Conan vs California Ale Yeast?

[HumboldtBrewer]

Can anyone tell me what the main differences are between these two yeasts(Conan & WLP001)? I have a great IPA recipe that uses Cali Ale yeast, but wondering what it would do if I added Conan?

Thanks


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[Adaman05]

Conan will complement the hops well and throw in some peach flavor if fermented properly. If fermented too high it will give you Belgiany esters that will be undesirable.

 

[HumboldtBrewer]

How about attenuation? Is it important to add table sugar to get Conan to attenuate lower?


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[Adaman05]

Conan is a beast and will be fine. Add sugar if you are brewing a dipa and want to dry it out.

 

[spexicola]

My Conan is on generation 15 and it still gets 80+% as long as the OG isn't too high and I mash around 150F.

As others have said, I find it to be a dry and vaguely fruity (peach/apricot/pinapple-ish) yeast when fermented at around 64-66F, which is perfect for a pale ale. I last used it in a Euro malt (Pilsner/Aromatic) DIPA that I hopped with Exp 7270 at 60 mins, Apollo for late additions, with Calypso and Lemondrop for flame out and dry hopping. 127 IBU by beersmith. I'm not one to rate my own work too highly, but compared to everything else I've brewed in the pale ale category, that was my best day of work. The most "present" hop character of any pale I've ever done. The Conan is the Barbarian. My aa on that beer was around 84%.

It doesn't flocculate worth a damn in my experience, however.

 

[sajjad123]

I am planning on making a version of Denny's Wry Smile IPA, but am not as interested in it being super malty. I also don't have access to the yeast of choice ( Denny's favorite 1450).

So right now I have California V (WLP051) which last time I used in an IPA it turned out a super malty fruity concoction - probably too much for this brew. I also have US-05, which nice clean high attenuator, but is kinda boring IMHO.

 

[RunLongVT]

Conan will complement the hops well and throw in some peach flavor if fermented properly. If fermented too high it will give you Belgiany esters that will be undesirable.

I've just cultured Conan, too and am psyched to try it out in my next batch. Just a heads up, however, don't try to ferment it too low, as you may actually end up with more aroma than you want: the author of the Bear Flavored blog in this article about culturing Conan indicates that unlike most yeast, Conan actually appears to be produce more peachy/fruity esters when fermented in the low end of its range, around 60. He writes,

"It's not that Conan has produced any unpleasant flavors for me, at any range, but it seems to produce far more aromatic and intense flavors when fermented low. I have let my fermentation temp drop to as low as 60 F with no sign of lag on Conan's part, leading me to believe that it is adapted to ferment at lower temps, anyway. However, mounting evidence from The Alchemist itself suggests that Kimmich ferments Heady Topper somewhere around 68 degrees F, so feel free to push the yeast into the upper 60's without concern. It's a versatile yeast, and not too picky about how you treat it."

Indeed, when the author went on to do his best effort to brew a Heady clone, he fermented at 68, then allowed it to rise to 70 after a few days. Artlcle here.

**Edit- after rereading Adaman05's post which I quoted above again, I'm not sure he intended to convey anything different that what I read on that blog. No smartass disrespect was intended. Just trying to pass along what I had come across. **

 

[Lithobid]

Just purchased some Conan from the yeast bay and brewed an IPA. I've never smelled such a citrusy yeast before, amazingly delicious smell in the starter, can't wait to try it out. Would like to culture it from the can, but it's a hard beer to come by.

 

[RunLongVT]

Wow. TheYeastBay.com. That's awesome - I live half an hour from the Heady Topper cannery (and can still barely find it) but I had no idea where else to get the yeast.

 

[Brew_G]

Just purchased some Conan from the yeast bay and brewed an IPA. I've never smelled such a citrusy yeast before, amazingly delicious smell in the starter, can't wait to try it out. Would like to culture it from the can, but it's a hard beer to come by.

You could set aside a small sample from your starter in a sterilized jar and use that for your next beer.