Imperial Yeast

[ferm.adventures]

Are imperial yeasts really good or really well marketed. It seems like almost every homebrew podcast/youtube channel is using imperal yeast all of a sudden.

It's pretty glaring... However, I'm wondering for the folks who have used it if it's really good or just another yeast option.

 

[day_trippr]

I would call it "another really good liquid yeast option", in the same league as White Labs and Wyeast.
I really don't know how any of their respective marketing compares as I don't pay attention to such things...

Cheers!

 

[kingmatt]

I've been consistently impressed with their yeast, plus they are the only ones that carry Bell's House strain.

 

[Jag75]

I use imperial quite a bit . I like WL as well but I hate WL package. Imperials package is so easy to open I feel like I'm cheating

 

[shetc]

Imperial yeast is the ****! Bought fresh, this stuff requires no starter even for lagers. The Chop & Brew videos are interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVXHd7JDOr4 .

 

[AzOr]

I’ve been impressed with all of their yeast that I’ve tried.
The list includes;
L13 and L17- to me both are very similar. They produce a clean lager and always starts quickly.
Dieter- I just tried this in a Kolsch. It’s still conditioning but I really like it so far. Just enough character to make interesting.
Flagship- nothing special but still a solid choice for pales or ipa’s.
Pub- just purchased but haven’t used yeast. Planning on making an English IPA soon.
L28 Urkel- I’ve only used this twice in a pilz but turned out well.

I try to get at least 5 or six batches out of each before I lose interest in propagating.

 

[thehaze]

Their A09 Pub ( Fuller's or at least this is the claim ) actually exhibits a bit of that orange marmalade. I was fairly impressed. And I've used a few of their other strains with great sucess. And I live in Europe. They are a great alternative to WL and WY, and they pack 200 billion cells in their pouches, which means direct pitch up to about 1.060-1.070 ( they claim 1.070 if the pouch is really fresh - which I kinda believe for some strains like hefe, belgian, etc. ). You can also build bigger starters, which is always nice for those that do it. I have nothing bad to say about Imperial and their bussiness in general.

 

[krispn]

I think folks are drawn to the direct pitch due to the cell count as others have said. I've had no issues and I used a variety of their yeast - Harvest, Pub, Independence, Que Beuno, Dieter and Flagship and been happy with the results.

 

[Day-Day]

I've used their Bell's House Strain and A38 Juice and I really like them...fwiw.

 

[Dgallo]

They have great customer service too. I’ve emailed them on 3 separate occasion, two times Inquiring about more information in certain strains and the other was about an issue. Each time they responded quickly and resolved the issue fairly. I’m pretty loyal to imperial and only don’t use their yeast if they don’t have a comparable strain to what I need. I’m a big fan

 

[Jag75]

I made a starter with flagship last night. Got up this morning and it was taking off. The date on the package was April . I usually make a starter especially if its borderline. I did however use Imperial Darkness without a starter and it took off perfectly fine.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

I have been incredibly impressed with everything Imperial puts out. Not sure what kind of magic they are using in Portland, but the lag times have always been super short (mere hours to 12 hours at the most), the fermentation very healthy and aggressive, and the overall fermentation times are days shorter than any other brand of liquid yeast I have used. One of the best features in to me is that you are getting double the cell count for not even close to double the price. As stated above, I also cannot stand the WL Pure Pitch packaging - it is a step back from the vials in my mind.

 

[krispn]

In the U.K. Imperial yeast is £9.99 and White Labs is £7.99 For me the difference in price is negligible due to the higher volume of cells plus its a quality product. Imperial are my go to 'yeast pimps'! I've just put a lager on using Harvest with a few recipe tweaks since the last brew and I'm using WLP 320 in a Raspberry wheat beer (which I'll add 3.5kg of raspberries to). If Imperial had a similar American Wheat or Portland wheat strain I would be using theirs but needs must as I'm not after any traditional hefe character in this one.

 

[AzOr]

I've used their Bell's House Strain and A38 Juice and I really like them...fwiw.

