How do you guys know what yeast to use?

[Jordan Logo]

Now that I’m getting more and more acquainted with brewing, I’d like to make my own recipe down the road.

How do you guys know what yeast to use? I feel like there are so many different types of yeast so how in the world do I pick which one to use?!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Firstly select a yeast that is appropriate for the style of beer you want to brew, then your preference or availability for liquid or dry. Dry will give you fewer choices, but storage and shipping is less likely to be problematic.

Here is a link to most things yeast in forum. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/forums/fermentation-yeast.163/

 

[bleme]

Read a lot and experiment a little.

 

[Velnerj]

There are at least three approaches I use. The first is experience. I like some yeasts better than others and I tend to stick with what I know works well.

If you don't have experience the next thing is to choose according to style, and that will at least narrow your choice. Then experiment and refer to the first approach.

Lastly you can always get recipe advice from this forum and others like it.

When creating recipes I tend to browse through several similar recipes and compile an ingredient list based on the ones I like and tweak it to fit my system and preferences. Yeast choice is no different than hops or grain in this case.

 

[BruceH]

Now that I’m getting more and more acquainted with brewing, I’d like to make my own recipe down the road.

How do you guys know what yeast to use? I feel like there are so many different types of yeast so how in the world do I pick which one to use?!

I've been keeping it simple by sticking to dry yeast. It's easy to store and use. Fermentis 34/70 is what I usually use because I'm mostly brewing European Pilsners or Lagers. It's also not super temp sensitive (I haven't had to dump a beer out yet even with brewing temps sometimes in the 60's and non-ideal temp control).

For other types of beer/ale I've found T-58 and US-05 to work well as does S-189.

I use about half of the slurry from the last batch for my next batch, etc. for about 5 generations before starting over with new yeast.

I've finally set up a fermentation chamber with temp control so the next batch will be fermented at a consistent temp.

FWIW I brew BIAB all grain and have been doing it this way for just a little over a year. I use the free Brewer's Friend web site to get an idea of what grains and hops to use for the desired brew. Still keeping it simple for now, nothing complicated or exotic.

 

[skw]

Curiosity and experience. Sometimes I pick a strain that I’ve used before because I know what it delivers, sometimes I try out a new strain just to find out.

Split batches are a great. Just split your Wort in two fermenters and add different yeasts.

 

[Oginme]

I started out by using the Ray Daniels approach of surveying some recipes of the same style for commonly used strains. From these initial recipes, I paired it down to a handful of strains to do specific styles. I ended up with one English strain, Scottish ale, American ale, Bavarian lager, and a strong Belgian strain.

I brewed extensively with those strains until I was pretty familiar which how they worked in my brewing. Then I moved to doing substitutes of each in recipes that I was repeating. I have expanded a bit in the strains I use, but I know how they will work for me fairly well.

I've changed my American strain from WY1056 to WY1272, which I find more versatile. I now use a couple of English strains to cover dry styles and maltier ones. I have expanded the amount of lagers I brew, so I now have two basic strains and have added a Czech pilsner strain which I use for several lighter styles. I've had worse luck with the Belgian strains and have stuck to the first one I picked. Meanwhile, as I stretched my brewing, I have also added a few specialty yeasts for those unique beers.

As several others have stated above, it comes down to looking at what others use, reading up on the yeast profiles to select the properties I want, and then repeated testing of a given strain to get to know it better.

 

[Soulshine2]

Now that I’m getting more and more acquainted with brewing, I’d like to make my own recipe down the road.

How do you guys know what yeast to use? I feel like there are so many different types of yeast so how in the world do I pick which one to use?!

read the yeast profile. Look at recipes . look for the similarities and flavor profiles it brings to the beer styles. Lager vs Ale. Some impart the clove and banana found in Hefs. some are general use and no discernable flavors, like US-05 . Sometimes you can swap one for the other with the same exact grain bill and get a completely different flavor .Also may depend on your fermentation temp range . Split some batches and try different ones.

 

[Stand]

Firstly select a yeast that is appropriate for the style of beer you want to brew, then your preference or availability for liquid or dry. Dry will give you fewer choices, but storage and shipping is less likely to be problematic.

That's not a bad way to go. I'd recommend you make a style that doesn't have a ton of things going on: 4.5-5.5% ABV, moderate/low bittering, moderate/low hopping character, simple grain bill. Pale Ale maybe?

If you really want to figure it out in a hurry Divide a 5 gallon batch into 6/7 1-gallon jars and buy a selection of dry yeasts.

US-05, Nottingham, Belle Saison, T-58, etc.

I'd try to take one from each school of yeasts.

Figure out what you like and rock'n roll.