White Labs Yeast – 099 Super High Gravity Ale White Labs

Just my experience using WLP099 Super High Gravity ale yeast. I’m a relatively new home-brewer (less than 10 months), but using this yeast I managed to make a 22% all grain RIS (no sugar/syrup additions). Using a 8L yeast starter, 1 packet of WLP099, 7 stepped additions of wort, 5 lots of aeration using a cheap aquarium pump (atmospheric oxygen, not pure O2), dry beer [pilsner] enzyme and some simple yeast nutrient managed to go from 1.202 to 1.046 and around 74% apparent attenuation.

On big beers this yeast is a slow fermenter, chugging along for quite some time, so be patient as it will get there, just much slower than you expect. As regards taste, as I mainly pitched the yeast cake from my starter (8L out of 15L total starter) I decided to taste the hopped starter beer and it was positively delicious. 90% apparent attenuation (!!), 6.2% ABV, fruity but with little or no weird off flavours/phenolics (although phenols will increase in bigger brews). No sulphur or other homebrew tastes to mention of, despite being still cloudy with yeast (Doesn’t flocculate terribly as well as many other strains). Although not my first choice for a low gravity beer, it still tasted great for any English style ale and is unsurpassed for attenuation!

My big beer needs maturing, but 2 months from when fermentation started it tastes like a liquorish, dark fruit liqueur, deceptively smooth with a warm alcohol burn. Surprisingly drinkable already, and no doubt will completely transform with aging. Any yeast flavour is probably masked by the malt as there’s no denying the 18kg of malt that went into this beer! However, the yeast did it’s job.

Be warned though you can’t just toss this in and make anything over 10-11% without stepped additions and simple aeration as it doesn’t favor high gravity environments.

Would I make a 20+% all grain beer again? Maybe, maybe note, but time tell (it’s alot of work).

Would I use this yeast again? Most definitely. Would suit any super dry English style ale or Barley wine, and possibly even an experimental Belgian-style Trappist

Great yeast! I’ve brewed 2 different barleywines and 1 wheat wine with it so far. The first did not completely ferment out for several months, but that was before I started reading about proper care of this yeast. It is certainly not for beginners.

For the second barleywine, I paid attention to the other reviews. I made a 2 step gallon starter starting a week in advance. The wort was around 1.08 and finished under 1.01 resulting with a 10% abv. I’ve been periodically adding candi syrup to raise the gravity, which is currently at 17% abv and climbing. The yeast finishes the gravity each time at around 1.0, with the most recent addition finishing at 0.994. Definitely a powerhouse as long as you slowly add fermentables and give the yeast time to eat.

On my most recent wheat wine, I used a vial that was a few months expired (brew shop sold it for half price) and got the same results as above just by making a good starter. I can not emphasize making a good starter enough.

Overall, this yeast will live up to the claims, just be gentle with it.