House Yeast Compliment to Pacman

I currently use Pacman (Wyeast 1764) as my house yeast. I love it because it ferments cool (60F), eats through fermentables thoroughly (so I can use more specialty grains) and flocculates really well.

I also use London III (Wyeast 1318) to a varying degree of success. I like to watch the top cropping yeast go at it, but I find that it doesn't finish out as cleanly as Pacman (i.e. cloying). I guess that fits the general description of the yeast from Wyeast. So I am planning on removing it from the line up.

In summer, I'll brew a Saison with the Belgian Saison (Wyeast 3724). I absolutely love the taste, but the one month plus fermentation time keeps my fermentation cabinet occupied at 83F. This prevents me brewing them outside of once a year or so because I need the cabinet for other beers.

I typically brew American hopped Reds (with both Pacman and London III), IPAs (Pacman and London III) , IIPA (Pacman), Summer Lawn Mower style Ale (Pacman), Milk Stouts (London III), Imperial Stouts (Pacman and London III), Old Ales (Pacman) and Barley Wines (Pacman).

I want to start experimenting with IPAs and Reds with Belgian or other "yeasty" strains, but don't know where to start. I know I don't want to use Brettanomyces and Lactic Acid Bacteria, due to my fear of unintentional cross batch infections. Being an ex-pat Oregonian, I want to stick with Wyeast. So which yeast strain have people had success with? Keeping in mind that I want a quicker fermentation at cooler temperature (due to living in Wyoming) which still give a "yeasty" taste.

Thanks for your advice.

Why so cold? Esters are your friend! A lot of Belgian yeast strains don't like those low temperatures, and I can't speak for fermenting that low because I never have. I usually ferment above 66, as high as 72. I used to have banana flavor problems, but that was from 76+ temps with stressed yeast.

All that aside, I would recommend Forbidden Fruit, Belgian Ardennes, or the Witbier strain. I've used the witbier strain, and it always requires a blow-off, but has great yeast character and flavor.

Also, with your saison, why don't you just leave it somewhere at room temp? Pitch at 85+ degrees and just leave it somewhere dark.

Have you tried the Ringwood strain 1187?

Wyeast Laboratories. Ringwood Ale™ 1187

I have it (actually, the WLP005 version) going right now for an American IPA, head to head with Pacman to see which I prefer.

Or you might like Whitbread?

Or just browse here, if you insist on Wyeast.

sonetlumiere85 said:

Why so cold? Esters are your friend! A lot of Belgian yeast strains don't like those low temperatures, and I can't speak for fermenting that low because I never have. I usually ferment above 66, as high as 72. I used to have banana flavor problems, but that was from 76+ temps with stressed yeast.

All that aside, I would recommend Forbidden Fruit, Belgian Ardennes, or the Witbier strain. I've used the witbier strain, and it always requires a blow-off, but has great yeast character and flavor.

Also, with your saison, why don't you just leave it somewhere at room temp? Pitch at 85+ degrees and just leave it somewhere dark.

Click to expand...

My basement stays at about 65F in the summer and in the high 50s in the winter. It can get really cold here in Wyoming. Currently the upstairs maxes out at about 73F and drops to about 60F at night, so fermenting my Saison outside of the fermentation cabinet is out. I like to ferment the Pacman at about 63F and I will ferment the London III at about 68F. I typically will raise the temp 2-5F for the last three days of fermentation (to help the yeast clean up their mess).

I read the descriptions of the yeasts you suggested. Does the Belgian witbbier strain give off a vanilla/fruity taste or does it tend more toward the clove taste? Also would the hops of an IPA be completely dominated when the beer is young (about a month in the kegerator)?

I might have to make a multiple split batch here coming up with 1762 Belgian Abbey Ale II, 3944 Belgian Witbier, 3463 Forbidden Fruit, 3522 Belgian Ardennes at about 68F.

Anyone brew an IPA or hoppy Red with any of these yeasts? I would like to avoid an overly clovey taste, because I don't think it would compliment the hoppier beers I like to brew.

BioBeing said:

Have you tried the Ringwood strain 1187?

Wyeast Laboratories. Ringwood Aleâ„¢ 1187

I have it (actually, the WLP005 version) going right now for an American IPA, head to head with Pacman to see which I prefer.

Or you might like Whitbread?

Or just browse here, if you insist on Wyeast.

Click to expand...

I have used Ringwood (1187) about six years ago in an IPA and it took about eight months in bottles for me to truly love it. Sadly at that point the hop aroma was pretty much gone. I wish I had a bottle or two left because I think that yeast would age really well.

I've never used Whitbread before, but I really like the sound of the description. It might be too close to Pacman (because I use so much specialty grain) however.

I am all for style guides (they are in a style because they taste great), but I really want to experiment outside of the styles with yeasts. That is why I am leaning more toward Belgian strains.

1762 is a pretty resilient strain that produces minimal esters and attenuates well. I've had a lot of success with it despite some pitch temperature issues (thermometer off by about 20 degrees). It's also the house yeast for Double Mountain in Hood River, Or. Their beers, like so many in this area, tend to be very hop forward. In my opinion, the strain produces enough fruitiness to push forward the higher alpha hop varieties, but still leaving it distinctly regional in flavor.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=130

Sweet-O, thanks for the info on the Abbey Ale II.