BeerBorg

What are the fermentation characteristics of this yeast? Not what flavors or esthers to expect but, is it a big krausen that lingers, small krausen that drops quickly, I know it is a low floc. yeast. Have 6 g in an 8 g bucket @ 66deg. always had airlock activity in these buckets as they seal good, 12 hrs in it looks like there was a 1/4 inch krausen that fell, by shading on the side of the bucket, but a slight press on the lid and the airlock doesn't burp like there is no CO2 building up in there. Is this a vigorous or a slow munching strain? Or do I just need to sit back and RDWHAHB and check on it in 14 days. Reading a bit about it I think I am going to bring it upstairs where with the warmer temp. it will be more toward the banana esthers instead of the clove. Will see what is happening 24 hrs in when I get home today.

5.25 lbs 2 Row
3 lbs White Wheat
.75 lbs Honey Malt
.5 Carapils

.5 oz Cascade @60
.5 Cascade @30
1 oz Cascade @5
.5 oz Lemon Peel flameout in muslin and suspended into fermenting bucket

It does not make big krausen in my experience, an inch, inch and a half, or two at the most extreme. It is not a 33% headspace required top cropping strain like some liquid wheat beer yeast IE Weihenstephan.

I've never had the krausen rise and fall with it in just one day, let alone a matter of hours, so my bet is that it hasn't really got going yet really and what your seeing as that 1/4" of shading is something else.

If you want any significant banana with that yeast you have to ferment really warm - more like 74-78 degrees. Seriously. The commercial micro brewers that use it and want banana and have good temperature control hold it around 78. You don't want to go over 78, but 78 is ok, even though it's "out of spec". It is not a big banana making yeast like some of the liquid strains. It will get more vigorous, as in you will get that 2" of krausen if it gets warm like that. T-58 actually makes more banana and bubblegum at lower temps IE 70-74 then WB-06 does.

At lower temps, it's more clove and citrus. Which would taste good with the cascade too. So it just depends on what you want. But you mentioned banana, so I wanted you to know.

Thinking about it now the little sample I used for the OG was kind of tart with the lemon peel, I may just keep it in the basement to bring out more of the clove characteristics. It ended up being very light bodied mash unintentionally, somewhat of a step @143 for 10 mins and 146 for 55 mins. so it will more than likely be an easy drinking wheat, started out @ 1.041 and see where the yeast takes it to.

All is good, bubbling away happily. Never used this yeast before and did not start the way I have had yeast act since I've been doing starters and using oxygen.