Porter Yeast

[braggheim]

All,

I am still pretty new to AG brewing and am attempting to brew a porter for the fall. I plan to have a recipe that accents some roasty, chocolate, and coffee notes. I may use Jamil's recipe for a robust porter or something similar. I have recently tried to support a new LHBS and they work mostly with White Labs liquid yeast. I have to ability to creat a starter and I built a fermentation chamber to control my fermentation temps. What are your favorite yeasts for a porter? Especially those from white labs...

Thanks!

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Whitbread makes a great porter. London ale as well. Not many uk strains won't work in a porter though.

 

[jimyson]

I have a robust fermenting right now. Was a Founder's Porter clone using WLP001. I also used MO as the base. It's only been 2 weeks in primary and tastes fantastic.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/any-founders-porter-clone-recipes-info-160119/

 

[TheJasonT]

I used 1968 ESB in my most recent, it came out very malty and YUMMEH!!

 

[Quaffman]

I just kegged jamils chocolate hazelnut minus the hazelnut using wlp001 with a starter. Possibly the best beer I've brewed.

 

[RonPopeil]

My vote is wlp007. Whitbread dry.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I've made more neutral flavor porters (similar to Deschutes Black Butte Porter) using wyeast 1056, so the whitelabs 001 would be the equivalent IIRC.

 

[MindenMan]

I use ESB 1968 London yeast for everything I brew. High flocking, medium attenuation, and malt flavors are usually quite forward.

 

[braggheim]

Looks like we a few different options. Thanks for the feedback. Just out of curiosity..it appears white labs only rates wlp 001 at a 2 out of 4 on the website yet many people use it. Does anyone know why it isn't rated as more of a fit for this style?? I even looked and it is the yeast of choice for this style on Brewing Classic Styles.

 

[govner1]

I've done several robust porters using WY1968. I've never been disappointed. In fact, I have a Dark Chocolate Hazelnut in secondary now. It's going to a keg for conditioning on Wednesday. The SG samples were very tasty!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Looks like we a few different options. Thanks for the feedback. Just out of curiosity..it appears white labs only rates wlp 001 at a 2 out of 4 on the website yet many people use it. Does anyone know why it isn't rated as more of a fit for this style?? I even looked and it is the yeast of choice for this style on Brewing Classic Styles.

I think you could gain more insight by trying some commercial examples of English Porters and American Porters. My wife prefers porters and stouts with English yeasts, while I prefer more neutral American yeasts. Try Fuller's London Porter (one of her favs) and Deschutes Black Butte Porter (one of my favs) and decide on what you like. Plus, you get to drink more beer!

 

[Epimetheus]

Porter is my favorite. Safale 04 has been successful for me on several occasions. It is uncomplicated.

 

[JonM]

I've used Denny's 1450 and 1272 in all sorts of stouts, and I suspect they'd be really good in porters as well.

 

[TheJasonT]

I really think 1968 is my favorite "clean or neutral" ale yeast. It's such a great strain for relatively quick fermentations and it drops really clear. My porter with a 6 day ferment, 2-day D-Rest, and a week at 33F is beautifully clear!

 

[ColumbusAmongus]

Looks like we a few different options. Thanks for the feedback. Just out of curiosity..it appears white labs only rates wlp 001 at a 2 out of 4 on the website yet many people use it. Does anyone know why it isn't rated as more of a fit for this style?? I even looked and it is the yeast of choice for this style on Brewing Classic Styles.

Because it makes a weaksauce porter. No no, on a serious note, it ferments really dry and doesn't produce many flavors that would add complexity to the style. Sugars add body to a beer and body helps bring out malt and fruit character. (On the other hand, dry or thin bodies promote bitterness and sharpness so that is why this is the standard pale / IPA yeast). The malt character helps balance the toasted characters and this is where it comes down to personal preference. If there isn't a body to support the roasted flavors, I think that a porter tastes like diluted coffee.

UK origin yeasts are typically preferred over american ale yeast because they leave more sugars behind which gives you a better supporting body for darker brews or even fruit beers for that matter. You could use your pale ale yeast and add some lactose or maltodextrin to boost the body back up but then you are still missing yeast flavor contribution.

That is my 2 cents anyway. Hey...you should join my club....

 

[rideincircles]

I am planning on brewing a pumpkin beer and a chocolate oatmeal porter as well this weekend. is there any WYeast strains that would work well for both? Was thinking maybe 1028 London Ale, but have heard mixed reviews on the pumpkin ale with that.

I was hoping to make a big yeast starter and spilt it between the two batches, I might end up getting some Safale for each one though.

Just trying to minimize yeast costs.

 

[JonM]

I recently took two jugs and split a single pack of wyeast into each - each jug had a pint of weak wort, and then I stepped them up to appropriately sized starters over the course of a week. Boom. Two starters for two batches.