Stout with Interesting Yeast

Beer Recipes
1

I have had both wonderful and terrible experiences with stouts fermented with different yeasts.

Dupont Monk’s Stout is a favorite of mine (I almost prefer it to their Saison). Stone’s Belgo-Anise IRS, however, I was not pleased with.

I’m thinking about WLP670, witbier yeast, Roselare, and possibly trappist high-gravity as an experiment.

Has anyone else played with funky yeasts in dark, roasty beers?

2

I’ve been thinking about a few things like this myself. In particular a dry stout finished with Roselare or Cantillon dregs, and an oatmeal stout fermented with a weizen yeast. I doubt I’ll get to the sour stout any time soon, but a hefe-oatmeal stout split batch may be coming up this winter after my porter.

3

That oatmeal stout with a Hefe yeast sounds interesting!  May have to give that a try.  I am planning on using the Antwerp yeast (WLP515) strain on a dark, roasty beer, when the yeast becomes available.  Sometime in November.

4

I made a belgian style stout in the early spring and it came out very good.  I used an export stout recipe with Wyeast special strain “Belgian Stout” yeast.  Scored a 45 in a competition I entered.

5

I had this thread in mind when I was drinking some Sinebrychoff Porter last night. I definitely picked up some acidity and in small amounts it really balanced out the roastiness quite well. I was trying to think how different flavors would work with it as I was drinking it, and I think either Brett or a bit of lacto would work pretty well. I don’t know if a full-blown sour fermentation with a lambic blend might be a bit much, but I’d be willing to try it if I’m splitting a batch into a few 1-gallon fermenters.

6

That’s what I like about having extra cornies and a wild house culture - I can pull off a gallon of just about any beer I make and dose it with critters. I’ll taste in a few months, and if I like it, I’ll brew the batch over and just rack it on top.

My vial of WLP670 is waiting at my LHBS. It will see at least two batches - a very simple saison and then probably something darker. Not just a “black saison”; a chocolately, roasty beer with saison yeast and brett.