WLP007 Dry English Ale

Clean, highly flocculent, and highly attenuative yeast. This yeast is similar to WLP002 in flavor profile, but is 10% more attenuative. This eliminates the residual sweetness, and makes the yeast well suited for high gravity ales. It is also reaches terminal gravity quickly. 80% attenuation will be reached even with 10% ABV beers. 
Attenuation: 70-80%
Flocculation: Medium to High
Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High 

 

As-is Diacetyl

Total Diacetyl

As-is 2,3-Pentanedione

Total 2,3-Pentanedione

Ethanol

Acetaldehyde

Ethyl Acetate

Isoamyl Acetate

1-Propanol

Isoamyl Alcohol

45.31ppb

59.33ppb

0.58ppb

NA

4.665%ABV

12.53ppm

30.03ppm

0.79ppm

30.34ppm

129.635ppm

Fermentation temperature: 68° F

Reviews provided by White Labs:

"The coffee & cocoa can be tasted"
By:   mikie2
Date: Oct. 19, 2011
Beer Brewed: double coffee&cocoa porter
Comments: Made a kick butte porter. All my consumers wanted more and after four months it just gets better. The coffee & cocoa can be tasted. Good job guys!

"Flocculates out beautifully ... "
By:  PWB
Date: July 20, 2011
Beer Brewed: Golden, Pale, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Barley Brewery: WineBoquete Brewing Co. (nano-brewery, western Panama)
Comments: After searching for a good workhorse yeast for production of American style (hoppy) ales, I settled on this unlikely yeast. Amazingly neutral for a British strain. Flocculates out beautifully, which is a godsend for those who wish to skip filtering or fining. Lets hops come through very nicely, similar to cal ale yeast. I've harvested up to around 8 generations with clean results. Number one concern is to keep that primary fermentation temp down. It's a pretty quick attenuator, and puts out a lot of heat in the first 3 days or so. I get the cleanest results at about 66 degrees. Bottom line, if you haven't been quite satisfied with cal ale or others for hoppy, clean profiles, give this strain a try.

"I highly recommend this yeast ... "
By:  Douglas Remington
Date: Nov. 4, 2010
Beer Brewed: IPA's, esb's, imperial stouts, barley wines, and even Mead!
Comments: In my opinion this is White Labs greatest and most diverse ale yeast. I have turned many clients on to this yeast while working at mainbrew.com over the years. I even persuaded a micro brewery here in Oregon to try it, and now it is the only strain they will use. It ferments out very strong and clean. And the ability for a high attenuator to clarify as well as this strain does is quite rare! I believe this yeast is as clean as Cal ale (at the right temperature) and is better at resisting any type of autolysis than Cal ale. I highly recommend this yeast for American and English style ale. This should be your first choice for high gravity beers such as double ipa's and barely wines. You will not be disappointed! 

" ... flavor profile is excellent!"
By:  jamie
Date: June 8, 2010
Beer Brewed: IPA, Pale, Porter, honey-wheat
Comments: I've found that this yeast is not as others have stated. Although I have been fermenting at the low end of the recommended temp range (about 66F). I've been getting about 72% attenuation. The flavor profile is excellent! The beers are very clean. Some esters, but very subtle, probably due to the low fermenting temp. I highly recommend this strain.

"Ends up dry ... "
By:  Anonymous
Date: May 26, 2010
Beer Brewed: Russian Imperial Stout
Comments: Amazing stuff! Was at full throtlle in less than 18 hours and went from 1.094 to 1.024 in less than six days and that was with 3 lbs of honey in the mix. Ends up dry but accentuates the hops and malt character. Perfect!

"Very dry ... "
By:  Morten Kielland
Date: April 14, 2010
Beer Brewed: English IPA
Comments: From 1.073 to 1.017 in less than a day!!! WOW! Poured the wort over the yeast cake from the previous brew. Fermented at 19C. Excellent profile and balance.Very dry unless lots of crystal or similar malt used.

" ... might be a go-to"
By:  Anonymous
Date: April 6, 2010
Beer Brewed: Oatmeal Stout
Comments: Awesome English Yeast! My oatmeal stout had an OG of 1.070 and it fermented out to 1.016 in 7 days at 68F. Too dark to tell how well the yeast floccuated, but the beer does not taste yeasty at all after sitting in a secondary for a week. The thing that really makes this yeast stand out in dark beer styles, in my opinion, is a very faint dark fruit/cherry flavor in the background. Really compliments the roasted barley and carafa II that I used. This just might be my "go-to" strain for future porters and stouts.

