Still doing some test batches for this Belgian Blond. I thought it was remarkable how different the two were in appearance, especially since 3522 (left) is supposed to be highly flocculent. The right beer is Unibroue (3864) cultured up from a bottle several years ago.
Did you temp crash them? My experience with 3522 is it doesn’t floc well until chilled, unless you give it a lot of time. Of course it’s still my personal favorite Belgian yeast.
Yep, 3 day crash in the fermenters, and they’ve been kegged (and fined) for three weeks. It just won’t drop.
I did a belgian blond with 3522 and crashed it at 32 and eventually added gelatin. Never did clear up, but damn was it tasty.
I’ve had trouble getting 3522 to clear on re-pitches. Gelatin and time seem to work. Of course, I’ve had the same problem with the Chimay strain and 3787 on repitches.
Which one do you prefer? I’ve recently kegged a blonde using 3522, but haven’t had a chance to really try it out.
I’ve not been too happy with the blondes I’ve made with 3787 so I’m hopeful for the recent batch.
I’m also thinking I need to buy a bunch of blondes and do a tasting. To calibrate my palate, of course.
A blonde tasting? Where do I sign up for that? ;D
At a Belgian Blond Carnival, of course ;D
I definitely prefer the 3864, but it isn’t really a fair comparison because of the large discrepancy in FG. The 3522 is a little less phenolic, and the ester profile is a little one-dimensional with the banana where the 3864 has a nice fruity mix. Actually, the grist isn’t too far off from a hefeweizen, and the 3522 batch tastes surprisingly close to one.
Good to know. I have some 3864 (both cultured from a bottle and a smack pack) so perhaps that will be my next run at this style.
I’ve been going all pils with a touch of aromatic for my grist. No wheat. The beers have all been a bit thin, but I mashed higher on the last one which hopefully helped. One of these days I’ll change kegs and put it on tap.