The Yeast Bay Dry Belgian Ale: A Preview

Toward the end of April, while planning the brew day to test 4 Brett strains with the other beta testers for The Yeast Bay, I received an email from Nick asking if I might be willing to do a “special project” for him. He explained he had isolated a particularly strong attenuating Belgian yeast and he needed a few of the isolates tested immediately. I responded with an enthusiastic, “hell yes!” and received 3 vials of yeast in the mail 2 weeks later.

Nick suggested I make a Belgian Golden Strong, a simple and clean beer that would allow the yeast to shine. We settled on a very simple recipe using 85% Belgian Pils, 15% table sugar, and a touch of Magnum for bittering. The target OG was 1.056 with an expected FG of .999, which would hopefully result in a 7.5% ABV beer. I made some small starters the morning prior to brewing and by the following morning, all 3 were kicking along nicely and smelled exactly the same.

I used the BIAB method for this beer and hit all of my numbers spot on.

After a 90 minute boil, the wort was chilled to 70°F and transferred to carboys. One of the strains was pitched into 3 gallons of wort while the others were pitched into 2 gallon batches… I did this purposefully so that there would be some leftover for me after packaging Nick’s beers 🙂

All 3 beers started fermenting at the same time and demonstrated similar characteristics. After spending 3 days at 70°F, the temperature was bumped up to 74°F and held until fermentation was complete. The gravity samples I took on day 11, when all visible signs of fermentation were gone, matched the samples I took on day 14.

I’ve fermented with highly attenuative Saison, Brett, and even champagne yeasts, but I’ve never had a beer ferment below 1.000. While all 3 beers tasted exactly the same, there was a noticeable difference in clarity between the one fermented in the larger carboy and the 2 smaller batches. After bottling 2 from each batch for Nick, I blended the rest into a single 5 gallon keg that I plan to serve at my daughter’s first birthday/4th of July bash, I trust it will go over very well.

The carbonation was just about right after 10 days kegged on 15 psi of CO2. The beer has a slight chill haze that fades as it warms, though it has cleared considerably since it was kegged and I’ve a hunch it will continue to brighten up over the next couple weeks.

::: OVERALL IMPRESSIONS :::
At the time of packaging, I didn’t pick up any differences in flavor or aroma between the beers made with each isolate Nick sent me, despite the slight haze in the larger batch. That said, I’m a huge believer in the subjective nature of perception, especially when it comes to taste, and hence my impressions may not necessarily align with Nick’s or anyone elses. For me, the aroma was undeniably Belgian, though not terribly overpowering, which followed through in the flavor. I’m not really into strong bubble-gum or banana flavors and was pleased to discover both to be essentially absent in these beers. What did come through was a delicious pear fruitiness with subtle white pepper and just a touch of citrus in the finish. The dryness and crisp mouthfeel was somewhat champagne-like, making for some very easy drinking. I carbonated this beer highly (~3 volumes) to produce a refreshing sparkle, which really works well with this style. I experience a very slight warmth as the beer trickles down my throat, far more pleasant than other higher ABV Belgian beers. The Belgian Pils malt definitely shines in this beer, imparting a lightly toasted white bread character that I’ve really come to appreciate. Overall, this is a beast of a yeast I’m certain Belgian beer lovers would enjoy in any number of styles. I’m very curious how this yeast would perform given different conditions and I have plans to use it again on a moderate OG American hopped Amber mashed at 160°F and fermented around 68°F.

While not currently available to the public, I was recently informed Nick plans to make this yeast a regular offering from The Yeast Bay! You can follow The Yeast Bay on Facebook for updates on this and many other yeasts. Nick is very responsive to questions, so don’t hesitate to ask.

Cheers!