# Safale K-97 Wheat Dried Yeast



## Doc (11/4/04)

My WLP 300 yeast starter has not taken off and am I brewing tomorrow.

One of my beers is now a DunkelWeizen, however without the liquid yeast I'm worried about getting the appropriate characteristics for the beer.

I've found a sachet of Safale K-97 yeast in the fridge. DCLs website doesn't fill me with confidence for this yeast in this style of beer.
Has anyone else used it ? Comments ? What is the best I can hope for ?

Their W-68 yeast sounds the business but I haven't seen it around.

Beers,
Doc

PS: I've rung around the LHBS and no-one has White Labs pitchable Weizen yeasts in stock :angry:


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## jayse (11/4/04)

as you would have seen on the site DCL say themselves that it is not a wheat yeast actaully but purelly a german ale yeast.
all that said i bet it will be a damn fine beer.
another option is what i do if i get a spare day to brew when i don't have yeast ready is brew but don't airate and leave it in the fridge(in my case cool room) till i have a yeast ready.

cheers jayse


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## Guest Lurker (11/4/04)

I did the Grumpys Hoegarden wit partial mash kit which they supplied with k97. Its not that easy to tell with the coriander and marmalade I added, but I would say the yeast profile was pretty clean and there werent a lot of the typical wit characteristics there. I dont taste any banana or clove in it.


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## PostModern (11/4/04)

I brewed a weizen then a dunkel on one pitching of K-97. Not at all what I expected. I believe the local distributer is misguiding the market by calling it a "wheat" yeast. I got barely detectable banana aroma at high krausen, then nothing in the finished brew. What yeast doesn't throw all kinds of esters at high krausen? Coopers kit yeast isn't a Trappist Ale yeast because it sometimes puts out spicy notes.

Still, both of the beers were OK. Just don't expect them to be within koo-ee of style.


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## wedge (12/4/04)

hey guest lurker what does the hoogarden come out like? Is it anything like the original?


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## Linz (12/4/04)

would fermenting it at the upper end of the temp range help it bring out the esters for it??


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## Guest Lurker (12/4/04)

Wedge
My notes for the Grumpys kit are at 
Click here for my notes


If that link doesnt work, go to Brew 75 and look at tasting notes against the commercial version on 16 August.

In summary the malt and hops were about right, the spices were about right, but the colour was too dark, the head retention was woeful (probably me, second partial mash I think) and the yeast WAY too clean. Do it with the right liquid yeast and it would be pretty good. Being a first attempt partial mash I didnt want to also make it first use of liquid yeast, but I should have.


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## Rubes (16/4/04)

You don't get any banana from K-97 regardless of the temperatures fermented at. Used it a number of times in wheat beers and it does a fairly good job at a spice/peppery tart Belgium-type wheat beer. It is unfortunate that they call it a German ale yeast. Having said that I think it is a damn fine yeast as long as you are not expecting a hefeweizen.


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