Ringwood yeast, English or Swedish????

[MSK_Chess]

I have a query about the Ringwood ale yeast and I wonder if anyone can help. It seems that as far as history is concerned its British, specifically a strain from Yorkshire going way back to the 1800's. However if you look at its origin in a yeast comparison chart it cites a brewery in Sweden, Pripps Brewery.

http://www.mrmalty.com/wyeast.php

Can anyone shed any light on this interesting and perplexing conundrum?

 

[GurraG]

As far as I have read a Swedish guy at one point cultured up some yeast from a bottle of Carnegie Porter (the Carnegie brand name is owned by Pripps), and sent it to Wyeast. Wyeast then marketed this under the name Swedish ale. Later it was discovered that this yeast was identical to the British Ringwood strain, so Wyeast stopped producing the Swedish ale strain. Btw, Carnegie porter is nowadays fermented with a lager strain.

 

[MSK_Chess]

As far as I have read a Swedish guy at one point cultured up some yeast from a bottle of Carnegie Porter (the Carnegie brand name is owned by Pripps), and sent it to Wyeast. Wyeast then marketed this under the name Swedish ale. Later it was discovered that this yeast was identical to the British Ringwood strain, so Wyeast stopped producing the Swedish ale strain. Btw, Carnegie porter is nowadays fermented with a lager strain.

Yes was reading the history, a Scottish family of merchants that went to Sweden to escape political persecution way back gave its name to the porter.

Your excellent account explains the phenomena of why the origin is Swedish but termed Ringwood. Its also of some interest that Ringwood itself is considered a hybrid yeast of two strains. Some have postulated that because of its alleged tendency to produce diacetyl it may be a blend of a lager and ale yeast. Personally I dunno but just wondered at why its origin was Swenska and its name English. Have never tasted the Carnegie porter, its meant to be awesome though.

 

[rhys333]

I read somewhere that Ringwood originated in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and got traded back and forth with a brewery in Hull.

 

[MSK_Chess]

I read somewhere that Ringwood originated in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and got traded back and forth with a brewery in Hull.

Yes I read this too, it was shipped back and forth in barrels. I also read that the Ringwood yeast that is offered commercially is not the same as the Ringwood yeast that is used by the Ringwood brewhouses although the claim is made by others that it is. What is the home-brewer to make of it all? If it is the exact same strain from the Swedish breweries we are want to ask, how did it get there?

 

[Hanglow]

The true ringwood yeast is indeed a dual strain, one true top cropper and another more attenuative . You can hear Chris white in this clip saying his product is a single isolate , not the top cropper
http://www.whitelabs.com/sites/default/files/strain-audio/wlp005.mp3

Peter Austin was head brewer at Hull Brewery until it was bought over and he then set up Ringwood Brewery. So Ringwood yeast originated from Hull brewery

 

[MSK_Chess]

Wow pretty amazing stuff. Most British Ale yeast is now bottom fermenting? Did Chris White really just say that? who would have thought it? I have tried WLP005 but I did not like it, now I use exclusively WLP002, I just like its flavour profile, its especially excellent with American hops because you get in my opinion a better balance between hops and malt. Going back to Ringwood, its use pre-dates the brewery at Hull although in a modern context it most certainly did originate from Hull.