I'm interested in expanding my yeast horizons for the ESB style of ale
ESB is not a style of beer. Everyone in the UK knows that, and even the BJCP has finally recognised that. And even their replacement category, 11C Strong Bitters, is a bit of a ragbag even by British beer standards. But that's because it's not a style, it's more an expression of terroir and house taste. So Fuller's ESB is just a souped up London Pride, partigyled with it, whereas the northern strongs tend to be very different. So first decide what kind of thing you're going for - or how you want to express
your terroir and house style.
instead of using WY1968 or WLP002 (or others of their Fuller's derived ilk)
There's some debate about that link to Fuller's - all we can say for certain is that 1968 is more closely related to Conan than anything else, but Conan coming from Fuller's originally is not incompatible with the Conan origin story. Maybe all that time at White Labs and Wyeast has changed them, but 002 and 1968 certainly don't have the marmalade that you associate with Fuller's, whereas eg Imperial A09 Pub is said to be much closer to actual Fuller's in taste. If you want to be sure, harvest yeast from a bottle of 1845.
And if you want to do a version of the Fuller's ESB, see
this thread (in particular
post #42) - but don't think of that recipe as "typical" (qv how Zum Uerig isn't at all representative of altbiers, even though it's the one everyone's heard of).
I've sort of narrowed it down to WY1318, WY1469, or WLP037 for my next go at this style. Which of these would you choose (or would you recommend something else)?
It's worth noting that WLP009 and WLP037 are
Vault strains that seldom get released as a seasonal. I've still got some WLP037 in my fridge but haven't used it yet; in general
HBTers have struggled to contain the phenolics of WLP037 (it's a member of the saison family) but it seems that they can be contained to good effect
if you rouse it in a fashion similar to a square. So it's not a straightforward one, and probably best suited to a more northern take.
I've made a beer with WLP009 and it's quite nice, but possibly a bit clean for British styles, even by Wyeast/White Lab standards. In general they just seem to lack the real character you get from proper British strains, whether it's something in the way they bank them I don't know. But I get that it's what you're left with if you don't have ready access to eg cask or bottle dregs, or some of the dark recesses of the Brewlab catalogue.
I'd also throw in a word for blends - can be a great way to get more character or brewing performance out of dry yeast in particular, eg Windsor followed by Nottingham after high krausen, or S-04 with 10-20% T-58.
I don't really make strong bitters myself but if I was confined to the White Labs list I'd probably start with WLP041 - not the most showy of yeasts but just has that easy drinkability that all British beers should have. (heh - I wrote that before you mentioned it, but give it a go) Although not everyone gets on with it, WLP540 is an interesting candidate for a house yeast if you regularly do beers that take advantage of its high ABV tolerance.
On the Conans, the general thought is that the Yeast Bay version WLP4000 is rather more interesting than WLP095. I see you've found the dry NEIPA yeast thread, you'll see there that Geterbrewed on this side of the pond have been breaking bricks of the Lallemand into 25g packs for some time now, I'll believe the "official" retail packs when I see them, they've had real viability problems with it. Yes it is derived from beers made with Conans - they're a bit careful on that.
But going back to your original selection, I'd probably go for 1469 as probably the most different without getting as fussy as WLP037, and as a core strain it's obtainable.
Also worth a read of this thread on temperatures :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...emps-and-profiles-cybi-other-thoughts.221817/
