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Reviews from White Labs:
" ... mutes hop bitterness ... "
By: Jim
Date: Nov. 28, 2010
Beer Brewed: IPA, Robust Porter, Imperial IPA, American Brown
Comments: This is my house strain for American beers - always with a starter. I began using it heavily when I noticed that it was one of the few clean American-style strains that reliably attained terminal gravity in my cool cellar during the winter months (62-65 F) without agitation or rousing. It is very clean. Although flocculation is fairly low, a couple of weeks at lagering temperatures after primary will leave a bright beer. I find that it mutes hop bitterness and requires a bit more time than 001 to pass its "green" stage: for me, reliability in exchange for longer maturation and a bit less bitterness. Also, 008 is very sensitive to mash temperature in my experience relative to other White Labs strains, so if you are an all-grain brewer, precision at mash-in is probably warranted with East Coast Ale Yeast. Finally, this strain has done very well for me in beers topping 8% ABV, so it can stand some alcohol stress.
" ... a great yeast product"
By: Adam Summers, Ridgecrest, CA
Date: Dec. 18, 2007
Beer Brewed: Amber Ale
Comments: I ordered a different strain of White Labs yeast and got this as a surprise substitute from my supplier. I was pleasantly surprised. Using Briess light malt extract (3 kg in five gallons water), 1 oz. Willamette hop pellets, 1 pound 40-L crystal malt and 1 pound 80-L crystal malt, this yeast fermented a very satisfying, very malty amber ale with subdued hop character, acceptable head retention and great clarity (aided by Sparkalloid in the secondary). Flocculation was very high - nearly two gallons of head space in the primary was almost not enough. Also, I had much more yeast migrate to the secondary fermenter than I am used to with a completed fermentation (yes, I checked the gravity), resulting in a bit of yeast bite. But with minor tweaks these issues should be easy to resolve, and I happily bottled about a pound of dilute slurry for use in future batches. Overall, a great yeast product.
FAQ for this yeast
I plated 10ul from the 35ml pitchable vial of WLP008. I see two distinct colonies and was wondering if that was normal for this culture (dual strains, normal variation in metabolism)? I see mostly white colonies characteristic of yeast. I also see some small colonies interspersed. I don’t believe it to be bacterial contamination since both colony types grew at the same rate. Fermentation also appears/smells normal.
Thank you for your inquiry. It is not a dual strain, but you can see some differences when the colonies are small. Can be stress or volume size plated. 10ul is a lot of yeast to plate so there can be nutrient differences that each colony is getting. The best way is to grow a dilute solution to giant colony size; I think there would be some protocols on the web if you want to try that. When they are big you see better if there are actual morphological differences.
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