# Wb-06 Yeast Made A Huge Difference



## Juzdu (16/11/12)

I decided to take a swing at my 2nd wheat beer, despite having only bottled it Monday night. This beer was done using the Thomas Coopers Wheat kit, with 500gm LDME, 300gm Dex, WB-06 yeast into 18 litres to give me a 4.9 abv.

My first wheat was the same TC Wheat kit, but with nothing other than 1kg of dex and the kit yeast into 23 litres. Both beers were bottled using carb drops.

This beer is wildly different to the first. I quite like the first, but it's obviously pretty bland, easy to quaff but with no standout features. This Weisen is much truer to the style I know, the WB-06 has given it a real Schfferhofer taste and aroma, lots of body in the mouth with a completely different after-taste. Hugely impressed, and it's only been in the bottle for 5 days (it's fully carbonated already...I dunno why everyone complains about carb drops, they worked fine for me). Looking forward to trying another next week and the week after before getting stuck in.

Oh, both beers were fermented around 21 degrees over about 8 days.


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## GalBrew (16/11/12)

Yeah, I have used wb-06 myself and for a dry yeast I don't think it does too bad a job. Sure it is heavier in clove and bubblegum than banana, but still not bad for those of us who are not up to making starters yet. There is no question as to what beer style it is when you get a whiff of the finished product.


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## manticle (16/11/12)

The notable characteristics of a commercial German weizen are mainly due to yeast strain. To brew a decent weizen, you need an appropriate yeast. Same with most Belgian and UK traditional/historical styles.


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## thylacine (16/11/12)

I have used both Munich & WB-06 for the same recipe. ie. same recipe except for using a different yeast. But then the WLP 380 Hefeweizen was tried. Totally different 
(and better for my palate) than my two dry 'regulars'. 

Cheers


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## NewtownClown (16/11/12)

+1
It's all about the yeast in wheats and they are best enjoyed young. I always have packs of dried yeast in the freezer as back ups but lately the WB-06 has become my go to for simple summer wheats that can go from mash to glass in 7-10 days (kegging).

To the OP, carb drops bad rep is due to the inconsistency in sizes.

Your wheat carbed quickly because of the larger amount of yeast still in suspension that enters the bottle, those lovelies refuse to lay down and sleep.


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## Juzdu (16/11/12)

NewtownClown said:


> +1
> It's all about the yeast in wheats and they are best enjoyed young. I always have packs of dried yeast in the freezer as back ups but lately the WB-06 has become my go to for simple summer wheats that can go from mash to glass in 7-10 days (kegging).
> 
> To the OP, carb drops bad rep is due to the inconsistency in sizes.
> ...


Well good on 'em I say! Both the wheat with the Coopers kit yeast and the one with the WB-06 were well carbed within a week.


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## Juzdu (16/11/12)

thylacine said:


> I have used both Munich & WB-06 for the same recipe. ie. same recipe except for using a different yeast. But then the WLP 380 Hefeweizen was tried. Totally different
> (and better for my palate) than my two dry 'regulars'.
> 
> Cheers


Cheers for that, I will definitely try a white labs liquid yeast in that same kit somewhere down the track. Both the Coopers kit yeast and the WB-06 said to sprinkle on dry rather than do a starter so I did just that. Given these were my first ever home brews i'm keen to try it "their way" first before changing things up down the track. It's all about the journey...


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## Nick JD (16/11/12)

I find WB06 makes a better belgian wit than a german hefe.


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## verysupple (16/11/12)

Nick JD said:


> I find WB06 makes a better belgian wit than a german hefe.



+1

One of the best brews I ever made was a Hoegaarden Wit clone and I used WB-06. Was far less impressed with the 3 different batches of hefeweizen I've used it in.


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## Juzdu (16/11/12)

verysupple said:


> +1
> 
> One of the best brews I ever made was a Hoegaarden Wit clone and I used WB-06. Was far less impressed with the 3 different batches of hefeweizen I've used it in.


What went into your wit? Did it end up as pale as a Hoegaarden?


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## Florian (16/11/12)

AdamFromWH said:


> ...but still not bad for those of us who are not up to making starters yet.