" ... it's fast and really brings out the hops"
By:  Anonymous
Date: March 15, 2010
Beer Brewed: IPA
Comments: From 1.060 to 1.014 in three days! Fermented at 68F, it's fast and really brings out the hops. Fast, attenuates, floccs. Why use anything else??

" ... it tastes great right ... "
By:  norm
Date: Sept. 19, 2009
Beer Brewed: beer wine
Comments: I used an Amber kit, and added extra hops and 5 pounds of dextrose. After 14 days in the fermenter, I bottled it with just one small sugar-drop. I siphoned off a couple liters (without bottling) for the weekend, and it tastes great right out of the fermenter! Nice ETOH warmth going down, more like a strong wine than a beer.

"To avoid dangerous lag times ... "
By:  Jim Givens 
Date: Aug. 30, 2009
Beer Brewed: Chocolate Porter, American IPA, English Extra Special, English Pale, Dry Stout
Comments: This rebel yeast lives fast and goes dormant young – it’s in and out of solution long before the wort can raise a wild posse. The beauty of this trait is that it’s easy to get clear (and drier/clean tasting) beers out the door quickly. But because of this trait it is also difficult to bring it back to “life” to re-pitch it if it has been relatively still for only a couple of days. To avoid dangerous lag times be prepared for some yeast coddling if you use this re-pitching method, or use it somewhat early, or double the amount of slurry pitched compared to other yeast types to get the same degree of desired fast and furious fermentation underway.

"This will be my primary ale yeast from now on ... "
By:  n35flyer
Date: Aug. 26, 2009
Beer Brewed: IPA
Comments: I switched over from California Ale, and have been pleasantly surprised. Started at 1.074 and by the 6th day, was down to 1.018! 80% attenuation is no problem. As advertised, strain with terrific flocculent characteristics....this batch was as clear in the primary after 6 days as others I have brewed that spent a week in secondary. This will be my primary ale yeast from now on, and I am anxious to see how re-pitching to a 2nd or 3rd batch turns out.

"The flocculation is also awesome ... "
By: Doug C
Date: April 9, 2009
Beer Brewed: IPA, Stout, Porter, Pale Ale
Comments: I love this yeast. I moved from WLP002 to WLP007 since it attenuates more. It seems to finish fermenting in about 3 days on most of the beers that I have brewed. The flocculation is also awesome - It ferments quickly then drops out, leaving a very, very clear beer. The IPA that I brewed was with all American citrus hops and there was no inharmonious flavor by mingling the British yeast with the American hops. I have mainly fermented in the mid 60s F so the esters are fairly neutral in my opinion. I believe that raising the fermenting temps (to 70-72 F) would provide esters that are more evident. This could have been nice in the stouts since the roastiness could meld with some fruitiness.This yeast will be the main work horse in my stable of yeasts.

"I highly recommend it ... "
By: JJ Blanche
Date: April 5, 2009
Beer Brewed: English Barleywine; American Strong Ale
Comments: This is now my go-to high gravity strain. I highly recommend it for anything over 1.080, as it consistently ferments down to the target FG without issue. Has more character when compared to high-attenuating American strains, which I find desirable. Has a fairly active fermentation, which requires a blow-off unless you have the requisite head-space (carboys generally don't, buckets and other vessels might). Can go right on up to the stated 10% ABV and beyond, but starts to slow down when passing 11%. Yeast nutrient helps, particularly when you want to push it up to those levels. Minimizing blow-off by maximizing head-space is also a good route to pursue if you want to draw as much out of it as possible. I've used 007 with a 3 week primary, followed by a 3 week secondary. Thereafter, let your high-grav brews sit for at least two months after bottling. Give it time, in other words, and you'll be rewarded.

"It is very clean and did a great job ... "
By: Steve Antoch
Date: Nov. 29, 2008
Beer Brewed: IPA, APA, ESB, American Brown, Northern English Brown
Comments: This is my favorite "general purpose" ale yeast. It is as attenuative as the 001 Cal Ale and yet provides a nice malty emphasis. It is very clean and did a great job on my N. Eng Brown down in the 62-64F range. I no longer use the Cal Ale in my APAs and IPAs, because this yeast does the same job but leaves the with a better malt backbone.

