Wicklow Hops Company Yeast Thread

[Thewicklowhopscompany]

Hi there,
I have been chatting to a good few reps about getting people samples through the clubs. But basically if you have not heard we are launching a line of our commercial brewery yeast range in homebrewer sized pitches. It has been something we have been looking at for a while but we have been so busy with all the breweries we haven't got around to it until now.

I wanted to start this topic to get any feedback , questions or suggestions of what you wanted to see next.
Some notes- They will be single pitch so you will not have to build a starter, anything that gets too old in the homebrew shop that it is deemed to old will be swapped out by them.  We will also launch a range of smaller tubes for people that like building starters if that is what people want?

This is the core list for the moment, we will be adding some specials, more bacteria and hopefully some irish isolated yeasts soon.

Ale Strains:

1.   LAX- A clean versatile strain isolated from a famous west coast microbrewery. With little ester production, it allows New World Hops to take centre stage. Flocculation: Medium to medium-low Attenuation: 73-80 Temperature: 16-22 ABV 10-13%

2.   Sanders- The yeast that started the New England trend. The yeast strain produces stone esters that leave the beer with a bouquet of grapefruit and mango flavour and aromas. Flocculation: Medium Attenuation: 73-77 Temperature: 16-21  ABV 8-12%

3.   Bond- Clean, aggressive, attenuative, ABV tolerant and highly flocculant. This yeast is the go-to house yeast for many microbreweries. This English style yeast provides the backbone for everything from IPA's to stouts to barleywines.  Flocculation: High Attenuation:73-80 Temperature: 16-21 ABV 8-12%

4.   Pint of Plain- A yeast used by a famous Dublin brewery. Perfect for stouts, porter and amber ales. Flavour profile works extremely well with dark and roasted malts. Flocculation: Medium Attenuation: 71-76 Temperature:17-22  ABV 8-12%

5.   Pintman- Extremely flocculant and on the lower end of attenuation. This is an aggressive fermenter that drops bright after fermentation. Best used for malt-forward styles. Flocculation: Very High Attenuation: 69-74 Temperature: 18-21 ABV 7-10%

6.   Fruitbowl- A blend of yeasts picked for their ability to produce a complex fruit ester profile. This is a beautiful combination for your pale ales and IPA's. Flocculation: Medium Attenuation: 74-76 Temperature: 19-21 ABV10-12

7.   Juice Machine- A blend of yeasts that produces delicate citrus, apricot and grapefruit esters. Flocculation: Low- Medium Temperature 18-21 ABV ABV 10-12

8.   Brexit-  Produces a fruit punchbowl aroma. Beers tend to have silky smooth mouthfeel and juicy aroma and when this yeast is used. Flocculation: Medium to medium high Attenuation: 65-70 Temperature: 18-21 ABV 8-12

9.   Saturated-  provides you pale ales and IPA's with esters aromas of lemon, orange, pear, and juicy fruit gum. This strain is a true top cropper and is very sensitive to dissolved oxygen content and temperature. Temp 20-23 Attenuation 71-75  ABV 10-12

10.   The Wall- This yeast is an extremely fast mover. A similar low ester and attenuation profile like LAX, this yeast has a quicker fermentation time and better flocculation. Allowing you to produce solid clean beers in no time. Flocculation: Medium-High Attenuation: 73-80 Temperature:16-21 ABV10-12

German Wheat Beers

1.   Banana Split- Produces high amounts of isoamyl acetate which is perceived as a banana flavour balanced with less dominant aromatics of apple, clove and plum.  The esters are more dominant at high temperature and at lower pitches. Leaves a crisp finish. Flocculation: Low Attenuation: 73-77 Temperature: 17-24 Abv 11-13

Kolsch and Lagers

1.   TBL- German Lager Yeast A solid lager strain which produces clean crisp beers with low ester production. Slight sulphur production. Flocculation: Medium-Low Attenuation: 73-77 Temperature:8-13 ABV 7-10

2.   Bier Bitte- A perfect Kolsch yeast sourced from Germany. Works nicely with the hops and malt to create a lovely lager like beer at higher ale temperatures. Flocculation: Medium to Medium-low Attenuation: 73-77 Temperature: 16-20  ABV6-11

3.   Czechmate- A more attenuative lager strain which produces a dry and crisp beer that works especially well with noble aroma hops.  Flocculation: Medium Attenuation:75-80 Temperature: 10-12 ABV6-10

4.   Helles Fire Club- Good flocculation and low diacetyl/sulphur production with lower attenuation. This is the perfect strain for malt forward lager styles. Flocculation: Medium Attenuation: 68-73 Temperature: 10-16 ABV6-11

Norwegian Farmhouse (Kveik)

Use double yeast nutrient, not ideal for gravities below 1.0050. Keep temperature high.

