Wyeast: 3638 – Bavarian Wheat

A complex alternative to the standard German wheat strain profile. This strain produces apple, pear, and plum esters in addition to the dominant banana character. The esters are complemented nicely by clove and subtle vanilla phenolics. The balance can be manipulated towards ester production through increasing fermentation temperature, increasing the wort density, and decreasing the pitch rate. Overpitching can result in a near-complete loss of banana character. Decreasing the ester level will allow a higher clove character to be perceived. Sulfur is commonly produced, but will dissipate with conditioning. This strain is very powdery and will remain in suspension for an extended amount of time following attenuation. This is true top-cropping yeast and requires a fermenter headspace of 33%.

Specifications:

• Attenuation: 70 - 76%

• Flocculation: Low

• Temp. Range: 64 - 75 F

• Alcohol Tolerance: 10%

Suggested Substitutions*:

• Lallemand Munich
• White Labs: WLP 351 Bavarian Weizen

*Suggested yeast substitutions may not be an exact replacement, but they will be a very close approximation.