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osagedr

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Need to choose ONE Wyeast strain to ferment all of the following styles:

1. Stout
2. Red
3. Brown
4. Wheat
5. IPA

What are your thoughts?
 
3711. I know what you're thinking. If you ferment it cool, you don't get as many esters, but can add an interesting dynamic to any of those styles. Ferment it warmer, and you've just turned your Wheat into a Saison, or your IPA into Belgo-IPA. I've made this and 1450 my house strains, but if I could only choose one, I like the effects of 3711. Now if you were thinking only of contests, I would say you shouldn't be choosing only one.
 
Maybe I'm not approaching this the way you are, but I actually don't think this is so difficult. As long as it's an American wheat (not a hefeweizen), you can use pretty much any American or English strain for all of those. I'd go American if you want a pretty neutral fermentation, or an English if you want to have a slightly "maltier" or fruitier house style. You can differentiate the different styles by altering fermentation temperature: cooler for the IPA, red, and wheat, warmer for the stout and brown (probably). You could even use a Scottish or Irish strain. So I guess I think the question here is more along the lines of, what kind of house style do you want?

IMO it would be much harder if you picked a non-American/English type of beer. So if you threw in anything Belgian, that would greatly complicate things.

FWIW, I do think that 1450 is a good choice. (3711, IMO, is a bit adventurous. Of course you can use it to ferment just about anything--it's up to you--but I don't think I would pick that if you want to create anything like normal examples of those styles. Among other things, it's extremely attenuative, which might be undesirable for many of those beers (esp. the dark ones), and its esters/phenols at higher temperatures are probably not what you want in any of these American styles, even if you do want esters. I think it will make tasty beers, but I don't think it will really make what would be canonically any of those styles.)
 
WYEAST 1056. Ferment cool for the cleanest flavor at 66-68, ferment warmer (up to 72 degrees) for some Englishy esters. Ferment coolest (62-64) for "peachy" esters.

Edit- I want to change my vote! I just remember that I've used Wyeast 1335 in English and American styles, and like it better! Ferment it cool for a "clean" crisp dry finish, ferment it warmer for English beers. It's an English strain, so it drops well and leaves a clear beer behind but it's not wildly fruity at all.
 
1056 for wyeast. Wlp001 if I can choose from white labs. They are pretty similar and extremely versatile but I like wlp001 a little bit better. For that matter safale us-05 is pretty similar as well.
 
FWIW, I do think that 1450 is a good choice. (3711, IMO, is a bit adventurous. Of course you can use it to ferment just about anything--it's up to you--but I don't think I would pick that if you want to create anything like normal examples of those styles. Among other things, it's extremely attenuative, which might be undesirable for many of those beers (esp. the dark ones), and its esters/phenols at higher temperatures are probably not what you want in any of these American styles, even if you do want esters. I think it will make tasty beers, but I don't think it will really make what would be canonically any of those styles.)

I know it's a little out there, but I just wanted the OP to know it's ok to think outside the box. I've been using 3711 in a few different beers and have really like the results. My favorite has been my RIS. It adds a uniqueness that's subtle, since it's masked by the huge malt bill. My least favorite was an IIPA. It came out too dry, and I found the funkiness wasn't as pleasant with that many hops. I have had it in a Pale Ale that I liked, though.
 
Guys this is really helpful; thanks so much for your thoughtful responses. Moving forward we are moving away from the brown ale and looking at the four other ales plus specialties/seasonals. So, the more flexible, the better. Keep 'em coming!
 
I'm with MotorNeuron. I'd pick the English strain you like best. By altering temp and pitch rate, you can essentially turn the esters on and off. Chico is a versatile yeast in the sense that it's a blank slate, but you can't make it anything other than that. Well, not in a good way. Assuming this is for a professional operation, your choice might depend as much on your source water as anything else.

All that having been said, the styles you listed are pretty broad, to the extent that one of the styles is a color and another is an ingredient. Different yeasts may be better suited to particular interpretations of that style, meaning that after you pick a yeast, you may have to change everything else to accomodate.
 
I'm with MotorNeuron. I'd pick the English strain you like best. By altering temp and pitch rate, you can essentially turn the esters on and off. Chico is a versatile yeast in the sense that it's a blank slate, but you can't make it anything other than that. Well, not in a good way. Assuming this is for a professional operation, your choice might depend as much on your source water as anything else.

All that having been said, the styles you listed are pretty broad, to the extent that one of the styles is a color and another is an ingredient. Different yeasts may be better suited to particular interpretations of that style, meaning that after you pick a yeast, you may have to change everything else to accomodate.

Cool; that is very insightful & helpful!
 
1028 London Ale Yeast, very versatile, some nicely restrained esters, attenuates well and does a very nice job with light, dark, hoppy or malty.
 
1728 scottish. huge temp range, huge alcohol tolerance range, and wildly different flavor contributions based on temps.
 
I have to admit 1728 is probably my favourite ale strain.

Yeah, it has been my house ale strain for a solid year now. I suppose part of it is that I just know how to work it to get what I want out of it, but any strain that can go from dry to slightly smoked to fruity and full-bodied checks all my boxes. It's vastly underrated imho.
 
I've recently started really digging 1272. Used it on my last 4 batches (APA, cream ale, stout, barleywine) and am about to use it in an IPA.
 
Yeah, it has been my house ale strain for a solid year now. I suppose part of it is that I just know how to work it to get what I want out of it, but any strain that can go from dry to slightly smoked to fruity and full-bodied checks all my boxes. It's vastly underrated imho.

It is very underrated and very versatile. It also tolerates low oxygen worts with ease. While that's perhaps not a necessity for most, it's very convenient for those w/o oxygen setups or anyone feeling a bit lazy.
 
If I was brewing all of these styles in a commercial setting where fermentation time and/or flocculation were all issues, I'd go with PACMAN. It's like a better version of wy1056.
 
WYEAST 1056. Ferment cool for the cleanest flavor at 66-68, ferment warmer (up to 72 degrees) for some Englishy esters. Ferment coolest (62-64) for "peachy" esters.

Edit- I want to change my vote! I just remember that I've used Wyeast 1335 in English and American styles, and like it better! Ferment it cool for a "clean" crisp dry finish, ferment it warmer for English beers. It's an English strain, so it drops well and leaves a clear beer behind but it's not wildly fruity at all.

Just used 1335 in a robust porter yesterday.
 
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