No need to make a starter for a Hefeweizen from my experience. Just smack the pack and dump it straight in.


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## verysupple (16/11/12)

Juzdu said:


> What went into your wit? Did it end up as pale as a Hoegaarden?



Sorry mate, I can't remember. It was one of my earliest batches and I didn't take good notes back then. It was one of those "Kits" from BrewCraft that comes with a can, hops and any other adjuncts needed.



Florian said:


> No need to make a starter for a Hefeweizen from my experience. Just smack the pack and dump it straight in.



+1

A Wyeast Activator pack has enough to inoculate 19 L (~6 billion cells into 5 gallons). But if you slightly under pitch (say 22 or 23 L) a hefeweizen it's not a bad thing because the extra stress on the yeast helps bring out some more esters/phenols etc. My last batch I pitched 1 smack pack into 23 L at 22C (didn't even smack it properly and the nutrient sack didn't break) and it was perfect. Was bubbling away within half an hour and fermented beautifully.


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## mje1980 (17/11/12)

Phenols and esters can be targeted by fermentation temp also. I just bottled a belgian ale with 3944 ( witbier strain ). I didn't want the spicy phenols, but more esters. I kept it up at 24c + and gravity samples showed very little phenolics, more esters. 

Im trying 3638 in my latest weizen.


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## verysupple (17/11/12)

Oops, I made a mistake in my last post. It should read "6 billion cells/ml".


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## tarmael (18/11/12)

I've used WB-06, too. I found it amazing. That was my first and only wheat beer, though. I've moved of to focus on A.G. IPAs.

I plan on 'going back to basics' so they say, and dumping some wheat DME + pale DME together with about a 1kg bag of munich on the side.

Anyone tried Burleigh Heads Hef?
I'm looking for a massive hit of banana. Can anyone recommend which to go with? WB-06, WY 3333, WY 3068 or a WLP strain?


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## krausenhaus (18/11/12)

tarmael said:


> I've used WB-06, too. I found it amazing. That was my first and only wheat beer, though. I've moved of to focus on A.G. IPAs.
> 
> I plan on 'going back to basics' so they say, and dumping some wheat DME + pale DME together with about a 1kg bag of munich on the side.
> 
> ...



I can't offer any advice on the liquid yeasts, but I got massive banana using Danstar Munich.


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## O'Henry (18/11/12)

verysupple said:


> Oops, I made a mistake in my last post. It should read "6 billion cells/ml".



I think you mean 6 million cells/ml. 6 billion would be off the chain.


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## toadskin (18/11/12)

the WB-06 has given it a real Schfferhofer taste and aroma, lots of body in the mouth with a completely different after-taste. Hugely impressed, and it's only been in the bottle for 5 days (it's fully carbonated already...I dunno why everyone complains about carb drops, they worked fine for me). Looking forward to trying another next week and the week after before getting stuck in.

Hi Juzdo. I made this same recipe but fermented it at 18C. Turned out a very nice beer but drank best between a fortnight and a month. After that it started to lose character. Had a bottle left at 6 months and it was like water. Really have to drink this young. You've got me interested in WB's again. Going to have a play around again.


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## beerdrinkingbob (19/11/12)

tarmael said:


> I've used WB-06, too. I found it amazing. That was my first and only wheat beer, though. I've moved of to focus on A.G. IPAs.
> 
> I plan on 'going back to basics' so they say, and dumping some wheat DME + pale DME together with about a 1kg bag of munich on the side.
> 
> ...


1214 is your answer, nick has also confirmed It's suitablity in another post recently.


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## Juzdu (19/11/12)

mje1980 said:


> Phenols and esters can be targeted by fermentation temp also. I just bottled a belgian ale with 3944 ( witbier strain ). I didn't want the spicy phenols, but more esters. I kept it up at 24c + and gravity samples showed very little phenolics, more esters.
> 
> Im trying 3638 in my latest weizen.


I'd love to know more about this, being a huge wit and weisen fan. What do you mean by "Gravity samples showed very little phenolics, more esters"? How does gravity discern between them?

To be honest I don't know the difference in taste between the two either, the first time i'd even heard the terms were when I started researching how to brew a month or so ago.


