ECY12 Old Newark Beer

[Sebas83]

Anyone ever uses this yeast? I got a vial and I'm trying to decide what to do with it. Looks like it could be a Kolsch-y thing. Not sure though.

 

[Sebas83]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[ryanhope]

Treat it like a lager yeast, its from the old Ballentine Brewing Co.

 

[Sebas83]

Have you used it?

I have the Newark beer, not lager. I think it was used for their... Pale? IPA? Way back when.

 

[nutty_gnome]

From the manufacturer (more or less) ECY12: Sourced from the same defunct east coast brewery as ECY10, this pure strain was used as their “beer pitching yeast”. The strain has been identified as S. cerevisae, hence it is not a true lager strain, but should ferment at lager temperatures.

Suggested fermentation temp: 58-68°F

Apparent Attenuation: medium

I'd try it in a hop forward lager recipe.

I've used ECY10 a few times. Its good stuff.

 

[jtejedor]

Have not seen much testimony of actually using it. You will have to let us know how it performs. Sounds very similar to good ol' chico yeast.

 

[ryanhope]

Have not seen much testimony of actually using it. You will have to let us know how it performs. Sounds very similar to good ol' chico yeast.

I have a bottle of it coming, I will report back once I use it.

 

[jtejedor]

Ok so to anyone following this I brewed with this strain yesterday. I thought for a while that I had ecy10 and was stoked to try it in my Rye IPA. Turns out it was this strain guess I had ecy10 on the brain. I thought oh well I heard it was probably just chico so should do well in an IPA either way. I can say I don't think this strain is chico (WLP001 or WY1056) at all. The starter threw a ton of sulfur, more like lager starters I have used in the past. My starter temp got a bit high at 80 degrees but even so the starter was really clean with a nice subtle nuttiness to it. Usually the starter beer doesn't taste all that great but this was not bad at all. The boil on this beer had a ton of foam I guess because of the rye and right now the beer is churning like crazy. I usually don't need a blowoff using fermcap but man this blew the carboy cap off one fermenter. I am fermenting at around 64 maybe I should have gone colder but oh well she is churning away. I will report back once the beer has fermented out although I probably won't be able to report back on the subtleties of the strain as this was a very hoppy brew but hopefully it will be really clean even at this higher end of the temperature range for it. Very promising so far will report back but looks like this could be a great steam beer hybrid lager kind of strain.

 

[ryanhope]

I actually brewed with this also last week. I got the bottle of yeast back in June I think so it took a while to build up the starter. It went a few days showing nearly no activity but it finally took off. I didn't notice the sulfur that you were describing but there was a spiciness that I haven't smelled in other yeasts before.

 

[Sebas83]

Thanks guys!! I was thinking of a hoppy Kolsch-type thing and it seems like it might be good for that. I, too, will report back once it's done.

 

[Wig]

General consensus is ECY Old Newark Ale is the old Ballentine's yeast. That being said, I have used it, split a batch (American Amber) with WY1275-Thames Valley. It was ok, the 1275 was better. Just my two cents. I did culture some to give it another crack.

 

[ryanhope]

General consensus is ECY Old Newark Ale is the old Ballentine's yeast. That being said, I have used it, split a batch (American Amber) with WY1275-Thames Valley. It was ok, the 1275 was better. Just my two cents. I did culture some to give it another crack.

Both ECY's Old Newark Ale and ECY's Old Newark Beer are from Ballantine, that part is not disputed. I think the real question that nags at people is which one is parent strain of the Chico strain. Old Newark Beer is actually not a true lager strain but it is recommended that is fermented in high 50's low 60's so the "beer" yeast probably produces a cleaner profile than the ale yeast.

With this being said, later today I should be receiving Old Newark Ale (already have Old Newark Beer) so at some point in the future I could do a side by side comparison.

 

[Sebas83]

Old Newark Beer yeast acts quite odd. I propped up a starter from an older vial and it went very slowly. Much more slowly than anticipated. So, I ramped it up with another dose of DME. It didn't really react... until I lightly shook it. Then, it just exploded out the top! Almost blew the airlock clean off (800ml starter or so of 1.040 dme)! It acted oddly like some bretts I've used; massive release of CO2 after a slight disturbance.