" ... can handle the higher alcohol ... "
By: Ken Lee
Date: Nov. 13, 2008
Beer Brewed: Barleywine
Comments: I used this yeast (propagated for the third time) in an English barleywine that was 1.114 S.G. It was down to 1.032 within a week. Apparently it really can handle the higher alcohol environment.

" ... started fermenting extremely quick ... "
By: Mike
Date: Sept. 21, 2008
Beer Brewed: American Strong Ale
Comments: I was slipped this strain (accidentally) instead of my old stand-by, the California ale. I didn't realize until I was prepping a starter, but I had wanted to try this strain so I went with it. This yeast started fermenting extremely quick and and with in about 6 days had dropped the OG from 1.062 to 1.014. Lends to a cleaner, less "Britishy" taste than the English and British strains.

"This is one of my best beers to date ... "
By: Taylor
Date: April 1, 2008
Beer Brewed: American Strong Ale
Comments: This yeast is very efficient, fast, and clean. I brewed an American strong ale using only 2-row and some 120L Crystal and it was fantastic. The final ABV was around 7.5% and masked very well. This is one of my best beers to date and can only contribute it to the yeast. One note I will echo is that some crystal malt should be used to prevent the beer from being too dry.

"This stuff is super super fast"
By: eddiebasspro
Date: Feb. 10, 2008
Beer Brewed: Russian imperial stout
Comments: I have been brewing 5 gallon batches of beer for about 18 months and I don't typically use White Labs yeast. 007 was recommended for my imperial stout and I have to say that it is pretty kick a-- ... with an o.g. in the mid 90's it dropped down to high 20's in five days. I've pitched it since in a smaller beer with good results so far, this stuff is super super fast ... thanks for the yeast guys ...

"This is a great yeast strain"
By: Jim Snook
Date: August 14, 2007
Beer Brewed: APA, Old Ale, Strong Ale
Comments: This is a great yeast strain. I use it now for almost any kind of ale. Attenuation has been good, with no off-flavors even fermenting up to high 70s Fahrenheit. It does flocculate very well when done. Plenty of fruity aroma in the final product. I always use some crystal/specialty malts in the grist with this strain to keep the final product from being too dry.

"My house strain"
By: Mark Pannell
Date: June 26, 2007
Beer Brewed: APA, IPA, IIPA, ESB, Irish Stout, RIS
Comments: I have made this my 'house strain' as I have had such good results with it! It makes for a nicely balanced and clean ale. It falls out of suspension almost completely, making for a very clear ale. To my taste it makes for a more traditional tasting Irish Stout. Perfect for any English-style ale.

"Lactose may have kept gravity higher"
By: Ken Lee
Date: May 31, 2007
Beer Brewed: Russian Imperial Stout
Comments: After 10 days the gravity had dropped from 1.100 to 1.039. I was hoping for a faster drop in gravity, but due to the addition of Lactose (6% of the grain bill) it may have kept the gravity higher. It's got a month left to spend in secondary, so hopefully it'll finish in the low 30's. Can't comment on flocculation because it's opaque.

" ... behaved much as described."
By: Vertical
Date: Oct. 24, 2006
Comments: This strain behaved much as described. The high flocculation allowed for great separation from the beer. I notice a nice black cherry/fruity aroma. I am not sure of the attenuation rate however. The wort started at 1.093 (a stout beer) and finished at 1.030.

" ... I was quite pleased"
By: Steve973
Date: November 20, 2006
Beer Brewed: ESB
Comments: This was my first time with using an English ale yeast, and I was quite pleased. We first made a starter, and the yeast took off quickly and the starter was at high krausen in less than 2 days. The finished product resulted in an ale with a really nice malt profile, so I'd recommend this yeast for brewers who are making any kind of English beer, and especially for those making an ESB.

FAQ for this yeast
I purchased a WLP007 for my Dry Stout recipe.
As I prepared to make a starter, I noticed the yeast was considerably different than in the past. Instead of being creamy and smooth after shaking, part of it was lumpy. The question is, what’s going on here?

This is normal for this strain as well as other very flocculent strains such as WLP002 and WLP005. As we concentrate our yeast to a considerable degree, these very flocculent strains will look rather lumpy.