Yeast Test Batches: Bell's, Pacman, Am. Ale II, Denny's Fav.

I've got cultures of Pacman and Bell's proprietary yeast churning away in the garage and would really like to see how they compare to one another as well as WY1272 (American Ale II) and WY1450 (Denny's Favorite 50), two yeasts that I have on hand from earlier brews. Here is my idea. Any modifications you might suggest before I embark on this experiment?

Fermentables
12 lb 2-Row
1 lb Crystal 60
0.5 lb Flaked Barley

Hops
60 min:
1 oz Columbus

10 min and flameout:
0.5 oz Palisade
0.5 oz Cascade

Yeast
1 - Pacman
2 - Bell's
3 - Denny's Favorite 50
4 - American Ale II
5 - 50/50 Bell's and Denny's Favorite 50
6 - 50/50 Pacman and Bell's

Procedure
Before brew day, prepare 1L starters in identical growlers (1.040 wort at 72F).

Saccharification rest at 153F, 1 hr. Siphon 0.75 gal chilled wort into 6 x 1 gallon jugs. Decant starters and pitch 1 cm of slurry. For mixed batches, pitch 0.5 cm of slurry from each of two starters. Aerate by shaking for 1 min and ferment at 65 degrees. Bottle after 1 month in primary.

'Scribed. Awesome experiment!

I'll make sure to update the thread once I get to taste the beers. I'm still trying to get large enough cultures to do this experiment and also have yeast left over to brew other things with, so I will probably start this next weekend.

Looks like a great experiment. Keep us posted!

I brewed 11 gallons of Denny's Rye IPA on Friday. I've always used Denny's Fav 50 from Wyeast in the past. This time I'm fermenting 5.5 gallons using Denny's Fav 50 and the other 5.5 gallons using Wyeast 1272.

If anyone is interested, I'll post the results (FG and taste etc.).

Great experiment. I've used Bells' yeast and Denny's before but none of the others.

I normally split batches between different yeasts but up until now I haven't tried those two together. In the next day or two I'll be racking into kegs a cream ale I used each of them on.

If it was me doing the experiment I'd probably just drop the mixed yeast strain fermentations. When I've done them in the past the results aren't easy to duplicate. It won't be quite the same, but if you increase the volume you make of each test you could just blend the batches together and then bottle.

Wow, please keep us posted. I too, have both of these strains in house and currently fermenting beers!

You got my attention, I'd love to hear how this turns out

kedash, will you post in this thread, or start another?

Bokonon said:

If it was me doing the experiment I'd probably just drop the mixed yeast strain fermentations. When I've done them in the past the results aren't easy to duplicate. It won't be quite the same, but if you increase the volume you make of each test you could just blend the batches together and then bottle.

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I was thinking about doing a mixed batch with Denny's and Bell's to see what combining poorly flocculant yeast highly flocculent yeast does as far as clarity is concerned. But yeah, for reproducibility in taste I should blend them after brewing. I might do that, now that I think of it. I'm more interested in learning about effects on taste than effects on clarity.

Anyway, I'm considering modifying the recipe a bit to hopefully allow the yeast's character to show itself a little more while still leaving me with beer I want to drink. I was thinking of using 0.75 oz Yakima Magnum for bittering, substituting East Kent Goldings for Cascade, and diluting the wort to an OG near 1.060 if I get higher than anticipated efficiency. It should leave me with ~40 IBU's and a beer that is not too overwhelming in any one aspect. I guess I have until Sunday to decide.

Sorry it took me so long to brew this. Between the world cup and my other obligations in the world of actual jobs and football/soccer, I haven't got a chance. The first post has been edited to reflect the recipe used. I will update periodically if anything interesting happens before I start measuring gravity and tasting the brew.

I will say that the combination of EKG and Palisade smells amazing though. My garage is being fumigated with this delightfully floral, "hoppy," but not in the citrus-out-the-ass aroma. I'm very eager to see how it turns out.

Subscribed! I'm brewing Denny's Rye IPA for the first time tomorrow and the Denny's Fav yeast its whirling away on the stir plate as I type.

Also subscribed! I am looking forward to your tasting notes.

I'm also following. I just picked up two packs of 1272 so i'm anxious to here the results.

I've performed almost the exact same expiriment 4 times now with various yeasts. If anyones interested I can post the tasting notes for the yeasts I've compared so far. I plan on doing another one soon that will compare 6 different English ale yeasts. One of the most fascinating things to me was how differently the yeasts look while fermenting, which isn't really noticeable until you see them side by side. There's a pic of the difference in color in this thread.

I've found that using priming tabs makes things a lot easier than trying to batch prime a small amount 6 times. I end up with an average yield of eight 12 oz bottles per growler after losses. I was surprised by which yeasts won some of the taste tests after reading all of the profiles. Let us know how your tastings go when it's done.

Edited to add:
I reccomend doing a couple of taste comparisons a few weeks apart. The yeast you like best after a month in the bottle might be different from the one you like best at two months. I know it was for me on one of the comparisons.

How did the Bell's yeast compare to the 1272? I've heard they are similar.

How did this turn out?

I'm also interested in hearing about the Bell's yeast. What is it similar to?

Zombie thread.

mlg5039 said:

Zombie thread.

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I figured a year was ample time for him to have his tasting notes together.

I'd love to know. It's a shame that so many of these threads end up like this.

I wonder why that is? Is it possible that the type of yeast used contributes less to the taste of the brew than the testers imagined it would?

(just resurrecting an old thread)

JuanMoore said:

I've found that using priming tabs makes things a lot easier than trying to batch prime a small amount 6 times. I end up with an average yield of eight 12 oz bottles per growler after losses.

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I'm still trying to figure out how you get 96 oz of beer from a 64 oz growler . . .

jmf143 said:

I'm still trying to figure out how you get 96 oz of beer from a 64 oz growler . . .

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Read the linked thread. I use 1 gal growlers (128 oz).

Didn't bother to read it originally - thought it was just a pic. Anyhow, I thought a growler was a glass jug with a capacity of 0.5 US gallons (1,900 ml) used to transport draft beer in Australia, the United States and Canada. They are commonly sold at breweries and brewpubs as a means to sell take-out beer. Some breweries also offer a one-litre or one-quart version. Never saw a gallon size that wasn't full of cheap wine or apple juice/cider.

billtzk said:

I wonder why that is? Is it possible that the type of yeast used contributes less to the taste of the brew than the testers imagined it would?

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I'd venture a guess and say yes, with these strains, I doubt there will be huge differences. Or maybe the test was never done. I've done this kind of thing with wildly different strains, and you could really tell the profile that the yeast were imparting. Those tests also included 1056, 1272, Notty, and Safale 05, and they were pretty blah and tested exactly the same to me.

The OP hasn't been on here since early July so I doubt answers will be forthcoming. bummer.
/unsubscribe