10 replies to this topic

[weave]

I am thinking there is a batch of a Belgian style beer in my near future. Will be my first venture into homebrewed Belgians. Style is TBD but saison, dubbel, or Abbey style is likely. I have various bottles of Ommegang hanging around. Saison, Abbey Ale, Beer de Mars, and Rare Vos. Has anyone here harvested yeast from an Ommegang bottle? Any educated guesses as to whether they bottle with the same strain they ferment with?

[Thirsty]

I am thinking there is a batch of a Belgian style beer in my near future. Will be my first venture into homebrewed Belgians. Style is TBD but saison, dubbel, or Abbey style is likely. I have various bottles of Ommegang hanging around. Saison, Abbey Ale, Beer de Mars, and Rare Vos. Has anyone here harvested yeast from an Ommegang bottle? Any educated guesses as to whether they bottle with the same strain they ferment with?

I have harvested from the dregs of 4 rare vos' a couple of years ago, and ramped it up to a gallon starter. I pitched it into a clone recipe I got from BYO's 150 clone issue for OG's Abbey ale. They say (and I have read elsewhere) they use (or maybe originally did) Wyeasts forbidden fruit strain. I have brewed and tweaked this recipe a number of times, and i dont think harvesting the dregs was worth it. The forbidden fruit came out great, and I actually have a batch on tap now with T-58 and it is quite tasty.

[weave]

I have harvested from the dregs of 4 rare vos' a couple of years ago, and ramped it up to a gallon starter. I pitched it into a clone recipe I got from BYO's 150 clone issue for OG's Abbey ale. They say (and I have read elsewhere) they use (or maybe originally did) Wyeasts forbidden fruit strain. I have brewed and tweaked this recipe a number of times, and i dont think harvesting the dregs was worth it. The forbidden fruit came out great, and I actually have a batch on tap now with T-58 and it is quite tasty.

Was it your impression that the bottle dregs were the same strain as the fermenting strain? Or could you not tell? And how successful was your fermentation? Did it ferment down without too much difficulty?I am not concerned with how much bother it may be to step up the dregs. I am more concerned about whether the strain is correct. I have enough other ingredients that I will not be out to LHBS for quite some time. I am hoping to use my Omm dregs to avoid a trip into town. But if the dregs are a different strain than ferm, I will make the trip.

[Thirsty]

No I got a good ferment off the dregs, but again I stepped it up to a gallon. They definitely bottle with a house yeast.

[kbhale]

I harvested Ommegang bottle dregs several months back. Added it to a Wheat based beer. Turned out very drinkable.

[TelemarkBrew]

i used dregs to make a hennepin clone last year (boston wort processors recipe online). came out very well, an yes the bottling yeast is the same as the fermenting yeast.i'd say use the rare vos or beer de mars dregs before the others though, given they're the lowest ABV.also read that they ferment hennepin at 78 degrees, fyi.

[weave]

i used dregs to make a hennepin clone last year (boston wort processors recipe online). came out very well, an yes the bottling yeast is the same as the fermenting yeast.i'd say use the rare vos or beer de mars dregs before the others though, given they're the lowest ABV.also read that they ferment hennepin at 78 degrees, fyi.

That is good info because a Saison is high on the list of possibilities and I like THEIR Saison very much.IIRC, someone at the brewery told me they ferment Witte at 82F ! No wonders that beer is so estery.

[TelemarkBrew]

i think their yeast isn't as estery (real word?) as some other belgian yeasts can be, and i think was one of the reasons why they chose it, and as such they add various spices to get a broader array of flavors, e.g. hennepin has grain of paradise, ginger, corriander, and maybe one more thing added.

[MolBasser]

You can get all official about it and streak out the yeast on agar.Then you aren't using the "dregs", but a purified strain....Just sayin.BrewBasser

[Genesee Ted]

I know that Bier de Mars has brett, although it is prob pasteurized and redosed at bottling. I would try to email Randy Thiel about their yeast. He may not give you exactly the info you are looking for, but maybe something. I love their beers and would like to know a bit about their yeast.

[TelemarkBrew]

check out this 2007 brewing network podcast. Randy talks with the guys about 5 of the beers, the brewery, etc.he talks about the yeast starting at 1 hr 7min and 30 sec, confirming bottling yeast is same as fermenting yeast, and how they chose the yeast, etc. he also gives a recipe for a saison that ends up being basically a hennepin clone.click me