WLP005 vs. WLP002

Jamil recently did a Black Butte Porter clone on Can You Brew It. The recipe calls for the use of WLP002 English ale yeast. The attenuation looks like it has a max of about 70% Jamil estimated his clone at closer to 74% which allows for a F.G. of almost exactly what Deschutes hits in their production (1.012). He did say he top cropped off of another brew which may have increased the attenuation, but I can't/don't want to replicate that addition. That said, I have two questions...

1. Has anyone experienced closer to 74% attenuation with WLP002?

and

2. If WLP002 truly does max at 70% would there be a noticeable difference in the finished product by using WLP005 British ale yeast (other than a lower F.G. which is the goal)?

Those attenuation numbers published by Wyeast/White Labs are just gross approximations and are based on their particular wort and process. You can easily get way higher or way lower attenuation than those published ranges. It has way more to do with how fermentable your wort is.

Also, you may notice that Wyeast and White Labs offer many of the same strains. Here is decent comparison page. But if you go to each of their websites and check the numbers of allegedly identical strains, the numbers are sometimes way different. So imo take those attenuation ranges with a huge grain of salt and focus more on your mash/wort fermentability.

Great, thanks for the info. Thanks, too, for the comparison chart. I used White Labs yeast for my first six or seven batches of beer and have had great results. Recently, though, I used a Wyeast "Smack Pack" for the first time. I love the idea of activating the yeast four or five hours before pitching and had outstanding attenuation using only a single pouch on a big (1.080) beer. Thanks again.

I mash everything I brew with WLP002 at 150*F and get 75% AA.

It's a good yeast, as long as you give it a good diacetyl rest when it's done swirling a few times a day since it tends to flocc before it cleans up after itself.

FastEddie said:

I love the idea of activating the yeast four or five hours before pitching and had outstanding attenuation using only a single pouch on a big (1.080) beer. Thanks again.

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It is still recommended to make a starter with the smack-packs. 1 smack pack will give you a low pitching rate in a 5-gallon batch.

Dave