So I’m trying my hand at making my own Northern English Brown Ale recipe and forgot to write down the Wyeast # before I left for the LHBS. They only had White Labs and by mistake I said “English Ale Yeast” instead of “London Ale Yeast”.
So instead of getting Wyeast 1028/WhiteLabs WLP013 I got WhiteLabs WLP002. Is this going to make a huge difference in the style profile? Its a 40min 1-way trip to the LHBS, should I bring it back and get the WLP013?
The WLP002 will be a little fruitier and may not attenuate quite as far, but it won’t be a night and day difference. I’d say you could increase the pitching rate and/or drop the temperature slightly and get “close enough”.
Definitely make it with this yeast. take good notes. make another batch soon- tomorrow- next week- with EVERYTHING the same except get the yeast you initially intended. Try them side by side. Then you decide which you like best! This is a perfect opportunity to experiment. But remember, when experimenting change only ONE THING at a time. In this case, your yeast. Get on with it! And give the primary enough time.
If you’ve never used it before wlp002 makes some great beer. And it is an opportunity for a comparison. I found it to be a fast fermenter and it drops quick and clear.
Its been exactly a week since pitching the WLP002 and after moving it to a warmer location (62-65F) its been bubbling like crazy the whole time. Figured it might be a good time to take a grav reading. (it tastes fantastic btw)
3/26 OG: 1.040
4/02 SG: 1.015
Its still bubbling once every 6-8 seconds, gonna check it again in a few days.
yeah i always taste the grav reading sample, its really nice so far. i tried to get as close to newcastle as i could after researching different recipes and i cant wait to get a 6 of NC to do a side-by-side.
I’m working on a stout atm but i may try this recipe again with the other yeast just to see the difference.