Looking for a house yeast

[Obliviousbrew]

OK I´ve tried several yeast strains and yet I haven´t decide about my house yeast.
I brew america pale ales and amercian IPAs mostly so I´m looking for a clean yeast that floccs good and attenuates good too. The closest I got to what I wanted it´s US-05 Wyeast 1056, but I don´t like how it floccs. I´ve been thinking about Pacman but haven´t tried it yet.
What do you guys think can be Pacman a nice house yeast strain, I know is hard to get now but I´m starting to use yeast slant and petri dishes so I think I can harvest some. Also what beer will you recomend to harvest this yeast?

 

[inhousebrew]

I'm currently using American Ale II and I like it. In the past I've used Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favorite 50.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I´ve used American Ale II I´m not crazy about it. I have to try Denny Favorite tough.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

bump

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

Try WLP002. It floccs like a rock, has mild esters, and good attenuation. You can get from grain to glass faster and with tastier results than any other strain I know.

 

[neosapien]

I like 1728 Scottish. it's a monster and can do anything from smoky to neutral to fruity depending on the temp. It has served me well for a wide variety of styles. My second choice is 1007 if I want a top-cropper and something a bit more malty.

 

[Lurch69]

Pacman is my house strain. It works well for me.

 

[b-boy]

+1 for pacman.

 

[kh54s10]

I have used 1056 the most of any that I have tried and like it for APA's. I also freeze yeast so I have a collection of 10 or more types. I try to use a yeast that is appropriate for the style of the beer.

When I get a new yeast I make a starter a little larger than needed then make up 4 vials to freeze. So I get a minimum of 5 brews from a single yeast purchase and if I made 4 new vials from each for 4 generations I could do 256 brews from the original buy.

My favorite brews have been with 1056 and 3787 Trappist.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Never used it personally, but I think WLP007/WY1098 fits all your requirements.

 

[whitehause]

Pacman is a great neutral yeast,I hear the stouts are best for harvesting, I got mine from Yellow Snow.

My house yeast is Bell's.
Doesn't floc like a rock, but not bad with a little time. My kegged brews take about a week and a half and that's without cold crash or clearing agents. They take that long to carb anyway, so not a big deal for me,and once it's clear,it's clear...not "mostly" clear. It also took my Pliny clone(1.075) down to 1.012. I don't like my IPA's to get super low because I like a little malt to balance the hops. It also adds a little something that I can't really explain, but no other yeast I've used has that same "Umph".
Harvest can be done from their Pale or Best Brown. I've gotten it from Two Hearted also, but because it's dry hopped, it's not the best choice.

 

[bluewaterbrewer]

+2 for pacman...love that SH**

 

[Pappers_]

I don't use it all the time, but I find White Labs Edinburgh strain to be both good and flexible. It accentuates malt flavors without suppressing hop flavors. Fermented low (58-60F) it has a very clean flavor profile. White Labs suggests it as an alternative 'house strain' to WLP001which is why I first tried it.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

Great replies guys/girls I´m still deciding, so I think I´m going to make a 12 gallon batch and split it in three using some harvest pacman, WL028 and Wyeast 1728. I know Wyeast 1056 (therefore US-05 and WL001) and I´ve also tried Wyeast American Ale II they are very good but not what I´m looking for, WL002 well haven´t tried it but I read it can mute the hop caracther and well, I mostly want it for my APAs and IPAs so I already discard that option.
Is going to take me while to get those three strains, I can get 1728 easly but White Labs are hard to get here and I have to harvest and build up some Pacman. I´ll try to post results (probably next month) Thanks for the help

 

[maida7]

I've haven't had a chance to use it yet but I hear the new San Deigo Super yeast WLP090 Is like Cal ale but ferments faster and flocs much better. I'd imagine this is the yeast you are looking for.

Also, I like WLP007 More esters then Cal Ale but it can be fairly clean if you ferment cooler. Works fast and flocs very well.

I've also heard great things about wlp028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale as a nice alternative to Cal Ale.

 

[maida7]

Sorry, I listed only white labs stuff and now see you can't get those so easily. Here is a handy chart that shows whitelabs and the wyeast equivalents. Most strains are made by both companies.

 

[pabloj13]

What about some harvested Bell's yeast? Great stuff.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

Got to find me some bells first but I´ll give it a shot.

 

[H22W]

+2 for pacman...love that SH**

+3 for the Pacman!

 

[Xpertskir]

You need to try wlp007 and Denny's fav

Wlp007 ferments hard, fast, and attenuates at a high level it then drops like a rock.

 

[shadows69]

I use wlp008 (Sam Adams). My newest yeast is wlp080 (cream ale yeast) lager / ale yeast. Very nice clean profile.

 

[Andrewtherooster]

I'm partial to Wyeast 1272 and 1450. 1450 doesn't flocculate quickly, but it's worth the wait to me.

 

[osagedr]

I like 1728 Scottish.

I'm a big fan of this strain as well. Made an incredible IIPA with it, Scotch ales, wouldn't hesitate to use it in APAs or cream ales as well. Really nice performer IMO.

 

[highgravitybacon]

It seems like a lot of commercial brewers use english strains for their beers. I haven't really figured out why. I have some theories, but nothing concrete. It seems like WLP051 / Wyeast 1272 are sort of a hybrid English / American strain that might work for a variety of styles.

 

[pwkblue]

I really like PacMan...and should be easy to get as it is available full time now from Wyeast in smackpack form... I also really like WLP007 and it sounds like it fits your needs...fairly neutral, ferments fast, and flocs fast...

Both pacMan and WLP007 are best to harvest from oversized starters...they flocculate so quickly that "washing" the yeast cake can be difficult

 

[RedShirt]

Another vote for Denny's Fav 50 (Wyeast 1450) in an American IPA. Attenuation approaches or exceeds that of 1056. More subdued esters than 1272 (imho) while still being a little on the fruity side. It also seems to handle warmer fermentation temperatures much better than many.

I've also been really impressed with Wyeast 1318 in both English and American pale ales. It's like a drier, less "characteristic", less temperamental Wyeast 1968.

 

[Glynn]

lately my favorite yeasts have been American ale wy1056 and ringwood ale 1187

 

[osagedr]

It seems like a lot of commercial brewers use english strains for their beers. I haven't really figured out why. I have some theories, but nothing concrete. It seems like WLP051 / Wyeast 1272 are sort of a hybrid English / American strain that might work for a variety of styles.

I thought it was 1332 that was the hybrid-ish strain, but I might have that mixed up.

Among the British strains I have used I like S-04 and Wyeast 1968 a lot and could see them as house strains (clean, highly flocculant). I haven't used 1098 or 1187 that I can remember.

 

[Nugent]

Another vote for Denny's Fav.

 

[daksin]

Wow so little love for WLP090. It's a great yeast- my personal house strain. Just as clean as WLP001, ferments faster, flocculates hard, and attenuates extremely well. Add in a higher alcohol tolerance and it really is super. A word of advice about using it as a house yeast though, it likes oxygen, so you should be using pure O2 to get the best performance out of it, and you really need to keep it within its recommended temp range in order to get maximum super-ness out of it.