Classic Saison yeast from Wallonia. It produces earthy, peppery, and spicy notes. Slightly sweet. With high gravity saisons, brewers may wish to dry the beer with an alternate yeast added after 75% fermentation.
Attenuation: 65-75%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-75°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium
Note to brewers: This strain tends to stall out in fermentation and then restart as long as two weeks later. Makesure the wort is well-oxygenated and allow the temperature to free rise in order to ensurecomplete fermentation. Some brewers add WLP001 to finish.
A yeast starter must be made when using White Labs Yeast
Reviews provided by White Labs:
" ... with a dry finish"
By: Michael A.
Date: Aug. 12, 2011
Beer Brewed: Traditional Saison
Comments: Yeast performed perfectly. Pitched a 1 L starter into a 1.054 OG wort, and fermented at room temperature (75 - 83F w/o AC). Beer reached 74% attenuation (1.014) in 3 days! It slowed WAY down after that, and it took a full month to reach 81% (1.010). Final beer is spicy (peppery) with a dry finish. A perfect way to cool off in the summer.
" ... use a heater .. "
By: Graham Anderson
Date: June 16, 2011
Beer Brewed: Saison, duh.
Comments: Fermented a 1.050 wort mashed at 154F, (43% Pilsner, 18% Munich, 27% Unmalted Wheat, 12% Roasted Grains) down to 1.007 in 10 days. Raised from 76-84F over 4 days, then kept at 84F. Beer is clear and acetaldehyde is gone. Probably the key here is to keep temperature high. Strong tanginess and pear fruitiness, along with strong earthy aroma. Spiciness is of medium intensity, about the same as Dupont. Even if your apartment is hot, use a heater to keep the temps high on the cool days. You can get it to attenuate quickly with heat.
" ... it came out very much like a saison"
By: Lance Shaw
Date: April 28, 2011
Beer Brewed: West Coast Saison
Comments: I was pretty naive when I brewed this beer I guess, I had read that it liked higher fermentation temps but I didn't really research it much more than that. I brewed it in March and it never got over 68. I was expecting my normal 4-8 day fermentation but this one took 2 weeks, which I thought was really long at the time. Anyway it slowly but constantly ticked away and finished at 1.010. I naturally fermented in cornys with 3 oz. dme then "conditioned" it for three more weeks at 68. I was worried it wouldn't come out "belgiany" due to the low temps but it came out very much like a saison.
"Yeast went nuts ... "
By: Josh Gibson
Date: Aug. 2, 2010
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: Brewed a 12 gal batch of saison with a pre sugar OG of 1056, including sugar addition it was 1066. Did a 3qt starter for each 6 gal fermentor, pitched at 68 degrees at 2pm on 7/6, by 5pm on 7/7 I let the temp rise to 71 but the yeast was already settling out, current gravity 1040, my plan was to pitch 1.5 lbs boiled sugar to each carboy just after high krousen to ensure the beer finish out as dry as possible. Yeast went nuts on the sugar for about 12 hours, when done gravity was 1040, it was stuck here for a few days, I let the temp rise to 78, then I moved the fermentors to warmer room where the warmest part of the day the temp would range from 85-90. I finally got some action and it stopped at 1013, I added champagne yeast and cal ale yeast that was active from a starter and still got no other activity. I think I should have waited till the very end to add the sugar, even at the end the yeast had not flocculated very much at all, crash cooling now to rack to kegs. lesson learned, don't add simple sugars too soon and don't be afraid to get it hot.
" ... with earthy and sour flavors ... "
By: David Stuedemann
Date: June 15, 2010
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: This yeast has incredible flavor and is authentic to the style. It makes your beer taste like it was brewed on the farm in Belgium. Final gravity was a bit high (1.018) but I can live with it, the beer was awesome. You can finish with California Ale Yeast if attenuation isn't high enough. Slight sour flavor and farmhouse tang not found with other yeasts, works exceptionally well with a light bodied, lightly hopped ale. Ferments out fine at 70 degrees F, with earthy and sour flavors, very unique.
"Did not want to risk it ... "
By: Les Nadon
Date: February 7, 2010
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: First time ever, this one did not want to finish all the way (lot's of variables, same thing I have always done though...). It started at 1.051 and just plain quit at 1.020. The mash temp was on the low side (148 degrees) so it should have finished a lot drier, I think. I waited for it to get going again for almost two weeks, but I got impatient and threw in another Belgian strain to get it going again. I used the same thing as WLP510 (only it was the competitor's yeast. LHBS had NOTHING in the cooler from White Labs in a Belgian). Started right up again and is finishing out right now. I have heard that 565 likes to quite sometimes. Probably would have taken off again if I waited. Did not want to risk it.... Fermenting with a heating pad at 84 - 86 degrees, constant temp.
