I am curious if there is a white labs or wyeast equivalent to T-58. This yeast worked very well for me in a wit but not so well in a saison. It’s so hard to find a good description on this yeast and I don’t know what styles it is best suited for. It seems like a just a basic belgian yeast…
Haven’t heard a direct equivalent, but if it’s good in a wit, not so much so in a saison, then WY3944 (Witbier) would be a good start.
That’s kind of what I was thinking. I am wondering what other styles it might work for. Any ideas? My use and knowledge of belgian strains is quite limited…
According to wyeast, I could get away with using 3944 for a tripel which I have been wanting to do. Maybe I could try that…
3787 is the king of tripel yeasts, though.
+1 
Noted. Just trying to use up a packet sitting in the fridge. Maybe its time for another batch of Walter Wit…
I would definitely not use 3944 to make a tripel.
Wyeast would apparently…haha
They’re trying to sell yeast…I’m trying to make good beer. I have a lot of friends at Wyeast and I respect their opinions, but that doesn’t mean those opinions are always the best way to go. I know a lot more about 1450 than they do and some of the recommendations they make for that scare me!
I understand. That’s why its hard when you don’t have experience with a certain yeast and they are telling you it can be used for something that it shouldn’t. I guess that’s why I come here but it still bugs me…
I love Wyeast, but I don’t buy their recommendations that alt yeast can be subbed for kolsch yeast, and kolsch for alt yeast, either.
^^^For the sake of equal opportunity bashing, White Labs also does exactly this.
Yeah they do - should’ve mentioned that too. And I love Wyeast - it’s my go to because my LHBS carries it almost exclusively. All about getting it fresh and not having to ship. But Denny’s right (go figure), the yeast companies definitely want to keep customers from buying from the competitor. Recommending their yeast for a dozen different styles is a good way.
Luckily I don’t brew too many styles that need unique or specialized yeast strains. If I was depending on their recommendations for very strict styles I could see making a wrong choice.
As far as T-58 goes, I find it strange that a lot of people seem to use but there is not more information on what styles it is best for. Since I am a Belgian style novice I don’t really know although it seems good for wits but I could be wrong there…
Maybe it’s similar to their newer Abbaye in that they are hoping to cover a lot of styles but not really do any particularly well?
S. cerevisiae, you around?
That a particular strain could be used for a given style does not mean it’s the best strain but for people who go into a HBS and want to brew that style and the HBS doesn’t have the optimum strain there has to be some alternatives presented so those people don’t go home empty-handed. I’ve seen more than a few shops either not sell the full WY or WL range or when they do the Chico variants are a few weeks off the production line but the alt yeast is six months out and past its expiration. As Denny said, the yeast labs are trying to sell a product.
With all due respect, why worry about what someone else likes? Why not just take a leap, brew with it and see what YOU think?
That’s actually how I approach most of my brewing. This is more out of curiosity since Fermentis is so horrible with accurately describing their strains. I will let it go.
"Thank you for contacting Fermentis.
I will be happy to help you out. Yeast is a living organism, so I can only give you information on “standard” brews. Safbrew T-58 typically produces Belgian-type character. It is known to produce a spicy, peppery flavor when used within our recommended pitch rates. It also produces an interesting ester/phenol profile that is why I say Belgian-type character. It has a lower attenuation and a high alcohol tolerance, so it is well suited for higher alcohol beers, leaving some residual sugar to balance the high alcohol. When used in lower alcohol beers, it will produce a full pallet beer, typical of Belgian beers."