Apologies if I missed an FAQ somewhere. Someone asked me what Wyeast and White Labs numbers meant, and I had to say I was stumped. Is there any kind of system behind them?
I know they often lump yeasts together by nationality, but there are exceptions -- at one point, the Wyeast progression goes Ringwood (1187) Belgian Abbey (1214) American Ale II (1272) and Thames Valley (1275).
Is there some connection to how strains are related? Is it connected to something like date it went on the market? Favorite lottery numbers? Or is it just one of those numbering systems like military aircraft, where the theory and application often diverge?
I know they often lump yeasts together by nationality, but there are exceptions -- at one point, the Wyeast progression goes Ringwood (1187) Belgian Abbey (1214) American Ale II (1272) and Thames Valley (1275).
Is there some connection to how strains are related? Is it connected to something like date it went on the market? Favorite lottery numbers? Or is it just one of those numbering systems like military aircraft, where the theory and application often diverge?
