Choosing a good starter strain

I'm brand new to brewing, having only a porter extract kit to my name. My girlfriend and I got into this together and our goal is to learn how to build our own AG recipes. From reading John Palmer's book and listening to a lot of podcasts from Jamil the one factor that has really stuck out at me is the need for consistency. We need to establish a measure of consistency if we are to improve our skills as brewers quickly.

To this end we want to chose an ale yeast that we can stick with until we learn how our actions affect our brewing. I come to you looking for suggestions for stains that would fit our needs well.

We need a strain that will be able to adapt to different styles. Our first batch will be jamil's robust porter, for which he suggests california ale. I'm also planning on doing scotch ales, ipas, and likely stouts and ambers. Our ambient fermentation temp is 64 to 66. Ideally this would also be a good strain to learn yeast washing and re-pitching with as well.

Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I wouldn't worry about consistency at all. Being a homebrewer means you can brew whatever crazy thing you could want. Probrewers have to worry about consistency, but I don't see why consistency is inherently good.

I don't think it's a great idea for beginning brewers to wash and reuse yeast. Just use dry yeast, like US-05 or S-04 and pitch fresh with each batch. Healthy and happy yeast is the most important aspect in brewing great beer. I used to wash yeast, store it, build up starters before reusing, and I finally decided it was easier and made better beer to just pitch fresh.

YMMV and so on, but that's my opinion.

US-05. It is clean, forgiving, and flexible.

English yeasts clear very well and are nice and clean if held below 65deg. Great yeast for porters, stouts, browns. Basically anything.

S-04 for dry is what I use. It is the same as wlp002. I have heard by net used that wlp007 is also very good

Nateo said:

I don't think it's a great idea for beginning brewers to wash and reuse yeast. Just use dry yeast, like US-05 or S-04 and pitch fresh with each batch.

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I started washing yeast on my second batch with great success. I still do it all of the time. With that said, I agree with the recommendation of US-05 and S-04 as "house strains"..

I agree with the OP about consistency.

We might have some freedom to brew what we like as homebrewers, but that doesn't mean consistency is out the window. If I have an award winning recipe, I want to be able to brew it again, which is tough to do if you aren't consistent in your techniques.

Stauffbier said:

I started washing yeast on my second batch with great success. I still do it all of the time. With that said, I agree with the recommendation of US-05 and S-04 as "house strains"..

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I'm not saying washing/reusing doesn't work. It's about opportunity cost. My leisure time is worth more than the $3 or so the packet of dry yeast costs. Fresh is easier and takes less time. Now, if you really enjoy washing and reusing yeast, your personal economic calculations will differ.

My goal of consistency isn't designed to help me brew professional tasting beers right away, I'm more concerned with having a baseline to work from. If I'm using the same brew day routine and the same yeast, than any changes I taste in my beer should be largely based on changes I've made to the recipe. I'll get to learn what difference a choice of hops or a change in grain bill make in the finished product.

I think its a good idea. This would be my suggestion: Plan beers 3 at a time, each using the same yeast. Brew them in ascending order according to gravity. Use the mr. Malty pitching calculator to determine how much slurry to pitch (you can wash - or not). After 3 beers, start over. This should save you some money, allow you to get to know different yeasts, not get stuck in a rut (you'd get new yeast every 3 beers and can vary styles accordingly), and ensure that the yeast won't mutate too much (if you keep re-using yeast over time they'll mutate and it may or may not be good).

Hopelesst said:

I'm brand new to brewing, having only a porter extract kit to my name. My girlfriend and I got into this together and our goal is to learn how to build our own AG recipes. From reading John Palmer's book and listening to a lot of podcasts from Jamil the one factor that has really stuck out at me is the need for consistency. We need to establish a measure of consistency if we are to improve our skills as brewers quickly.

To this end we want to chose an ale yeast that we can stick with until we learn how our actions affect our brewing. I come to you looking for suggestions for stains that would fit our needs well.

We need a strain that will be able to adapt to different styles. Our first batch will be jamil's robust porter, for which he suggests california ale. I'm also planning on doing scotch ales, ipas, and likely stouts and ambers. Our ambient fermentation temp is 64 to 66. Ideally this would also be a good strain to learn yeast washing and re-pitching with as well.

Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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From the recipes you have planned I would suggest using S-04 dry yeast. It's the Whitbred strain of yeast and ferments very quickly. It flocculates, meaning that it clumps together and then falls out of solution and forms a nice dense layer at the bottom of the fermentor. In the low-mid 60's it ferments cleanly. It won't produce too many flavors, like fruity esters. This means it would be acceptable in an ipa. However, if you ferment warmer, like 68°F-70°F it does produce fruity esters (which are found in porters, stouts & scotch ales). The pro's of using dry yeast is that if you aren't making a 5 gallon batch you can measure out how much yeast you need and put the packet away for later use. Liquid yeast would need to be stored in a container (like in yeast washing) and then used before too long. The con's to dry yeast is that the strain selection is VERY limited compared to liquid yeasts.


In regards to consistency: Get your process nailed down so that you KNOW that when you brew a recipe it's going to produce the same beer each and every time. If your results are fluctuating a lot (like +/-0.020 gravity point, or more) then you're process needs to be reviewed and refined. Once you're consistent then feel free to experiment.

If you're storing and reusing yeast, and care about consistency, you'll need to do viability testing (like methylene blue), you'll need a hemocytometer, and a microscope. Otherwise you're just making a WAG at how much yeast you have and how much is actually viable. WAGs are fine, and sometimes they're close, and maybe you'll get repeatable results, but just be aware that you will be making a lot of WAGs.

I certainly respect your desire for consistency. How about increasing your learning curve by brewing one batch of wort, splitting it in two fermentation containers and fermenting each with a different yeast? Maybe an East Coast versus a west coast, or an American versus an English. I think you will quickly narrow down which yeast profile you like best for your learning experience.

Hopelesst said:

Our ambient fermentation temp is 64 to 66. Ideally this would also be a good strain to learn yeast washing and re-pitching with as well.

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If you want to be able to get the same result and brew the same beer every time, you really need to get fermentation temperature control. Since you listen to Jamil, I'd look up the episode titled (big shocker) Fermentation Temperature Control. Even with your ambient temperature in that range, your fermentation is going to heat up above that range and some strains can really go crazy. Plus, I'm not sure where you live or where you're fermenting, but your ambient temps can change throughout the seasons. A couple degrees in fermentation is a pretty substantial difference in flavor.

In my opinion, Cal Ale (WLP001/1056) yeast really is the yeast to start with, as you've mentioned. It has a lot of leeway if your temperatures swing and doesn't have a whole lot of yeast character so you can taste how different malts and hops affect your brew. I've brewed with US-05 many times for the dry version of the strain, but it really doesn't perform the same. It's pretty fruity all around... but people are going to disagree. Still makes good beer though. That might be cool to do a side-by-side of liquid and dry like someone had mentioned. Also, if you want to try something else, +1 to WLP007. It's a lot like Cal Ale except it accentuates the malt more than 001 with a touch of fruitiness for character. I use it for most of my brews.

I am still early in the brewing process, but I began reusing yeast on my third brew. To me, it just doesn't make much sense to throw good yeast away, when it takes very little effort to reuse what I have. So far I am on the 4 generation of US-05, starting at generation 0. My beers have had a quick fermentation and result in a clean finish. Yes, I am playing a guessing game, but in my limited experience I am finding brewing just as a art as a science. One thing that I am concerned with is mutation, but i think I will continue reusing this strain (for ales) until I notice a difference.

If you're washing the yeast, or using the MrMalty calculator for harvested slurry it's a pretty good "guess". When you consider that dry yeast isn't really 100% viable, it's probably pretty close in the end.

+1 for us-05
i'm not going to say it's foolproof, but i've certainly made mistakes with it and ended up with good beer
i've since moved to liquid yeast but still keep a pack of us-05 in the fridge as a backup

omokoro said:

I am still early in the brewing process, but I began reusing yeast on my third brew. To me, it just doesn't make much sense to throw good yeast away, when it takes very little effort to reuse what I have. So far I am on the 4 generation of US-05, starting at generation 0. My beers have had a quick fermentation and result in a clean finish. Yes, I am playing a guessing game, but in my limited experience I am finding brewing just as a art as a science. One thing that I am concerned with is mutation, but i think I will continue reusing this strain (for ales) until I notice a difference.

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This works great if you use the same strain for most/all of your beers. For me, in the past year or so, I have not used the same strain twice.