1.   Ragnar- This strain produces a dominant orange peel aroma that pairs well with citrusy hops.  Flocculation: Medium-High Attenuation:70-82 Temperature: 33-40 degrees ABV 11-13

2.   Bjorn- Kveik Great for IPA's and pale ales this yeast produces flavours of tangerine, pineapple and mango. A very high rate of fermentation and flocculation at higher temperatures.  Flocculation: High Attenuation:70-81 Temperature: 30-35 ABV 12-15

3.   Lagertha- Kveik cleaner than other Kveiks produces discrete tropical fruit notes with banana and honey coming through. Produces some light funky notes. Alcohol tolerant (14%) Flocculation: Medium-high Attenuation: 70-82 Temperature: 32-37 ABV 10-13

4.   Valkyrie- Another fruity Kveik, produces a nice guava aroma. This strain enhances bitterness, for this reason, it is recommended not to use any bittering hops. Great for NEIPA's. Flocculation: high Temp 31-37 ABV 11-14 Attenuation 70-80



Belgian Yeast Strains

1.   Belgian Haze- The perfect strain for Belgian beers it produces a nice balance of spice and phenols along with lower acidity. Pairs well with orange, lemon zest and coriander. Flocculation: Medium-Low Attenuation:72-77 Temperature: 17-22

2.    Bubblegum- A great and versatile Belgium strain. It is highly flocculant and produces bubblegum, toffee and spicy phenolic aroma. Flocculation: Medium-High Attenuation: 72-76 Temperature: 18-24

3.   In Bruges- This classic Belgium strain is perfect for Abbey Ales such as a Dubbel and Tripel. It produces moderate phenolics and esters such as plum and cherry. Make sure to give plenty of headspace as it is a true top cropping yeast. Flocculation: Medium Attenuation: 74-79 Temperature: 18-25

4.   Mad Monk- More phenol and ester production then Belgium Abbey especially at the higher temperature range. Perfect for high ABV Belgium ales, a slow starter so give it time. Flocculation: Low Attenuation: 74-79 Temperature: 20-26

Brettanomyces

Thank Funk its Friday: a blend of 9 different Brett blends to utilise the most amount of tropical funk possible. Attenuation 80-90. Flocculation Low. Temperature 18-22

[Jonnycheech]

Sounds amazing! What kind of pricing are you thinking about for a ready to pitch vial?

[Thewicklowhopscompany]

Hey, how is the tilt going?
Just working out the specifics with HBC, Looking like 10 for the single pitches of ales/lagers. 6 for the kveiks, brett, bacteria etc and for the starter needed stuff if that goes ahead.

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Awesome looking selection of yeasts guys! Can't wait to try out some of them.

I've already used some of the yeasts available from these guys and have been very happy with the results - I'd happily recommend them.

[Jonnycheech]

Hey, how is the tilt going?
Just working out the specifics with HBC, Looking like 10 for the single pitches of ales/lagers. 6 for the kveiks, brett, bacteria etc and for the starter needed stuff if that goes ahead.

Haven't brewed with it yet, but looking forward to checking it out!

[Qs]

Massive selection, fair play.

[Tom]

I love trying out different yeasts. This is class, can't wait to try some.

[helmet]

A tenner for what is essentially a ready to use yeast starter? Brilliant stuff, count me in!

[delzep]

What are the abv that you are listing referring to? Ranges seem a bit strange for each style

[Thewicklowhopscompany]

What are the abv that you are listing referring to? Ranges seem a bit strange for each style

Just the ethanol tolerance of the yeast, it can vary and be hard to quantify and is an inexact science so just gave a range. Some yeasts are more ethanol tolerant than others.

[johnrm]

Hey, how is the tilt going?

Very easy to use.
Back end Google sheet is a messy affair.
A discussion for another thread.

[johnrm]

Back end Google sheet is a messy affair.

I'm starting to figure the app but it's very clunky.

[Thewicklowhopscompany]

A few yeasts added to the homebrew company. More will be going up over next couple of weeks.
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/yeast-whc-irish-liquid-yeast-c-62_299.html

[Water_Wolf]

Great! I like the variety of Kveik strains! I got a Bubblegum from the samples you gave out, so I'm going to try it out on a Belgian Dubbel in a few weeks.

[Hingo]

2.    Bubblegum- A great and versatile Belgium strain. It is highly flocculant and produces bubblegum, toffee and spicy phenolic aroma. Flocculation: Medium-High Attenuation: 72-76 Temperature: 18-24

What's the ABV tolerance range for bubblegum? I've a quad recipe there looking like it'll be around 1.100s gravity (1.088 OG then 500g cane sugar and 250 molasses to add during high krausen) One of the lads made this beer, ended up 12% if I remember correctly.