WLP001 - Does it clear??

[calumscott]

I'm currently supping a pale fermented with WLP001 and it steadfastly refuses to clear. Admittedly I haven't tried chilling it yet but is this normal for this yeast?

The other beer from the same mash was fermented with WLP004 and it's cleared nicely (although it hasn't formed a good solid pack, the first half pours clear but there is always just enough comes loose to leave a haze) so it's not the mash. They were both single hopped and not too brutal amounts. Both boils were good and vigorous...

So is WLP001 a bugger to clear?

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

my experience with WLP001 isn't great...it's an absolute nightmare to clear, i've tried chilling it to 4 degrees for days...nowt...

what I found best is:-

when finished fermenting, dollop it with finings adjunct, I use a pint for 1 brewers barrel...then chill for 2 days, whilst on chill, get a sample out and drop a measured amount of issinglass in it (I use 10ml in a pint). If it clears within 6 hours, scale up the measured amount into the full batch..if it hasn't cleared, drop another measured amount into the sample and see again in another 6 hours...

However, do this when you know its finished fermenting, I did a full batch, stopped it fermenting at 1011 which was after 8 days...Racked the lot into casks..then shoved them into the cool room to condition the last point or two...

2 weeks later, big puddle of beer from 6 casks that had blown their shives clean out, checked gravity and it was at 1007 and fobbing like a wotsit..I tried to relieve pressure from another cask and the fountain from it hit the ceiling..

Now I know why lots of commercial brewers don't use WLP001, stuff like Thwaites, Hopback, even WLP023 is much more user friendly. Its a real shame as the idea of WLP001 is fantastic for commercial use, Clean fermenting, Hop forward, top cropping and above all cheap to buy..

 

[calumscott]

That was my suspicion...

It tastes utterly amazing but looks a bit like mud. I'll stick to Rob's own brand west coast style dried in future, ferments like US05 but sticks like tar to the bottle. It's maybe not *quite* as clean as WLP001 but it's not far off.

 

[clibit]

Interesting that the Maltmiller yeast clears better. Not used any of those NBS yeasts.

What are your favourite yeasts that you've used to date? Dried or liquid.

 

[PD]

have started to use Robs NBS yeasts and I'm quite impressed with them, a little slow to start in my experience but good fermenters go low and as said stick like tar.
I've used the West Coast style and the straight forward Ale yeasts, for the price they are great, just sprinkle on a drop of cooled water 30 mins before pitching

They will become my " house yeast " for the foreseeable future

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

Hopback or Thwaites are both brilliant...both liquid, salvaged from bottles...I prefer them to Fullers from a bottle.

Dried yeast for me has to be S04

 

[Dr Mike]

I've done one beer with US-05 which is allegedly the same strain as wlp001 and that cleared fine - after 2 days at 1C.

After a few months in bottle this became perhaps my clearest beer yet. It had a real sparkle - almost looked filtered.

I read somewhere that a high calcium level encourages flocculation so I usually up it to over 150ppm for pale beers.

 

[calumscott]

Interesting! I have trouble with US-05 too, it clears but it just doesn't stick...

 

[kev]

Never had problems with 001 or it's cousin, San Diego Super.

Do you vorlauf (spelling) until clear before sparge?

K

 

[calumscott]

I don't sparge, I BIAB.

Interestingly, these are the only AG beers that I've chilled in the copper rather than leaving them outside to cool naturally in the FV. Make of that what you will...

 

[markmark]

I've done a good many beers with US05 and WLP001.
I find them tricky to clear too, though for some reason I find the dried yeast clears more easily.
I use the same approach as Dronfieldbrewer. Add finings adjunct when racking from primary in to the secondary vessel (I use 50ml per 20 litres) and use a small sample of the decanted beer to work out the amount of finings that will get the rest of the yeast to drop out.
As has been mentioned; cooling will help too.
It is also worth checking that you have enough calcium carrying through in to the wort as its presence is vital for good flocculation. I can't tell you the levels required off the top of my head though.

 

[kev]

I don't sparge, I BIAB.

Interestingly, these are the only AG beers that I've chilled in the copper rather than leaving them outside to cool naturally in the FV. Make of that what you will...

Could be a protein haze.

Is it cloudy at room temp?

K

 

[calumscott]

I don't sparge, I BIAB.

Interestingly, these are the only AG beers that I've chilled in the copper rather than leaving them outside to cool naturally in the FV. Make of that what you will...

Could be a protein haze.

Is it cloudy at room temp?

K

Yup. Temp makes no difference.

 

[markmark]

I forgot to add to my previous post....I have also found that dry hopping makes the 001 especially hard to clear.

 

[saccharomyces]

Beer fermented with the old Ballantine strain (a.k.a. "Chico," 1056, WLP001, US-05 ...) will clear within a week if you rack it to a secondary FV. The strain takes a long time to clear when left on the lees. The use a of plastic or glass carboy as a secondary FV is very common the United States.


With that said, a Ballantine yeast culture can be made to be more flocculant by racking to a secondary FV immediately after active fermentation is complete and reusing the yeast from the primary FV. After about five batches, the yeast will become noticeably less powdery because the practice continuously crops the most flocculant cells.

 

[calumscott]

I forgot to add to my previous post....I have also found that dry hopping makes the 001 especially hard to clear.

Interesting... It was indeed dry hopped.