So many types of yeast?

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pickles

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how important is it to use a specific yeast for a particular beer? Or are there a few "general purpose" yeasts that you guys wash and keep on hand. Otherwise I think i'll have to start a "YEEZER" project to store all the diferent strains of yeasties in. :confused:
 
I try to follow what is recommended. I have found they really do help using the type for the style. however I have used a type that was not recommented if I wanted a trait of that yeast in my beer. I keep almost always a washed wyeast 1056 on hand. really like that yeast
 
dry yeasts have come a long way, in fact I use Nottingham for probably 75% of my brews. the only specific strains I use now are for my wits and kolsch's
 
I use three strains a lot, all dry:
US-05 for clean American ales
S-04 for clean English ales or to keep some residual sweetness
Nottingham for clean/dry or slightly bigger ales

For Belgian, hefe, wit, and other brews that depend on yeast flavor, I grab a liquid yeast that fits the bill.
 
thanks guys exactly the info I was looking for. Yuri, I just watched your video series, very nice. Have you posted a tutorial for that steam generator? And did you buy that bulk yeast at AustinHomeBrew?
Thanks again guys
 
Check out my signature for steam info.

Bulk dry yeast is VERY hard to find outside the wholesale/commercial brewery supply channels. I bought mine through a "connection" who doesn't want to become a homebrew supplier, so, unfortunately, I can't share the source. Maybe Forrest from Austin Homebrew Supply can help you get a line on some 500g "bricks" of yeast (he posts here, and he'll probably find this thread now that I've mentioned the company).
 
I just saw the signature line and I can respect the "connection"
thanks
 
Yuri_Rage said:
Check out my signature for steam info.

Bulk dry yeast is VERY hard to find outside the wholesale/commercial brewery supply channels. I bought mine through a "connection" who doesn't want to become a homebrew supplier, so, unfortunately, I can't share the source. Maybe Forrest from Austin Homebrew Supply can help you get a line on some 500g "bricks" of yeast (he posts here, and he'll probably find this thread now that I've mentioned the company).

Let me know what yeast bricks you are interested in and I will look into tracking them down.

Forrest
 
Austinhomebrew said:
Let me know what yeast bricks you are interested in and I will look into tracking them down.

Forrest

Well, what can you get? :D

I think yeast that gets a lot of mileage/has a lot of utility would be pretty popular. Nottingham, WLP001, WLP320, WLP400 and Red Star Montrachet are all strains that I don't think I could have too much of on hand.
 
Even Poppa Charlie Papazian tends to use a single strain of yeast for most beers...It's a strain he's been cultivating for 20 years...He talks about it a little bit in this interview on basicbrewing http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr02-14-08history.mp3

In fact according to a thread from last week, it is now commercially available...
 
I pretty much always use liquid yeast (dry is fine, not trying to start that argument), and I pretty much only keep a couple around.

I use White Labs American Ale yeast as my staple. I use it for everything from a light blond, to a ESB, to an IPA to a Stout.

I also keep on hand White Labs WLP300 Hefe yeast on hand for all of my wheat beers. Hefe's, american wheats, fruit wheats, whatever.

I also keep on hand WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale Yeast. I use this for all my Belgains, whether it be Golden Ales, Dubbles, Tripples whatever. However, I am considering changing this. I am going to try a different Belgian yeast this summer and see if I like it better. This yeast has a wonderfully complex flavor/aroma, but it can be a PITA as it is a sloooowww fermenter and flocculation is pretty bad. With this yeast I have to give it a long fermentation, and a long cold crash before I can keg it and even after a cold crash, I still get the occasional pint of yeast. I think I might try the blend WLP575 and see what I think of it.

And that is pretty much all I will use all summer. This winter with a colder basement, i tried a couple new yeasts that I just about fell in love with.

Wyeast 2112 California lager. Fermented great in my 58 degree basement and was very clean yeast. Malt/hop profiles really shined with this yeast.

German Ale 1007. This is probably my favorite yeast as of right now. At the low end of the temp range (58) where I was fermenting, it fermented very, very clean. Almost lager-esque, so much so that I would have no problem making an Okoberfest, or Bock or some other sort of lager like that. I dont think I could make the American Lager style with it, it is not quite THAT clean, but it is a very clean, very active, very good yeast at that temp.
 
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