Author: Marshall Schott

I got on a WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast kick a few years back after I heard it was basically a more flocculant version of WLP001 California Ale Yeast. Over the last few months, I’ve received numerous emails/private messages asking about my experience using this strain and figured this old experiment of mine might be sort of helpful to some. I apologize for the old Instagram photos, this was over 2 years ago…

Back in August 2012, I split 10 gallons of 1.068 OG IPA then pitched 001 into half and 090 into the other half. Both yeasts were built up appropriately in starters, crashed, and decanted prior to being thrown into the beers. The following are observations I made and some tasting notes from some friends I shared it with and myself.

I pitched and fermented the beers at 67˚F, they took off and completed in the same amount of time with FG being reached for both within 5 days. While airlock activity was similar (a very rudimentary gauge of fermentation vigor), the 001 batch had a much larger kraeusen that stuck around much longer compared to the half pitched with 090. Despite reported differences in attenuation rates (WLP001 73-80%, WLP090 76-83%), both beers ended with the same exact FG. I’ve read and heard (from friends) about WLP090 stalling on them, but this has never happened to me in many uses (70+).

I took a final FG sample at 10 days from pitch, the FG was the same as it was on day 5, so kegging commenced. The beers appeared to be similar in clarity at this point, which made me think what I’d heard about 090 being more flocculant may be mere marketing.

After about a week in the cold keezer, the 090 batch definitely seemed to be clearing up better than the 001 beer, an observation that was much more pronounced a few days later when the beers were ready to drink.

Upon first comparative sip, I had some difficulty coming up with differences, it became easier as the beers warmed up a bit. Both were good, just obviously not the same. Here’s what my friends and I came up with:

WLP001 California Ale Yeast

This beer has a slightly sharper bitterness with a more “punch you in the face” late hop character, very much what you might expect from the Chico strain. The malt character was very subdued, definitely taking a backseat to the hops. The body was somewhat thin, but certainly not water. Overall, it was a good beer.

WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast

The beer fermented with 090 gave us much more to talk about, if that makes any sense. Hoppy as all get out, sort of like the 001 beer, but balanced by a nice malt character that we all found to be much more pleasant. This beer seemed to have more of a medium body, which suited all of our tastes well, and the mouthfeel was slightly more creamy, another plus. For the 6 guys who tasted these beers blind (without even knowing the nature of the experiment), all but one said they preferred the 090 beer, with one explaining it as being “way more interesting without getting odd.”

Since performing this yeast comparison, I’ve developed a strong infautation with it and no longer have any interest in 001, which I find to be rather boring. WLP090 is the yeast I use the most, pitching it into anything I want to have a clean and balanced character. If you haven’t used this, I highly recommend you try it out in your next IPA, Pale, Brown, or Amber.

| CONCLUSIONS |

Over the couple years I’ve been using WLP090, I’ve discovered a couple tricks that may help explain why it’s always worked so well for me. Make sure you make a proper sized starter, pitch cool at 65˚F then set your regulator to 66˚F, let it rock for 3 days, then raise the temp to 70˚F for a couple days to encourage complete attenuation and reabsorption of fermentation byproducts. At this point, I usually crash the beer to 32˚F for a couple days then keg per my typical method, pouring the first pint a couple days later.

There are a few hypotheses I’ve heard as to the source of this yeast, though the one it seems many folks are buying is that it comes from San Diego’s Port Brewing Company house strain. I’ve consumed a few Port beers and must agree that the yeast character does seem awfully similar. Thankfully Port is a brewery that still bottle conditions… and I can get pretty fresh bottles where I live… stay tuned 😉

If you’ve been stuck on 001 and you’re ready for a little more pizzazz in your life, give this yeast a shot and let me know how it turns out! If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave them below. Cheers!

Support Brülosophy In Style!

All designs are available in various colors and sizes on Amazon!

Follow Brülosophy on:

| Read More |

18 Ideas to Help Simplify Your Brew Day

7 Considerations for Making Better Homebrew

List of completed exBEERiments

How-to: Harvest yeast from starters

How-to: Make a lager in less than a month

| Good Deals |

Brand New 5 gallon ball lock kegs discounted to $75 at Adventures in Homebrewing

ThermoWorks Super-Fast Pocket Thermometer On Sale for $19 – $10 discount

Sale and Clearance Items at MoreBeer.com

If you enjoy this stuff and feel compelled to support Brulosophy.com, please check out the Support Us page for details on how you can very easily do so. Thanks!

Advertisements

Share this: Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Tumblr

Email



Like this: Like Loading...