. By midnight I was getting slow bubbles out of the blowoff tube, and this morning... Well, that should be obvious.

I think I can safely say that this is a very aggressive yeast.

† Calculated, I didn't bother taking a reading because I'll be adding fruit later, and the extra sugars will invalidate any ABV calculations I could hope to make.

[guildofevil]

2Kg of mixed berries eh? This does sound a little familiar ;)
I like the choice of yeast and the wheat extract is a nice idea too.
I will be very interested to hear how this turns out.

Séan

[c0nsumer]

Originally posted by guildofevil
2Kg of mixed berries eh? This does sound a little familiar ;)
I like the choice of yeast and the wheat extract is a nice idea too.
I will be very interested to hear how this turns out.

I went to the store with the idea to do a pale ale, then after talking with someone working there, it was switched to something wheat based.

I'll definitely let you know... I really like the idea, and I'm hoping it'll be pretty good. Mine's starting out at about 1.060, so it'll likely be a stronger beer than yours, but I'm still hoping that it's tasty.

Thanks again for the idea.

-Steve

[c0nsumer]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
That is one of my favorite strains to work with. You should be quite happy with your results.

One question if you don't mind... Do you find that it produces a rich, thick, almost whipped cream-like krasen?

The ferment here has slowed quite a bit, but I'm still getting the occasional burp of REALLY thick krausen into the blowoff tube. So much so that I cannot use an airlock.

Things are at the point where I would have expected the krausen to drop, but it's just not going anywhere.

I'm thinking it's time for me to move on to the secondary already, even though the krausen hasn't really gone anywhere. Since I'll be adding more sugars there anyway, I don't think it'll matter too much.

Mmm... A project for tomorrow...