Mixing Yeasts

I will typically use an American Ale yeast because of the clear flavor it provides but I was thinking that I would brew my next batch with something like a Belgium yeast to get some of their yeasty characteristics in the flavor of my beer. I’m thinking that if I add them both to the primary then I will get a lighter Belgium flavor, but then I think this might be done better by letting both yeasts ferment separately in three gallon carboys and then blending them in the secondary.

Has anyone out there experimented with mixing yeasts? What are some good yeast strains that would be fun to do this with?

I've often wondered the same thing. I've been thinking about using a lame US wheat strain with weihenstephan for a compromise between my likes and that of my BMC friends. I'm not sure how the belgian/american (I'm assuming chico) would go. I think chico is neutral enough that it would work if you were brewing some kind of beligian. I think an American brew with belgian overtones would not fare as well as a belgian with slighted flare.

Let us know how it turns out if you try it.

I'm not sure what chico is, but I think your right. I think the best thing would be to let the two ferment in seperate carboys and then blend them together but I don't have the carboys. What I might do is make a heafty belgium starter and then pitch it with a jar of the American Ale yeast I washed not too long ago, thus giving the Beligium a bit of a head start. I at least don't think it would hurt anything.

Mixing the yeasts can work, but more likely one yeast will have an advantage over the other in that particular environment, and will dominate. If you want the flavors of both, you'll usually get better results from splitting the beer into two carboys and fermenting them separately, then mixing them and letting them marry in secondary.

There will always be exceptions, though, so you can try it both ways if you want.

chico = Wyeast 1056 = WLP001 California Ale = Safale US-05

I never thought about dividing and fermenting. You could then blend to taste like whiskeys... nice!