# Belgian Ale Yeast T-58 Suitable For A Leffe?



## Bribie G

Craftbrewer sent me Dried Belgian Ale Yeast T-58 instead of American Ale. First error in 18 months of dealing with them so not annoyed, however I'm wondering if this yeast would go well in a Leffe type Belgian Blonde? I had a few bottles last year to get the free glass and really liked it. I've never made a Belgian Ale. Any hints on what temperature I should run this yeast at?

I see there's a few recipes on the forum but should I go Euro hops such as Saaz or use Anglo hops? I have miles of Challenger, Fuggles, Northdown and Styrians. :icon_cheers:


----------



## manticle

Either saaz or Styrian. I believe the commercial version uses saaz and hallertau. I think there may also be a bit of corn or maize used as well.

Haven't used the t-58 so can't really comment but it has been suggested it's a pseudo belgian dry with a spicy/pepperiness. I'll leave temp suggestions to someone who's used the yeast.


----------



## Supra-Jim

Hi Bribie,

I can't give any advise on the yeast, but here is the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. Have brewed this a few times and it's a very nice drop. Benefits from a month or two conditioning.

As for fermentation with this one i started at 19deg and slowly ramped upto 23 over the course of a week.

Cheers SJ 

View attachment belgian_blond_ale.pdf


----------



## chillihilli

BribieG said:


> Craftbrewer sent me Dried Belgian Ale Yeast T-58 instead of American Ale. First error in 18 months of dealing with them so not annoyed, however I'm wondering if this yeast would go well in a Leffe type Belgian Blonde? I had a few bottles last year to get the free glass and really liked it. I've never made a Belgian Ale. Any hints on what temperature I should run this yeast at?
> 
> I see there's a few recipes on the forum but should I go Euro hops such as Saaz or use Anglo hops? I have miles of Challenger, Fuggles, Northdown and Styrians. :icon_cheers:



Here's some Newbie Advice (me being the newbie that is)!!
My very first brew (still going now) is made using SafAle T-58. It's being going since the night of the 2nd Dec. Pitched at around 24 deg, and has hovered in the 20 to 22 range on average. It's been as low as 18. I'm no expert, but happy with what has happened so far in my wheat beer hoegaarden clone from a taste and smell perspective. If I were to start again, I'd have no reason to use any other temps other than curiousity. 

Can't help you with the hops as I have no experience, but look forward to reading how the Lefty Blonde turns out.


----------



## jel

best.
recipe.
ever.

Fly Blown Belgian by THE DRUNK ARAB
(well a close contender anyways)

i have only used t-58 once in a duvel clone and wasn't entirely wrapped in the flavours it contributed to the beer, however it may work better in this recipe.
as far as liquids go, i have used 3864 and 1762 and both were pretty special.

cheers
j


----------



## Bribie G

TDA's is the one I remember, I'll actually go with that one because I have heaps of Melanoidin and Munich I to get rid of, as well as the Styrians and Saaz (Well Chinese ones  ) so I'll give that a go. I also have Galaxy Malt as well. Doughing in on Sunday :beerbang: 

I'll just do the yeast at 20 degrees spot on and see how it goes.


----------



## bconnery

I know plenty of people have said that they got overwhelming pepper from this but I've had nothing but good experiences with it. 
I've fermented generally in the 18-24 ish range depending on the beer. 
It's a nice enough approximation of a belgian for a dry that's supposedly an english ale yeast. 

Is it as good as an appropriate liquid? Not really. Is it a good yeast? Yes in my book...


----------



## Bizier

I am not as forgiving as bconnery.
If you are actually trying to clone Leffe, the answer is no.
If you are trying to merely brew a decent beer, the answer is maybe. I suggest fermenting cool.
I dislike this yeast and found it threw components I would rather not have in my beer.

ED: I would much prefer the US05. That is a yeast for a long-term relationship. You argue, you abuse it, you beat on it, you even experiment with other yeasts, and it still treats you well when you come home.


----------



## HoppingMad

My experience with T-58 has been solid. This is a great yeast. 

I gather it is actually an 'abbey style' strain that is ideally suited to darker Belgians (ie. Leffe Brun/Brown) but you will still get a great result in a pale beer with it. It is recommended as the dry yeast option on a lot of recipes in Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles. As the Leffe Blonde is an Abbey style beer you are on the money using T-58 stylewise, the only thing that won't be bang on in your clone is the peppery spice that this yeast imparts.

Most recently I used it in a Belgian Golden Strong (Duvel Clone) and it came up very well. I tried it side by side with a real Duvel with some mates and they preferred the T-58 beer. (They may have been being polite though so they could drink free beer  ). That beer was fermented around 19 degrees, then raised the temp to around 24 on the final day. I did get some pepper & pear flavours but not overpowering. Was still a very clean tasting beer with a good authentic belgian flavour to it. 

A mate of mine uses it on his Fresh Wort Kits regularly at one set temp (either 18 or 20 degrees) and every beer has turned out very well. The only Belgian style I don't think it would go well with would be a Witbier Hoegaarden Clone as it doesn't have the right flavour characteristics for that particular beer. Naturally if you're cloning a Leffe Blonde then using the authentic Wyeast/Whitelabs yeast will get you closer to the real deal, but I think this is a great all round belgian yeast.

As an aside have seen a few clones for Leffe Blonde that use Wyeast 1762 or Wyeast 3522 but since you have the T-58 I say go for it.

Hopper.

Edit - +1 on Mant's suggestion on Styrian and Saaz. I use both in my belgians regularly. Saaz as the late hop and styrian for flavour/bitter hop.


----------



## Bribie G

Yes I've gone with basically TDA's recipe and see how it goes, if it turns out half way decent and I decide to do it again, I'll go for the Wyeast as suggested. :icon_cheers:


----------



## chillihilli

HoppingMad said:


> The only Belgian style I don't think it would go well with would be a Witbier Hoegaarden Clone as it doesn't have the right flavour characteristics for that particular beer.



What yeast would you recommend for the Hoegaarden clone? I'm brewing one now with T-58 so I'd like to do another if it turns out OK. It would be very interesting to do the same brew but with a different yeast.

Cheers!


----------



## HoppingMad

Chillihilli said:


> What yeast would you recommend for the Hoegaarden clone? I'm brewing one now with T-58 so I'd like to do another if it turns out OK. It would be very interesting to do the same brew but with a different yeast.
> 
> Cheers!



To do it right you'll need Wyeast 3944 or Whitelabs WLP400 - Both Belgian Witbier yeasts to give you a flavour profile that's close to the real deal. Don't know of any Witbier yeast in dry form that would get you close. Some recipes suggest reculturing from a bottle of Hoegaarden (an option if you want to save some dough), but never tried this myself.

The T-58 will give you a nice pleasant beer with a good belgian profile, but not a close clone of the original Hoegaarden. 

Hopper.


----------



## Swinging Beef

I found Hoegaarden yeast really easy to culture up. Easier than coopers.


----------



## monkeybusiness

Swinging Beef said:


> I found Hoegaarden yeast really easy to culture up. Easier than coopers.



Aaaah that is interesting. Didn't know if they used a separate bottling strain. I'll have to give that a crack now, thanks beef.

I'm one for not loving the t-58. Maybe I didn't treat it right, but the couple of times I've used it I thought it was excessively phenolic. Still drinkable but not really what I was after.


----------



## Weizguy

I made a TDA recipe of the Fly-blown Belgian, using the S-33 and I got al least close to the right flavours.


----------



## Bizier

S-33 eh? What temp?


----------



## Weizguy

it was a standard 20C with the S-33 (rumoured to be the Edme yeast)


----------

