Wheats vs white labs

Looking to brew a recipe this weekend that calls for wyeast American ale yeast, but the LHBS only carries white labs. They are telling me they can get me the white labs eguivilant, but I am wondering if I should do it or order the wyeast online? What do you guys think- will it drastically change the test of the beer?

Also the white labs is only in tubes and no smack packs - do I have the make a starter or can I pour the yeast right from the tube?

Wyeast 1056 is very similar (many will say it's the same) to White Labs 001; both are also very similar to US-05 (dry).

I'd either make a starter with the WLP001, or just use US-05.

You can use safale us-05 dry or wlp001 for white labs. Also you should always make a starter for liquid and re-hydrate dry yeasts.

good WL & WY info at Mr. Malty

rossi46 said:

You can use safale us-05 dry or wlp001 for white labs. Also you should always make a starter for liquid and re-hydrate dry yeasts.

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This is correct. Smacking the pack in the Wyeast package is not a substitute for making a starter. It is really more of a viability test than anything- if the pack swells, you have viable yeast. But you still want to make a starter from a swollen pack.

I'd save yourself the shipping cost and go with the wlp001 or the us-05.

Save yourself the hassle and time making a starter and just buy a sachet of S-05. Re-hydrate and pitch according to the instructions. Those 3 yeasts mentioned all make great beer, and are very similar strains. S-05 is by far the easiest and costs less to boot.

That way you can concentrate on the process. Regardless of which of the 3 yeasts you use, make sure to ferment around 62-65°F, and no warmer. A little cooler is even better (60-62). You may want to use a swamp cooler to keep the temps in that range.

i have the swamp cooler going - but how long do i need to run the faN. do i need to keep the full swamp set up going for a full 3 weeks or after the bubbling stops - i can turn the fan off?

Thanks

temp control is most critical at the beginning, less so as time goes on, but still try to keep it within the yeast's range for the entire time.

last brew I did, I kept it mid 60s for a week, then let it get up to ambient temp, 70 or so for another 2 weeks. best brew I've made so far, I like it and it got good reviews at brew club tonight

Wyeast American Ale 1056, White Labs WLP001 California Ale and Safale US-05 are all commonly referred to as the Chico strain which is believed to be derived from Sierra Nevada brewing company. With wyeast and white labs there is usually a very close substitute if not the same exact strain of yeast under a different name. Usually a google search for a substitute for the yeast your recipe calls for will turn up the other yeast company's equivalent. There are a few exceptions where there are no equivalents, or if you are trying to clone a beer and want to use the exact same strain and only one of the companies carries it but most of the time you can find an appropriate yeast from either company. I would also argue that for most American and British beer styles you can find a dry yeast that will work and even a dry yeast option for some Belgian and German styles as well. If you are just starting out and haven't gotten into starter making yet then I would recommend US-05 for all your American Ales and S-04 or Nottingham for British and Irish styles. Dry yeast contains more yeast than liquid yeast packs when properly rehydrated according to manufacturer instructions so you will get a healthier fermentation using it over liquid yeast without a starter.

comparison charts over at mr malty comparing where WL & WY might get their strains and matches each others' strains with the other