What character is the Bell’s strain supposed have? I’ve heard that it’s a great strain but haven’t heard specifics.
I’m wondering if I should give that a shot over flagship.
Thanks

 

[brownni5]

I've used a couple Imperial strains and have been happy with them. That said, I think they are much more aggressively marketing than any other lab out there. My preferred online HBS doesn't carry Imperial, and I'm not going out if my way to get it.

Before my most "L" LHBS closed down, I could get some strains there. I got both Juice and Darkness as expired packets, so I wasn't going to direct pitch them. If I planned on direct pitching, I would probably get Imperial over a similar Wyeast strain, but not necessarily if I was already planning on making a starter.

 

[ferm.adventures]

I've used a couple Imperial strains and gave been happy with them. That said, I think they are much more aggressively marketing than any other lab out there. My preferred online HBS doesn't carry Imperial, and I'm not going out if my way to get it.

Before my most "L" LHBS closed down, I could get some strains there. I got both Juice and Darkness as expired packets, so I wasn't going to direct pitch them. If I planned on direct pitching, I would probably get Imperial over a similar Wyeast strain, but not necessarily if I was already planning on making a starter.

That's sort of my take.. It's not exactly readily available to me.. They do appear to have some interesting strains, but I'm not going out of my way to pick some up if a wyeast/white labs/Fermentis/Lallemand, etc. strain is readily available for what need.

 

[Dancy]

I was originally drawn to it for direct pitching as I brew 5 gallon AG in my small condo kitchen and eliminating one step is appealing. I always add a minute of oxygen and find Imperial starts fermenting quickly. I haven’t used it on really high gravity beers but maybe OG of 1.060. Very satisfied but I’ve used only a couple of strains. Imperial Tartan I liked for a Scottish Ale.

 

[pvpeacock]

I prefer Imperial yeasts because of the cell count which means I don't have to make a starter. Just peel and pour! I also like their variety.

 

[Day-Day]

What character is the Bell’s strain supposed have? I’ve heard that it’s a great strain but haven’t heard specifics.
I’m wondering if I should give that a shot over flagship.

It has an "estery" profile...not sure how else to explain it. The yeast itself is also very fluffy. It's one of those strains that ferments very fizzy also. I've read that some people think it's an English strain. I've used it to brew a Two Hearted clone a few times and soon for an Oberon clone. I really only use it if I'm brewing a Bells clone to try and make it more authentic. I've never used Flagship but I've used the other "Chico" variants and they always work well for me. The Bell's Strain is great and all but I think a lot of the hype was that up until recently you had to bottle harvest it...which made brewing with it unique. It's a great versatile yeast but it's not some magical strain or anything. I think it's a hate it or love it kind of thing.

 

[Nate R]

I don't know about the marketing, but i prefer Imperial.
When i started brewing my beers with Imperial always came out better. Well duh- better pitch rate right? So that has probably caused me to prefer them.
Someobe said above- double the yeast for not double the cost.
I have been making starters now and overbuilding so i can always pitch fresh yeast.
I also stocked up a few pouches right when the covod hit. I figure the only real difference between a 6 month old WL and Imperial is twice as many cells to make a ramp up better.
Also, my LHBS always seems to have weekly fresh shipments- like two weeks old or so. Add to that WL makes it harder to easily see the born on date.
I stopped buying mail order yeast cause i hated getting old batches.
When i am digging thru the yeast case it is really easy to see the born on date on Imperial vs. WL.
I guess it comes down to what your experiences are and what your supplies are.
I have used: Stefon, House, Dieter, Dry Hop, Citra, Joystick, Pub
On deck is Barbarian, Urkel.

Bottom line- no matter what yeast you use, making a starter is almost always your best bet- way more so than any brand.
But if you want to just pitch- 200 B cells is hard to beat.

 

[Miraculix]

Used it once, made my best beer with it up until today. Yeast was pub, beer was Miraculix best in the ale section. I love pub.

 

[Chorgey]

I'm very impressed with Imperial yeast. I used L17 (Harvest) in a Märzen that was entered in a competition with Iron Hill Brewery and ended up as a finalist in the State of NJ (scores of 41 and 45)

 

[Jag75]

Update on Flagship . I pitched at 8pm last night. I woke up at 4am this morning and fermentation had already begun. That's only 8 hrs , but it was probably less unless it started exactly when I got up.