best non-safale 04 english yeast

[domdom]

been getting more into english ales. so far i've only used safale 04 (and WL007 for a few bigger beers. heard it's pretty much the same strain but with 007 being more attenuative). wanted to get recommendations on other strains that might be better/different to try with future ales.

 

[couchsending]

1469
Conan
1332
1335
002/1968

 

[d3track]

WLP 013
Wyeast 1028
WLP039

 

[Braufessor]

1469, 1318 and 1968 are my 3 "go-to" yeasts for english beers. 1318 for bitters. 1968 for browns/milds. 1469 for both.

 

[Greytop]

Nottingham's been good for me.

 

[skidmark]

Nottingham's been good for me.

One caution with Nottingham - it is a hungry beast. Best to keep mash temps up, or it will take your beer too dry.

 

[couchsending]

1469, 1318 and 1968 are my 3 "go-to" yeasts for english beers. 1318 for bitters. 1968 for browns/milds. 1469 for both.

I’ve only used 1469 twice and it was really odd. Krausen lingered and lingered and lingered.... longer than 1318. Any tips on using it? Getting it to drop? Just racking from under it?

 

[secondbase]

1968/wlp002 is my favorite all-around english yeast. From the ester profile to medium attenuation, it works well in literally all english styles. Floccs like a beast too.

I like the mineral profile in 1028/wlp013 for porters and big beers.

 

[domdom]

thanks for the input. probably going to try 1968 and 1469 next time. to correct myself, i have used nottingham before but not for english styles since it's pretty neutral.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

been getting more into english ales.

Depends on the beer - there's no such thing as an "English" ale, there's too many differences between regions and styles. Southern bitters emphasise the sweetness of the malt a bit more, so their yeasts attenuate less but serving in cask means you need a yeast that drops quickly. 1968/WLP002 is the classic example and is probably the best place to start - you won't need to fine, but it's worth rousing it after a day or two. Burton beers needed high attenuation to avoid unwanted secondary fermentation in the export trade, but that meant less good flocculation, which led to the Burton Union system and relatives - I guess Nottingham/WLP039 is an example of that high-attenuation type, even if Notty is a bit on the clean side for many people, WLP023 gives a lot more fruit. And that's before you get onto the dark ales, which aren't particularly well served by the US yeast companies.

Tim Taylor beer is notorious in pubs for how long it takes to condition compared to other beers, so I'm not surprised 1469 is a slow one. Arguably slow fermentation is a Good Thing, it allows you to control things more easily. 1469 does seem to be a bit eccentric, I know some people don't like it because they just lose patience but I think like most British yeasts, it just needs a bit of TLC.