O'Connor's Homebrew Supply - West Michigan Ale Yeast

Just got back from a great NHC in Grand Rapids and I swung by O'Connor's to drop off entries for their upcoming competition and to pick up some of the West Michigan Ale Yeast. I know it's a clean american ale yeast from one of the breweries of west Michigan. I was thinking Bell's but it doesn't seem like they would ever let that out to homebrewers (even though you can harvest it easy enough). I get why O'Connor's couldn't tell me so I figured I would pose the question here and see if anyone knows the origins of the yeast.

I'm still trying to decide what to brew with it. I just brewed an APA before heading out to the NHC. I'm thinking maybe a cream ale or a blonde ale.

heh guess nobody knows...

I bought a few bottles, too. The folks at O'Connors wouldn't tell me which brewery it came from, but when I asked them about making a Two Hearted clone, they said it would be an excellent choice and even printed out a recipe. They also said that it gives off a citrus twang and that one fresh bottle of yeast could chew through 5 gallons of 1.080. Apparently there are 3~400 billion little yeasties in there.

Hopefully someone can chime in with a more definitive answer.
Cheers!

Bell's is the only West Michigan brewery that comes to mind with a proprietary yeast... I mean Founders uses 1056 for most of their beers... so not them...

I've cultured and used Bell's house yeast from bottles of their beer several times. I did buy a bottle of the Michigan Ale yeast from O'Conners and watching it in primary it certainly acts like the Bell's Ale yeast.

In that it doesn't want to settle out at all, which was typically my experience with it. I'm using it right now in an IPA right now, ironically for Bell's Homebrew Competition, so we'll see how it turns out.