Imperial IPA yeast ??

I plan on brewing on the 16th. I was going to use Pacman, but my attempt at bottle harvesting was a flop.

I have a brown ale due to be bottled that weekend that is Wyeast 1056. (1.065) 3wks in primary.

I also have an amber ale to be bottled also on WLP011 (European ale yeast)(this one was partial mash... missed my OG, ended up 1.038).3wks in primary

The recipe for the IPA calls for 1.077
Beersmith says 1.083
provided I do things right...

recipe calls for WLP002

So would I be ok pitching onto the 1056 yeast cake? Do I need to wash it? reason i ask because there are .5oz dry hop (Cascade) in it somewhere. No Cascades in the IIPA. not that it will be detectable with the 7oz of hops in this recipe...I'm concerned cause I'm going with a lighter beer.

I didnt buy yeast the other day when I picked up the ingredients cuz I had high hopes for Pacman.

Should I make the trip and buy yeast or would the cake be ok? Sorry for all the questions.

Suicided1954 said:

So would I be ok pitching onto the 1056 yeast cake? Do I need to wash it? reason i ask because there are .5oz dry hop (Cascade) in it somewhere. No Cascades in the IIPA. not that it will be detectable with the 7oz of hops in this recipe...I'm concerned cause I'm going with a lighter beer.

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do i smell?? or did I ask a question no one can answer?

I'd wash it because of the dark-->light and the dry hops. Also you risk over pitching.

It won't take long, and if you have your act together on brew day, maybe you could bottle during the mash and then wash the yeast during the boil. It'll be ready just in time for pitching.

If it were me, I'd pick up a vial of WLP001 and start over.

chefchris said:

If it were me, I'd pick up a vial of WLP001 and start over.

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I fully agree. WLP002 is a great yeast with a very nice flavor profile, but you'll have to end up doing a rain dance to have it attenuate enough for your imperial IPA to come out right. However, if you insist on giving your beer a distinctly malty and fruity character like english yeasts provide, here's what you need to do. Make sure you aerate your wort like a madman, pitch a huge amount of yeast and also gently shake your fermentor daily to make sure the yeast doesn't flocculate early. Oh and the rain dance won't hurt as well. :cross:

I was able to do an english IPA with a starting gravity of 1.081 and the WLP002 attenuated down to 1.012 which is off the charts for this strand. However, I may have gotten lucky. I recommend your start with a fresh vial of WLP001. It will make great beer without the stress that WLP002 will make you go through.

Meh...I'd just pitch 2 or 3 packs of S-05 and call it a day. I AM pretty lazy though.

isn't the 1056 the wyeast version of WLP001?

Suicided1954 said:

isn't the 1056 the wyeast version of WLP001?

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Yep! WLP001, Wyeast 1056 and Safale S-05 are all the Chico strain. They are interchangeable.

On my Black IIPA I used WY1056 and it came out just fine. It was washed WY1056, refrigerated for several months, then I made a starter with it. It was a 1.080 beer.