WLP029 GERMAN ALE/KOLSCH

From a small brewpub in Cologne, Germany, this yeast works great in Kölsch and Alt style beers. Good for light beers like blond and honey. Accentuates hop flavors, similar to WLP001. The slight sulfur produced during fermentation will disappear with age and leave a super clean, lager like ale. 
Attenuation: 72-78%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-69°F
Does not ferment well less than 62°F, unless during active fermentation.
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

MiniFerment data:
What is MiniFerment? White Labs yeast strains were tested using the same wort in its proprietary MiniFerment process. The process simulates large-scale brewing. 

This first table (below) involves fermentation temperature at 68° F.

This second table (below)  involves fermentation temperature at 55° F.

Fermentation temperature: 55° F and 68° F
Attenuation: At 55° F, 79%; at 68° F, 78%
Hours to get to 50 percent attenuation: At 55° F, 48 hours; at 68° F, 30 hours

White Labs Provided Reviews:

WLP029 vs. WLP036
By: Schuyler Campbell
Date: July 11, 2011
Beers Brewed: Düsseldorf Altbier
Comments: WLP029 flocs out somewhat more easily than WLP036 and ferments better a bit warmer. Where I like WLP036 fermenting around 52F, WLP029 has given me great results at 57F. WLP029 will make a great Altbier and is the preferred yeast for Kölsch. WLP036 is excellent for Altbier, but lacking the character WLP029 provides to the more delicate Kölsch style. As always, with a cooler fermentation, you need to pitch much more yeast, so I always make a big starter when brewing up a German-style ale. WLP029 and WLP036 are excellent yeast choices for cold-fermented ales, but I would not use either German ale yeast if you do not have adequate fermentation temperature control, as they are known to be a lot more testy than the very-similar WLP001. If you want to brew a Kölsch or Alt and you are fermenting at or around room temperature, do yourself a favor and use WLP001 instead. (Note: this review also appears on the WLP036 page).

" .... the beer clarified quickly'"
By: BrightSpotBrewing
Date: June 17, 2011
Beers Brewed: Northern German Alt, Brown Ale
Comments: This might end up being a go to for us. Great malt profile, hops are certainly accentuated but not too much, and the beer clarified quickly. Used a 1.5L starter for 5.5 gal batch, which worked great! I highly recommend this yeast.

" .... one other requirement is 'no diacetyl'"
By: Ken
Date: April 10, 2011
Beers Brewed: Pale Ale
Comments: I am entering this beer in the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery's Rein Stein Pale Ale competition. This is all grain with an OG of 1.056. The competition requires this yeast and one other requirement is "no diacetyl". I brewed yesterday, pitched two vials (no starter) and it is now fermenting at 64 degrees. How long do you recommend keeping it in the primary? Do you recommend a lagering period and if so at what temperature? Thanks. Looking forward to the end product regardless of competition results.

"WLP029 or WLP036?"
By: RCA
Date: March 7, 2011
Beers Brewed: Alt
Comments: I brewed a traditional Dusseldorf Alt a few months ago with the WLP036 and it turned out fantastic. However, I'm thinking of doing another Alt with a N. American spin (mix of Noble and higher alpha-acid American hops) to try and produce something like Ninkasi's Sleigh'r. Not sure if I want to use the WLP036 again or give the WLP029 a try. What differences can I expect if I were to use the WLP029? (Note: this review also appears on the WLP036 page).

"It's very clean"
By: Jason Lewis
Date: July 6, 2010
Beers Brewed: Kolsch; Lemon Weiss
Comments: I brewed a Kolsch with this yeast and my friend brewed a lemon weiss. We fermented at around 62 degrees. We then lagered at around 48-50 degrees for 3 weeks. The kolsch is outstanding. It's very clean. There are a little bit of fruity undertones, sort of like a white wine with a tiny bit of apple. It's very minimal though and just adds a complexity to the beer. Overall, the yeast is cleaner than some commercial Kolschs that I've drank. This yeast does not finish as dry as some other commercial kolschs that I've had either. I like that it's so light and has some residual sweetness. I could see using this beer in a cream ale for superb results.

" ... massive hop aroma ... "
By: j_snook
Date: May 19, 2010
Beers Brewed: American IPA
Comments: Already reviewed this strain for Kölsch. Used it recently in an IPA and it was fantastic. Made an American IPA on a grist of 2-row, crystal and Munich malts and lots of high-alpha American hops. The resulting beer has massive hop aroma from the late additions, as well as pronounced bitterness. Finish is crisp. Attenuation was excellent as always with this strain. Someone asked below in a review how this would work for IPA which gave me the idea to try this, and I would say this strain is just as good a choice as 001 when you want a clean flavor profile and to highlight hops. Very versatile strain since you can also use it to focus on the malts in styles like Kolsch. Very little yeast-derived flavor in the IPA fermented at 67dF.

