House Yeast Strains

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rodwha

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In a few months I'll be trashing my harvested yeast and buying new.

I've used WLP 001, 1272, and WLP 320, and have liked them all. All of my beers have been an American styled beer, but I'd like to make an ESB, English IPA, and maybe an Irish and Scotch ale.

For an English strain I am thinking of US-04. Maybe I won't make an Irish or Scotch ale.

Should I consider any other clean type of American yeasts or go with the ones I have? And as for the wheat yeast, I liked how it didn't have a clove/banana taste. Originally I was after 1010, but they were out.

As room is an issue I can't keep a huge variety.

What strains should I consider? I like clean, high attenuation/flocculation yeasts. I want 2 American ale, 1 American wheat yeast, 1 English yeast, and one more yeast that I'm not settled on style for.
 
How about wlp 004? You could do dark beers and Irish/Scotch ales with it.
 
For the British strain you might consider 1968 - Fullers. Just used it to brew a brown ale and its really nice. Pleasant fruity aroma and drops like a rock. You could use it for any beers you want a quick turn around on... The brown ale is bright, clear red/brown with a clean, smooth taste. And it attenuates much better than their docs state.
 
It's how many fairies can dance on the head of a pin. One American, one English, one Belgian, and you'll be set. If you need a specialized yeast, you'll just have to buy it (e.g. Cali Common or Hefe).
 
For Britsh ale styles WLP002, WLP007 and especially WLP005 are hard to beat. Plus they are easy to recover and keep. I just brought nearly two year old 002 and 005 back to life with great effect. I think 005 is one of the best yeasts there is.
 
For Britsh ale styles WLP002, WLP007 and especially WLP005 are hard to beat. Plus they are easy to recover and keep. I just brought nearly two year old 002 and 005 back to life with great effect. I think 005 is one of the best yeasts there is.

I mostly use WLP002 but have some 005 what are the major differences?
 
For an English yeast you can't beat Wyeast West Yorkshire 1469. For American styles I tend to use US-05 most often. For Belgians either WLP 550 belgian ale or WLP 568 saison blend. Lagers I like WLP 830.

As for the wheat beer yeast. If you don't like banana or clove just use a clean American yeast.
 
I liked the WLP 001 I've been using. Isn't that the same strain as US-05?

A clean American wheat yeast: I liked the WLP 320. It was a sub for 1010. Similar enough?

I'm curious about T-58 due to it being a spicy yeast. I was told it was a Belgian strain, which makes me think of bubble gum... No?

US-04 Will do nicely for Irish/Scotch ales too? How does Nottingham do? Compared to US-04 for English ales?
 
How does Nottingham do?

I use Nottingham when I want extremely dry and/or extremely clean beers. It usually flocs out really well also.

The reason I use it so much is it works great in lager-style beers where a clean profile is ideal, but it can also be used at higher temps for a lot of other applications. I'm currently fermenting a Rauchbier that I pitched at 52F and it's chugging along nicely at 57F. Try doing that w/ many other ale strains!
 
I use US 05 more than any other yeast. I have a tendancy to brew on a whim, and it's nice to just pull a pack out of the fridge instead of having to build a starter in advance. I do still use a lot of liquid yeast, though.
 
I've been using WLP013 for English style beers lately, and been loving it. It's pretty versatile as well.
 
I mostly use WLP002 but have some 005 what are the major differences?

From the makers themselves:

WLP002 English Ale Yeast
A classic ESB strain from one of England's largest independent breweries. This yeast is best suited for English style ales including milds, bitters, porters, and English style stouts. This yeast will leave a beer very clear, and will leave some residual sweetness.
Attenuation: 63-70%
Flocculation: Very High
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-68°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium


WLP005 British Ale Yeast
This yeast is a little more attenuative than WLP002. Like most English strains, this yeast produces malty beers. Excellent for all English style ales including bitter, pale ale, porter, and brown ale.
Attenuation: 67-74%
Flocculation: High
Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium


WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast
Clean, highly flocculent, and highly attenuative yeast. This yeast is similar to WLP002 in flavor profile, but is 10% more attenuative. This eliminates the residual sweetness, and makes the yeast well suited for high gravity ales. It is also reaches terminal gravity quickly. 80% attenuation will be reached even with 10% ABV beers.
Attenuation: 70-80%
Flocculation: Medium to High
Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High
 
Another thought. Since you can get WLP002, 005 and 007 at anytime, a good one to pick up for harvesting and keeping is WLP006 Bedford. It is only available July/August, so keeping some back allows you to have "strawberries in winter". I have really liked the "session" beers I have made from this strain. Here are WL's notes:

WLP006 Bedford British
Ferments dry and flocculates very well. Produces a distinctive ester profile. Good choice for most English style ales including bitter, pale ale, porter, and brown ale.
Attenuation: 72-80%
Flocculation: High
Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium
 
Can anyone comment on Wyeast's 1010 vs White Labs WLP 320?
Another strain that isn't banana-like?
Most wheat beers will become a honey wheat, though I'm trying a cherry wheat for SWMBO soon.
 