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## Juzdu (19/11/12)

toadskin said:


> Hi Juzdo. I made this same recipe but fermented it at 18C. Turned out a very nice beer but drank best between a fortnight and a month. After that it started to lose character. Had a bottle left at 6 months and it was like water. Really have to drink this young. You've got me interested in WB's again. Going to have a play around again.


Thanks for the post, I really appreciate it when people post actual experiences rather than just theory/hearsay.

I had originally read that fermenting a wheat at 24 would give more of an authentic weisen flavour, but went on to read so much more about that being too high a temp to ferment at that I chickened out, ended up doing it at around 20-21. Mind you I didn't have a fermentation fridge back then, so didn't have an easy way to mod the temps regardless. Now my stc-1000 is up and running I have a lot more control.

Very interesting that the weisen is best drunk between 2-4 weeks, that's a very short timeframe for the two wheat beers I knocked out as my first two brews! Need to find some mates...Oh, also, do you mean 2-4 weeks after bottling? Or 2-4 weeks after a couple of weeks of bottle conditioning? I've moved my first wheat beer into the fridge on the weekend (it had 2 weeks of bottle conditioning at around 20 degrees), but still have my 2nd wheat beer in the cupboard as its only been in the bottle for a week now.


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## GalBrew (19/11/12)

I'm assuming this means that samples taken for gravity readings were also tasted for flavor. I always taste my gravity samples to see how the beer is progressing.


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## Ross (19/11/12)

tarmael said:


> I've used WB-06, too. I found it amazing. That was my first and only wheat beer, though. I've moved of to focus on A.G. IPAs.
> 
> I plan on 'going back to basics' so they say, and dumping some wheat DME + pale DME together with about a 1kg bag of munich on the side.
> 
> ...




Tarmael,

Burleigh, I believe, use WY3068. Like Nick, we prefer to use WY1214 in our Heffe. Our Bacchus Brewing Co. "Belgian Heffe" just took out 2nd place ahead of Burleigh in The Royal Queensland Show beer awards.

Cheers Ross


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## Nick JD (19/11/12)

When I open my fermenting fridge atm the whole laundry smells just like banana cake. Got a Chimay Cinq Cents clone in there in secondary and tbh, I think it's actually getting more bananery. 1214 FTW!

Currently brewing a "Ardennes Wit" using La Chouffe bottle yeast (3522 aparently) and by the smell of the starter it would also make a supurb hefe yeast (probably better suited to hefe than wit as it's more estery than spicy at current GC room temp). 

I reckon Coopers bottle yeast at 25C could make a beer that wasn't out of style for a Saison. Pears, bananas and dry.


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## verysupple (19/11/12)

[quote name='O'Henry' post='972652' date='Nov 18 2012, 09:44 PM']I think you mean 6 million cells/ml. 6 billion would be off the chain.[/quote]

Ha, yeah you're right, that's what I meant. I just confuzzled myself with all the zeros. Those extra 3 zeros make a huge difference


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## mje1980 (19/11/12)

AdamFromWH said:


> I'm assuming this means that samples taken for gravity readings were also tasted for flavor. I always taste my gravity samples to see how the beer is progressing.



Yeah this is what i meant. How can you not taste?? haha


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## Black Devil Dog (19/11/12)

Juzdu said:


> I decided to take a swing at my 2nd wheat beer, despite having only bottled it Monday night. This beer was done using the Thomas Coopers Wheat kit, with 500gm LDME, 300gm Dex, WB-06 yeast into 18 litres to give me a 4.9 abv.
> 
> My first wheat was the same TC Wheat kit, but with nothing other than 1kg of dex and the kit yeast into 23 litres. Both beers were bottled using carb drops.
> 
> ...



That's good to know Juzdu, I'd never used the WB-06 yeast until recently and I'm yet to try the beer. Mine is a Mangrove Jack, Bavarian Wheat, with 1 kg dme, 200g dex and Hersbrucker hops.

Might just have to give it a sample........... :icon_drunk:


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## tarmael (19/11/12)

[quote name='O'Henry' post='972652' date='Nov 18 2012, 08:44 PM']I think you mean 6 million cells/ml. 6 billion would be off the chain.[/quote]

It's 6 billion cells/gram is correct


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