It has taken me a l-o-o-ng time to appreciate most Belgian styles of beer. The early years of tasting home brew, and now, the clubs noobs looking for advice, have made me shun the idea that I actually wanted to taste phenolics and esters. For a long time I have associated most of these flavors with bad beer and wanted nothing to do with them.
Recently I am finding that when “restrained” or perhaps just “trained” these components add a great deal of complexity to a well made beer. Anyway, I’ve had some really nice Belgian styles that I’ve enjoyed and would like to experiment with some Belgian yeasts.
I know fermentation temp is critical here and that higher temps will increase these flavor compounds, but what I’d like to know is what are some of the most neutral of the Belgian strains that I can start playing with.
I’m planning to start with a pale ale recipe to really assess what the yeast in contributing with various fermentation profiles.
Yeah, 3787 is one of my favorites due to the fact that it’s more phenolic than estery. Same with 3522, assuming that both of those are fermented around 63F. I think 1388 is probably the most neutral Belgian yeast.
I’ve found that pitching cool (<63) and keeping temps in the area of 63 most of the belgian strains I’ve used are fairly restrained on the phenol front.
When you venture into dark Belgian territory, I think WY1762 is a good beginner’s choice. It’s not necessarily super clean, but the ester profile meshes well with things like Dark Candi Syrup and Special B.
I used 3787 in a 1.082 quad that finished at 1.008 and I would call it barely Belgian compared to some I’ve tried. Checked my notes. I started it at 66 and at about 1.012 I raised it to 68.