" ... will be adding this to my arsenal"
By: tranehead
Date: March 30, 2010
Beers Brewed: Kölsch
Comments: I made an American Wheat beer as a starter for this yeast. I wanted a big yeast cake to pitch onto for my Kölsch. The wheat beer came out great, especially given it was all extract. The Kölsch finished fairly quickly (5-7 days) with the big yeast cake to pitch onto. I GOT 81% Attenuation. crazy yeast. 1.054, a little big for Kölsch, yes, but it was more efficient than expected. Making braggot with leftovers. This is a GREAT yeast and very forgiving temp wise. Collected slurry and will be adding this to my arsenal!!!

"This produces a very nice Kolsch"
By: d_h
Date: July 24, 2009
Beers Brewed: Kolsch
Comments: Making a nice, big starter I have had very good luck pitching and fermenting around 60F. This produces a very nice Kolsch. Very lager like in the fermentation profile.

"Resulting beer was very clear"
By: j_snook
Date: April 29, 2009
Beers Brewed: Kolsch
Comments: Brewed a triple-decoction Kolsch and got attenuation at 84% (70% RDF). Went from 1.050 OG to 1.008 FG after sitting on yeast for 16 days. Resulting beer was very clear. Flavor profile incredibly clean and spot on for a Kolsch. This strain would be great for California Common or mock-lager type brews, or any ale where you want to accentuate the malt and keep yeast-derived aromas to a minimum.

"The Mock Bock was great ... "
By: Robert Russell
Date: March 17, 2008
Beers Brewed: "Bock" - Koelsh - Blond
Comments: This was the first liquid yeast I have used and I am quite impressed. The first brew was a Shiner Bock Clone and our local shop owner suggested WLP029 because I don't have Lagering capabilities. The Mock Bock was great, it had been brewed for the March club meeting but did not make it that long. The second brew was placed directly on the trub of the first and it produced a great koelsh which I am still enjoying. I saved the yeast for three weeks (!) and used it for a Blond Ale which is very smooth and slightly sweet. I am sold on White Labs Yeast!

"It made the best dark beers I have made ... "
By: dave d
Date: January 21, 2008
Beers Brewed: German dark
Comments: I made three batches at once with one test tube. I boiled 8 oz of powdered malt and yeast starter in 2 liters of water to make a starter solution. In three days it was ready. It did smell of sulphur during the process, but it went away. I brewed up 3 batches: a starbucks expresso oatmeal chocolate stout, a chocolate grain dark ale, and a dark German ale. I used the yeast in all three batches (16 gallons total) at once. One batch was ready to be bottled after a week, the other two were slower and they took two weeks. The final product turned out as smooth, aromatic German type dark beers. It made the best dark beers I have made yet and definitely had a distinct German flavor.

"Great yeast"
By: Mike Conner
Date: September 12, 2007
Beers Brewed: Kolsch
Comments: Great yeast. Got 73% real attenuation with a starter fermenting at 65-66F and then rising to 72F for a few days at the end to completely ferment out (after day 10 or so). If you lager near freezing a few weeks on the yeast in secondary - trust me you don't have to primary ferment lower than 65F to get a real clean, dry, subtle beer with almost white wine like hints of flavor. Good flocculence to produce a very clear beer. Classic.

"GREAT Kolsch yeast"
By: Matt
Date: September 11, 2007
Beers Brewed: Kolsch
Comments: A GREAT Kolsch yeast. Always produces a clean, crisp Kolsch for me 3 weeks after brewing. Warning: for the first few days of fermentation, it stinks like hard boiled eggs/farts/sulfur.

"Anybody try this?"
By: JC
Date: April 27, 2007
Beers Brewed: IPA?
Comments: I was thinking about doing an IPA with the WLP029 strain just as an experiment. Any of you ever try that? How would you expect it to turn out?

" ... ended up with a classic tasting Kolsch"
By: JCC
Date: April 25, 2007
Beers Brewed: Kolsch
Comments: This yeast to me tastes like the perfect midpoint between lager and ale yeast. It's a very clean tasting yeast, and like all White Labs yeast fermented well for me. I used Hallertau for bittering and flavor, followed a pretty stock recipe, and ended up with a classic tasting Kolsch.

FAQ for this yeast

I wonder if you could help me with my Kolsch. I'm looking to brew this as my next batch (40L). I notice from your information about WLP029 that it shouldn't be fermented at any less than 62F, which according to my calculations is 16.7C. What is your advice here?

For WLP029, people can experience problems under 16C, so we recommend that temperature, but many do ferment cooler. You just have to be more careful and keep an eye on the fermentation. With 029, you don’t need to ferment that cool anyway to get the clean flavors, you can cool it during fermentation if you like, but I wouldn’t the first time and see what you think.