Imperial Flagship Yeast for Porter?

[Apple_Jacker]

I'll be brewing a porter in the next week or so and I have some of the Imperial Flagship yeast lying around. Does anyone have any experience with using this for a porter?

 

[couchsending]

It’s Cal Ale yeast.

All imperial yeasts are just their version of other yeasts from Wyeast or White Labs. There are plenty of charts you can find online.

 

[ProblemChild]

It will work, but probably not offer the character you want. If you mash low, that strain can take the FG fairly low for the style. I would think that you would need to add a little flaked barley and mash higher to use that strain.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

It will work, but probably not offer the character you want. If you mash low, that strain can take the FG fairly low for the style. I would think that you would need to add a little flaked barley and mash higher to use that strain.

Damn, well I was trying to just use the yeast I had lying around... This is going to be my first porter I've ever made and I want it to taste like one. I don't have any flaked barley but was planning on using flaked oats. I think I'll just go and buy the right yeast and not worry about it, and use this yeast to make another IPA or something.

 

[ProblemChild]

Damn, well I was trying to just use the yeast I had lying around... This is going to be my first porter I've ever made and I want it to taste like one. I don't have any flaked barley but was planning on using flaked oats. I think I'll just go and buy the right yeast and not worry about it, and use this yeast to make another IPA or something.

I really would just go for it actually. Just mash high and add a little flaked barley. the character issue was only if you made too much in terms of fermentable sugar and stripped out the body.

 

[brownni5]

What's wrong with Chico yeast for a porter? Answer: nothing. I would pay more attention to grain bill. Lots of brewers make great beer and never use anything but US-05 - at least close to the same yeast.

 

[yourlastchance89]

Chico strain works just fine for a porter.

 

[ProblemChild]

It can for sure, I have just found that it can finish out low, taking the body and subsequently the richness one would hope for. It won't necessarily do that, but I have tried it a few times with mixed results. Once with really good results and that was with a 154 mash and half a pound of flaked barley.

 

[HTH1975]

If it’s a Chico strain, it’s going to be quite clean and attenuate more than you’d want for a porter.

You ‘could’ mash higher, and add more unfermentables to your grainbill. However, you could use Saf-04 which would work much better, plus it’s cheap and widely available.

 

[Genuine]

I just brewed a Porter last night and used 7% oats and 5% of rye in the grain bill and tried out Imperials Darkness for the first time. Currently fermenting away and I'll report back.

 

[ProblemChild]

I just brewed a Porter last night and used 7% oats and 5% of rye in the grain bill and tried out Imperials Darkness for the first time. Currently fermenting away and I'll report back.

Please do. Oat and rye in that % will make it nice and chewy.

 

[HTH1975]

Please do. Oat and rye in that % will make it nice and chewy.

More than one way to skin a cat.

 

[Jag75]

I've never used imperial before until yesterday. LHBS was out of WLP so I got Imperial Darkness A10. I checked this morning @4am and its chugging right along. Using it for Irish red .

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Chico strain works just fine for a porter.

What's wrong with Chico yeast for a porter?

Everything - if you're trying to make a British porter. People find it hard to understand just how important the yeast is to traditional British styles - and even many fancy liquid homebrew yeasts lack the character of the real thing. Chico lacks the flavour you need and has too high an attenuation which wrecks the mouthfeel.

This is going to be my first porter I've ever made and I want it to taste like one. I don't have any flaked barley but was planning on using flaked oats. I think I'll just go and buy the right yeast and not worry about it

Yep, use the right yeast. No need to overcomplicate the grist though - a typical porter in the heyday of the mid-19th century was no more complicated than 85% pale, 12% brown, 3% black and that's it. And that kind of recipe makes a delicious beer - given the right yeast.

But yeah, you can use Chico and use six different grains to try and compensate for the fact that the yeast is ruining the beer....

 

[brownni5]

Sorry, missed the part where the OP said he wanted to make a traditional British porter. And weren't 19th Century porters 100% Brown malt?

BJCP style 20A - American Porter lists characterful British yeast or clean American yeast. Ignore the guidelines if you choose, but it's not like making a porter with Chico yeast is going to turn it into an IPA or something.

So, instead of telling people what they want, why can't we let them try things out on their own?

 

[Apple_Jacker]

I went ahead and picked up some Wyeast American Ale 1056 and brewed this yesterday. Target OG was 1.052, I hit 1.050. Not too shabby.

 

[Genuine]

Please do. Oat and rye in that % will make it nice and chewy.

Reporting back. It's been in keg for a little over a week and I used Imperial's Darkness Yeast. Only used quarter ounce of Magnum at 60 and the rest wasn't until 15 min left in the boil with Bravo and that provided enough bitterness for this. Brewer's friend reports 36 IBU's.

Flavor - Dark roasted malt flavor with the chocolate coming through. I might up it to 1.5lb of chocolate malt for next time. The oats and rye help with the mouthfeel.

Here's the Recipe and it's a keeper! I'll be brewing this again for next winter!

1.063 OG
1.014 FG with an ABV of 6.4%.

q

 

[Apple_Jacker]

Reporting back. It's been in keg for a little over a week and I used Imperial's Darkness Yeast. Only used quarter ounce of Magnum at 60 and the rest wasn't until 15 min left in the boil with Bravo and that provided enough bitterness for this. Brewer's friend reports 36 IBU's.

Flavor - Dark roasted malt flavor with the chocolate coming through. I might up it to 1.5lb of chocolate malt for next time. The oats and rye help with the mouthfeel.

Here's the Recipe and it's a keeper! I'll be brewing this again for next winter!

1.063 OG
1.014 FG with an ABV of 6.4%.

View attachment 618236

q

Looks good! I will be bottling mine this weekend.