What are your top 5 favorite yeast strains?

[Chadwick]

I thought this would be a fun discussion. Everyone has their own favorites and reasons why they like what they like.

I'll start.

1. US-05

I love that I cannot tell a difference between this and WLP001 and it costs less. Always attenuates well, is forgiving, and very clean. It's high alcohol tolerance makes it my go-to yeast for barleywines.

2. S-04

The tight compact flocculating nature of this yeast makes clean and clear brews simple. Has consistently given me very short lag times after pitching, attenuates well, works well for many English type ales.

3. WLP500

Because when I want to make something like a trappist ale, this one has always worked for me. I particularly love the yeast aroma this one produces. It smells wonderful, like I could simply lick the yeast cake. I like this one brewed warmer or cooler. It gives different tastes depending on the temp, I like them all.

4. Danstar Saison (dry yeast)

I wasn't sure about this one when I first used it. It took a little longer than I expected to bottle condition, but the flavor is nice. It is certainly its own animal. I love that when those hot summer nights arrive that I can use this yeast and not worry about the temps, let it warm up. I have limited space in the summer to do my ales, so this yeast is nice have around for when I have barleywines taking up all my temp controlled space and I want to brew something.

5. Redstar Quickrise Dry Active yeast

Because when I want to make some truly authentic prison hooch......naw. Seriously, I like to make bread. There is nothing like a warm loaf of homemade bread.

 

[hannibalmdq]

5. Redstar Quickrise Dry Active yeast

Booooo... Fleischmann's Dry Active or go home!!!

 

[unionrdr]

OK, I'll toss in my 2c worth...
* US-05- Good clean fermenting yeast, even when temps get up to 74F or so for me. But being medium to low flocculation, it could be better.
* S-04- I understand this one's a witbred strain. English at any rate. Very vigorous fermenter that flocculates very well & finishes fast. I had an ESB finish fermenting & nearly cleared in 10 days flat with this one. Gives good malt-hop balance as well. That is to say, you get good malt flavor, but it also allows the hops to play off the yeast & bittering nicely.
* Wyeast 3711 French saison yeast- This one takes high temps well & can give peppery flavors too. A lot less of the barnyard ester is produced on the back. I also noticed after a few months in the bottles, it had an almost lager-like quality of balance with the typical saison flavors.
* WL029 Kolsch- This yeast is great for brewing hybrid lagers besides merely kolschs. It has a sweet spot of 65-69F, perfect for ale brewers who want that lager-like balance with some crispness on the back. In view of this, I can't wait to see how it works out in the East German kottbusser.
* Cooper's ale yeast (15g packet)- I know what you're thinking- Crap yeast. not so, says I. Keep it between 64-69F like the WL029 & it works great rehydrated! In my tests, it performed as well as US-05 pitched dry with this yeast in the 7g size rehydrated. The 15g size I've gotten from NB rehydrated is a beast! It's also high flocculation, so it settles out clear on it's own. The non-descript fruity esters it produces are right in line with English ale profiles, But are governed by initial fermentation temps.
** Bonus round- Wyeast Bavarian Wheat 3638- I used this yeast to great effect in my German dampfbier. Good flavor balance with no discernable clove or banana esters. It's the nearest yeast to the area the beer comes from & the yeast originally used. I also think it'd be great for a wheat ale clone of one like Franziskaner.
This is my current list I can think of off the top of my head...

 

[ColoHox]

1. Versatile US-05 for its clean profile, fast and reliable ferment, and fast flocc.
2. Windsor for those fuller bodied, estery, yeasty ales
3. Abbey (530/1214/Abbaye) for most of the Belgians
4. Belgian Sour mix (655) for tons of things. Your wort determines the flavors.
5. Kolsch (029) ease, reliability, temperature range, and flavor profile.

I will use dry yeast if I can, over liquid yeast. I don't think I have used any other yeast, other than the ones above, in a few years. You could make *nearly any style of beer with those 5.

 

[hannibalmdq]

I've not delved into a ton of yeasts yet because I'm trying to get to know a yeast fairly well before I move on(I'm up to 9 that I've used myself) so I don't have a host of knowledge to draw upon. But I'll give it a go.

1) Danstar Nottingham - I don't care for this yeast at all above about 62, but in the upper 50s is a delicous powerhouse. It's not as clean as some neutral ale yeasts but it's not super fruity like some other english yeasts. It has very smooth esters that accurate a malt profile, works fast, and drops like a rock. I wouldn't use it everywhere, but it's a great yeast for a lot of styles.

2) WLP380 (Hefe V) - I love a good hefe but I like mine clovey and a little spicey rather than a banana bomb. This yeast throws far more clove esters than banana esters and produces a lovely hefe.

3) WLP029 (Kolsch) - I've only done a few brews with this yeast but man is it clean and crisp. Very lager like.

I'd say those are my favorites, but I'll add that WLP028 makes a surprisingly lovely wheat beer, and US-05/WLP001 is a great all around ale yeast.

 

[bobbrews]

-Conan
-Brett
-WLP090
-WLP007
-Wyeast 1968

 

[Jayhem]

1. Nottingham Dry Yeast - Because it's a great neutral ale yeast that flocculates better than US-05, attenuates about the same and doesn't give you bubblegum flavors if fermented on the cool side, in fact it does well down to 60F and produces very clean, clear beers with no yeast character, exactly what a neutral ale yeast should do.

