has anyone tried side by side recipes, or at least repeated the same recipe,
and compared Wyeast to White Labs?
Recently I started brewing recipes with White Labs yeast that I've repeated
several times before with Wyeast and I've noticed differences in how quickly
(or slowly) they ferment but I don't know if it is just my luck, system or
recipes.
1) starter solutions seem to take longer to step up. I like to step the
starter up a few times, pouring off the "beer", to gather lots of yeast.
With the same basic sterile wort solution and fresh yeast the White Labs
seems to take long to complete the cycle and drop out. Some varieties
(pilsner) don't drop well at all.
2) the initial fermentation (both starters and real recipes) seem to start
faster with White Labs which is a good thing. I often see good activity in
less than 6 hours.
3) fermentations seem to take much longer to complete As I repeat recipes
that I have made several times before with Wyeast I can see a significant
difference (days) in time to complete fermentation with the White Labs.
Aeration, yeast nutrient, recipe, starting gravity, temperature - all as
close to the same as I can control.
As I think back to the first few recipes I tried with White Labs I do
remember having to be very patient while waiting for the fermentation to
complete, but I didn't have anything with which to compare. Somewhat like
watching a kettle boil.
If anyone else has experience with switch between yeast brands on a recipe,
or other suggestions I'd appreciate the response. The faster start and the
slower finish is what really has be confused.
Since this is working out to be such a great basis for an experiment I think
I will try the next step. One of my next brews I will try a side by side
comparison. I will make starter solutions from each brand and split a batch
to really compare differences (including taste) from what should be the
same.
Thanks
Jonathan