One of the perks of bein
g a homebrewer working at BSG is that you get to try new products and ingredients on a regular basis. This month I was able to test out the new Safbrew Abbaye yeast from Fermentis, which is just the second Belgian dry yeast made available to homebrewers after Lallemand’s Belle Saison.
I had an opportunity to co-host a presentation on homebrewing Belgian beers recently, and as such I had been studying up. While it’s always tempting to brew up a large tripel, the beer that caught my attention during my reading was the monks table beer, which for my recipe I decided to call an Abbey Single. I basically took my recipe for a session scotch ale, removed the smoked malt, and replaced the Scottish ale yeast with the Abbaye.
Cody’s Abbey Single (5 gal. All-Grain)
6lb Weyermann Pilsner
1lb Flaked Oats
.5lb Patagonia C60
.2lb Patagonia Perla Negra
1oz UK Fuggle @ 60 min
1 packet Safbrew Abbaye yeast
This yeast performed exactly as advertised in Fermentis’ promotional materials. Fermentation was strong and fast, completely finishing out in under 48 hours (although to be fair I had an OG of just 1.040). Wanting to capture as much of the yeast character as possible I moved it directly into a keg after just 5 days, and I found it produced a rather subtle flavor and aroma as far as Belgian yeast goes. Floculation was pretty decent for a Belgian yeast, especially since I didn’t go through a secondary clarifying stage, and the first few pours out of the keg have had just a small amount of yeast at the bottom of the glass.
Overall I was very plea
sed with the yeast. I’ll admit I didn’t chose the best recipe to highlight its character though – next time I think I will go for that big tripel and make use of the Abbaye’s ability to handle alcohol levels up to 11%.
Cody Myers-Miller
BSG Hand Craft Customer Service Representative