2. White Labs WLP833 (German Bock Lager) - My favorite yeast for my Vienna and Oktoberfest lagers - clean, crisp and lets the malt shine in the Oktoberfest.

3. WLP029 (German Kolsch) - Makes great Kolsch beers which are one of the easiest and best tasting light home brews you can brew. Ferment cool and age some and they clean up to almost a Pilsner clarity and crispness. Drink them young and you get a nice fruity clean flavor as a Kolsch should be! definitely my standard house lighter style.

4. WYEAST 1762 - Belgian Abbey II. Best Belgian yeast I've tried. Not a messy yeast like some trappist strains, never have blow off problems and produces an awesome belgian!

5. WLP002 (English Ale) - produces an excellent mild, bitter, porter or brown ale. My Go to for English styles.

 

[solbes]

Cultured Bells - Keep looking for a good substitute for this super versatile yeast, and I will probably not find one that quite measures up. I've done a ton of different ale styles with this one and keep coming back to it
WY2565 Kolsch - Makes a damn fine Kolsch and Altbier which I brew multiple times per year. Also made a Dunkel fermented low (56F) that turned out nice
WY1388 BSA/Duvel - I brewed 3 different Belgians with this that I would normally use WY3787 for and prefer the 1388. Less clove but still plenty of Belgian character. Also seems to be less of a top cropper and does not have the issue of fermentation picking back up in the bottles that plauged me with 3787
WY2206 Bavarian Lager - Only brewed 2 lagers with this, but its so far my favorite lager strain
WY1968 London ESB - Great all around British ale yeast, nice esters and drops like a brick. Straight up I am not a fan of S-04 as I can't seem to get the good esters that I'm looking for

I'm still looking for a great all around wheat beer yeast, tried the German wheat (very tart indeed), and the WB-06 (meh, okay).

 

[Gus_13]

I'll throw out my favorites. All Saison and Belgian pretty much but that's what I brew.

1. Wyeasts 3724 - Nothing makes a good clean traditional Saison better IMO. I almost always ramp my temps so I've never had any stuck fermentations. The results are fantastic with that little hint of tartness and earthiness I like.

2. Wyeast 3711 - Perfect for a quick Saison with good body and gives some citrus and pepper that I love in Saison. Also pairs amazing with Rye.

3. White Labs 545 - This stuff goes beast mode on big beers. Took my 1.082 wort down to 1.004 in about 10 days. I'll use this for many things to come. It has some sweetness left over even though it was super dry and the mouthfeel was perfectly Belgian.

4. White Labs WLP645 - Brett Claus. is becoming a staple in a ton of my beers. I love it in a farmhouse ale and it was great when pitched right along side other yeasts. Develops nicely in the bottle as well.

5. White Labs WLP540 - My favorite yeast for a dubbel. I haven't tried it on a tripel but it did well as a BDSA yeast too.

Honorable mention - Wyeast 3726 - It's harder to find for me since no one local has Wyeast. But I order 6-10 bags when it comes out. I love this stuff and it needs to become a year round release! You there Wyeast???

 

[Tinpanharry]

US05. Versatile and Clean
Wyeast 1028 London Ale. Great in an English Brown, fermented in the low 60s.
US04. Works well in Stouts.
Danstar Belle Saison. I was surprised at how well this worked.

 

[j1n]

WLP090 - SD super yeast. Super clean and fast and attenuates well. Similar to Chico (US05, 001, 1056) but faster and cleaner. Mainly use it on my IPA and Pale ale. Temps are picky though and must keep it between 66-68. but if you can maintain those temps this yeast is a beast.

Notty - Another clean yeast. Use it for my Blonde ales and Ciders.

Saison Dupont - i love the saison taste this strain produces.

Pacman - Another very clean well attenuating yeast.


These are the ones i use the most. ive used other s but not enough to comment on them.

 

[Wobbegong]

Wyeast 1056, WLP001
Conan - Harvested straight from Heady Topper cans.
WLP007 Dry English Ale
Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

 

[tmendick]

WLP060 - American Ale Blend
Belle Saison
WLP080 - Cream Ale Blend
2112 - California Lager
WLP570 - Belgian Golden Strong

 

[atom]

most used...

US-05
WLP007
WY3711
WY3522
WLP004

 

[LLBeanJ]

I don't really have too many favorites, certainly not 5 that I could name.

After 3 years of brewing many batches with WLP001, I recently discovered WLP028 Scottish Ale. It has become my new go-to for neutral ale yeast. Completely blows Chico out of the water.

WY1272 American Ale II is one I'll continue to use. It gets nice and citrusy when fermented in the low to mid-70s.

Wasn't too enamored with WLP004 Irish Ale. Will use Scottish Ale for any brews that would normally call for Irish Ale moving forward.

Haven't settled on a Belgian strain yet. I've tried WLP500 and 550, but neither really did much for me. I'll be trying 530 next.

WLP838 Southern German Lager is my house lager strain. I like it and will continue to use it, but it's the only lager strain I've tried so far, so I have nothing to compare it to.