I'm considering a Belgian yeast as well, but I know I don't like the bubblegum taste.
I liked Rince Cochon blonde, and Blue Moon is OK, as well as some sort of golden strong ale.
If I wanted one Belgian yeast strain for a wit, blonde, strong ale, dubbed/trippel what would I want to consider if I don't like the bubblegum taste?
 
Here are the strains I'm mostly considering, though I'm still open to recommendations. What I'm looking for is a 63-66* fermentation with high flocculation in all except the wheat of course.

I want an American high attenuation yeast for beers such as IPA's, IIPA's, barleywine, pales, etc. For this I am leaning towards going back with WLP 001, but am still considering US-05, WLP 090, and 1056.

For other American beers such as blondes, ambers, pales w/ lower IBU's, browns, porters, stouts, etc. I'm leaning towards 1332 and considering WLP 051.

For American wheats I'm leaning towards 1010 to try something different, especially since it has higher attenuation.

And for British styled beers I am not so certain. If I were to need to make a decision I'd probably choose WLP 005, but I'm considering WLP 002, WLP 006, US-04, 1099, 1318, and 1335. I'd mostly want this for ESB's, but I'd try pales, browns, barleywine, IPA's, porters, stouts, Irish red, and Scotish if I can.

And I think I'll leave the Belgian strains alone.
 
Another thought. Since you can get WLP002, 005 and 007 at anytime, a good one to pick up for harvesting and keeping is WLP006 Bedford. It is only available July/August, so keeping some back allows you to have "strawberries in winter". I have really liked the "session" beers I have made from this strain. Here are WL's notes:

WLP006 Bedford British
Ferments dry and flocculates very well. Produces a distinctive ester profile. Good choice for most English style ales including bitter, pale ale, porter, and brown ale.
Attenuation: 72-80%
Flocculation: High
Optimum fermentation temperature: 65-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

I'm currently tasting side by side samples of a premium bitter (Jamil's from BCS) that I split a 10 gallon batch between 002 and 005. I love, love, love 002 and wanted to do a comparison with 005.

To me, the 005 is a touch drier and a little more estery. I pick up a very light malt flavor on the finish of the 002 that I really like. I listened to Jamil's English pale ale show before brewing this and he scared me to death about over hopping. As a result, I took a bit lighter hand on this beer than I had intended. I wound up right below 30 IBU. With the flavor profile of the 002, I am considering brewing this again, bypassing the 005 and using the 002 with about 5 more IBU. I think that would nail what I am looking for from this yeast.

But I just saw the Bedford is slated for next month and I was planning on buying a couple vials, growing a monster starter, brewing with part and storing the rest.

I am on a British beer kick and intend to spend the foreseeable future trying to dial in my bitter, mild and brown ales. I cut my teeth on the 002 (because I am a Jamil drone :rockin: ). To date, I have tried 002, 005, notty, s-05 and Windsor. I keep coming back to 002 because I love the flavor profile and it performs like a champ for me if I treat it right (pitch 2F below ferm temp, free rise to ferm temp, then ramp 2-3F after 72-96 hours). I get 75-77% AA with it reliably and I get a great balance of malty and bitter. With that fermentation schedule it leaves zero diacetyl.

My question is this. How does 006 stack up to 002 in the flavor and aroma departments? To date, I have not been able to get the same depth from those other yeasts that I seem to get from 002. The 002 seems to have a little bit of everything. English esters but still quite clean. The hops show up but they share the stage with the malt, especially if you feed it a wort made from mostly if not all British malt.

I'll probably do at least a side by side with 002 and 006 when the Bedford is released. But if you've used them both in a recipe you know well, I would love to hear some more about your impressions of the 2.
 
My question is this. How does 006 stack up to 002 in the flavor and aroma departments?

First, wlp006 is a great yeast. I think it is the best yeast out there for English bitters, bar-none, and it is also good for other English (hoppy and malty) styles too. Compared to the Fullers yeast, Bedford tends to be a bit cleaner and more neutral in character, although what really makes it is shine is that it is extremely well balanced. Whereas wlp002 mostly highlights the malt and yeast flavors, wlp006 lets the hops and malt shine beautifully, while still providing some of those "English" esters that people look for. Also, depending on how you ferment it, you can get a similar character to wlp002 or something more along the lines of wlp007.

However, one thing that makes this yeast unique among most English yeasts, is that it can produce some slight, sulfur-y aromas (often perceived as dirty socks, sweaty). These aromas are often noticeable when the beer is very young, and in my experience, completely fade after a week or two of conditioning. Temperature, 02, and pitch rate seem to have little effect on this character. Like wlp005, the Bedford yeast can be somewhat difficult to handle, although it makes a really wonderful beer when treated well.

It is the only yeast I bother keeping around all year.
 
My newest house strain is Conan harvested from Heady Topper. I've made a few IPA's with it along with an amber. I'm thinking about fermenting a stout with it soon to see how it comes out.
 
On the English side, 1028 and 1318 are both very versatile, very easy to work with, and not too crazy in terms of flavors they put out. They're both a bit restrained, but much more interesting that your typical American ale yeast.
 
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