It is currently fermenting a 1.70 IPA at 58°. It is based off of pilsner malt supported by some wheat and a small amount of Munich. Nugget, Simcoe, Columbus hop bill. Smells rather good, but it is mostly throwing hops right now. I'll report back once it is in the keg.

 

[ryanhope]

I just kegged the beer I brewed with this yeast and it tastes like a really good Belgian-American IPA. It is so phenolic! I will admit that I did not ferment this like a lager, it got my normal ale treatment. I wonder what this yeast is like when fermented cold as the instructions say.

 

[Sebas83]

Awesome! Glad you liked it. There is very little working info on this yeast so I'm glad we're able to play a part in it.

I started mine in the mid 50's (55) ramped up and it no hovering at 60 and I'm going to hold it there for another day then let it free rise... keg with my dry hops (2oz fresh LI Nugget) and get this thing pouring! Should be interesting.

 

[ryanhope]

I will also comment that this yeast seems to be a horrible flocculate. Before I kegged the beer it was in my kegerator at 41deg for 2-3 weeks and its still SO cloudy.

 

[Sebas83]

How'd it attenuate for you guys?

 

[Coff]

I just kegged the beer I brewed with this yeast and it tastes like a really good Belgian-American IPA. It is so phenolic! I will admit that I did not ferment this like a lager, it got my normal ale treatment. I wonder what this yeast is like when fermented cold as the instructions say.

I'm going on memory here, and it was probably 2 years ago at this point. But when I used ECY12 it was very phenolic, I didnt treat it like a Lager strain either with a 64f primary. It was too Phenolic for me actually, didnt much enjoy it.

Funny thing is I made the same mistake as someone else in this thread where I thought the vial I had was ECY10 until 2 days after I pitched it and saw the empty vial sitting in the trash. Ha!

 

[Sebas83]

This yeast made a very solid beer. Pleasantly phenolic, good yeast character, even minerality (5g of gypsum on NYC water). Hop character is a little muddled (probably brewer error).

Did this by fermenting cool into warm. Started at 52, raised to 58/60 over 4 days. Held at 60 for 3 more, let free rise to finish at 1.010.

Don't know if I'd seek this yeast out. It seems to walk the line somewhere between west coast ipa and Belgian pale. It doesn't seem to be one or the other. Which, under s better brewer, could make a unique beer. But I don't think it'll be me.

 

[ryanhope]

It reminds me of WLP570, except, 570 is way way better.

 

[Sebas83]

Definitely 570-esque. After sitting in this beer for a while, I have to say it is quite good. Fermenting pilsner malt and playing well with hops is quite a challenge for an ale yeast.

Ferment low, it helps a LOT. If you want something unique, it's a good move. Just don't expect to be either British or west coast.

Time made me change my mind. I expected it to work more like a pacman or Chico and it just isn't that.

S

 

[ryanhope]

I complained to Al about this and he basically blamed it on me. Under pitching or poor aeration. I am pretty annoyed, this yeast was not supposed to turn out this way. I also picked up the other balantine yeast (the ale yeast) which I let a friend use. That one turned out really phenolic tool.

 

[EarlyAmateurZymurgist]

There is little doubt in my mind that Al acquired those strains from the NRRL (now known as the ARS Culture Collection). ECY12 is NRRL Y-7407. ECY10 is NRRL Y-7408. The brewery name is spelled incorrectly in the NRRL database (i.e., "Ballentine" instead of "Ballantine").

Y-7407 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Meyen ex E. C. Hansen (1883)
G.W. Lange, Ballentine, New Jersey BR, Beer pitching yeast, Ballentine Brewery, New Jersey, USA

Y-7408 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Meyen ex E. C. Hansen (1883)
Lange, Ballentine, Newark, New Jersey BR, Ale pitching yeast

By the way, the ARS does not ship cultures to home addresses; therefore, one must be affiliated with a research university or a known research organization in order to place an order. Like the NCYC, the ARS ships cultures in glass ampules in lyophilized form, which means that one needs to know how to open a glass ample and rehydrate a tiny amount of yeast while maintaining completely sterile conditions. Let's say that it is not something that I would recommend to the beginning yeast wrangler.