" ... a ton of different spices"
By: Enorc
Date: Jan. 18, 2010
Beer Brewed: Holiday ale
Comments: I used saison to do a Christmas beer. This beer got a ton of different spices, cinnamon, vanilla bean in secondary, cardamom pods, grains of paradise, sweet and bitter orange peel, coriander, and candy sugar as well as the grains. The saison yeast perfectly suited this style of beer. It was pretty slow at the end of ferment, but the wait is worth it. Everyone who tried this beer loved it. I served it with Christmas dinner and it was a hit. Great yeast strain that added it's own spicy/earthy/peppery flair to an already spicy brew. I will definitely be using this one again.
"I love the flavors it produces ... "
By: anton
Date: December 14, 2007
Beer Brewed: Saison, Dark Saison
Comments: This is my (new) favorite yeast. I never let fermentation get below 76 degrees and it has produced great beer. I love the flavors it produces and my Saison won first in its category in a local competition, all of the credit goes to the yeast however which created the backbone of my beer. Thanks White Labs.
"The results have always been incredible ... "
By: Jim Snook in San Diego
Date: August 14, 2007
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: I brewed an all-grain Saison with a single infusion saccharification rest at 147F. I have used this yeast 3 times now with great results, bringing the mash temp down each time to get successively drier Saisons. I will go a couple degrees lower next time to see if I can get the FG a couple points lower. This yeast is still active after the krausen falls and primary fermentation looks to be done, so my advice is to be patient with this yeast, don't rack before taking SG samples and let it finish as it will get there given enough time. The results have always been incredible, this is my favorite yeast for farmhouse ales.
"Yummy peppery pear flavors ... "
By: akress
Date: August 07, 2007
Beer Brewed: Grisette/Saison
Comments: I let this one sit in a ten gallon fermentor in my living room where I knew it would be warm. Just threw a towel over it to keep the sun out and the result was an awesome ten gallons of saison that should last me well into the future, or about two weeks. Yummy peppery pear flavors and produced a very dry beer.
"It attenuates very completely"
By: Modibo S
Date: June 28, 2007
Beer Brewed: Saison, Belgian Pale Ale
Comments: As someone else mentioned, this yeast is brilliant when used at temperatures that would be considered outrageous for other styles of beer (and they might taste outrageous, too, only not in a good way). I have used WLP565 several times for Belgian style pales and saisons, and I have generally been pleased with the results. The fermentations are vigorous and the yeast produces the fruity esters and spicy notes that you expect in a Belgian. According to the author of Farmhouse Ales, this yeast is very similar to the one used to brew Dupont beers, and after reading his description of the fermentation I'd have to agree on two counts - it attenuates very completely, and while the initial fermentation is vigorous, the secondary fermentation can be very prolonged. In the case of one of my saisons, that meant a month and a half to complete (this was at 70 degrees Fahrenheit). If you're impatient like me, that wait can be excruciating, especially because the results are so tasty! So keep that in mind when you pick up a vial of this. And enjoy!
" ... results are delicious"
By: A H
Date: April 23, 2007
Beer Brewed: A Light Saison
Comments: I currently live and brew in the attic of a poorly insulated house. It's about 58 F in the winter and it can be well above 90 F in the summer. The temperature also varies tremendously from night to day. Whenever I have brewed with dry yeast in such conditions, the results end up tasting like a bit of diesel fuel has been incorporated into the recipe. When I brew with White Labs, the results are delicious, even when the temperatures exceed the recommendations. I brewed a light saison style last year with my first White Labs strain because another brewer claimed it would ferment well at "blood warm" temperatures. I put your strain to the test last summer, and it produced a fine, subtle saison that continues to drink well a year later. I recently brewed an excellent trippel style beer with some WLP530 and despite the abuse the yeast received from some rather drastic changes in temperature, it is a fine beer. I am looking forward to brewing more with White Labs yeasts!
(Note: this review also posted for WLP530)
"Great yeast"
By: Big Harry Deehl
Date: March 04, 2007
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: Great yeast. I fermented in the 78-80 degree range with great results. Nice esters.
" ... a spicy, peppery note"
By: Mark Mott
Date: November 19, 2006
Beer Brewed: Saison
Comments: I love this yeast and have used it twice now. I did saisons with OG of 1.068 and they finished at 1.015 which is right where I wanted them and pretty high of an attenuation percentage (78% I think). I let the yeast work on the beers in primary for almost about a month before I racked over. And I fermented in the mid 60s. The finished products have a spicy, peppery note with some residual sweetness. I will use this yeast yearly on my saisons.
"Clears wonderfully, tastes great ... "
By: Les Nadon
Date: September 24, 2006
Comments: My favorite yeast! This one is always a great worker, starters take off in 2 - 4 hours and an active fermentation is well under way within two hours of pitching. Completes the primary after 24 - 36 hours, but let it keep working.... give it another two weeks and you'll be amazed at the end product. And oh ... really important, ferment this wonder at 90 - 95 degrees! I place an ordinary heating pad under the fermenter and let it sit. Toward the end of fermentation (the last two weeks), dial down the heat so that you finish in the 70s. Clears wonderfully, tastes great, very, very, similar to Saison DuPont....
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