Which Bell's yeast should I culture?

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jmf143

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Which is the better choice - Bell's Amber Ale (5.8%) or Bell's Christmas Ale (5.5%)? I'm making a Two Hearted clone.

I'd use Oberon if I could find it.
 
Oberon is seasonal, so that'll be tough. I was going to use their Pale Ale yeast built up for a 2 Hearted clone. I instead bought Best Brown Ale (5.8%) since it was on sale and I had not tried it before. I HOPE it's the same yeast (fingers crossed, can anyone confirm?). It was active almost immediately with a October mfg date. I'm ahead of schedule on my starter.

Back to your question I know the Amber Ale uses the yeast you're looking for. Not sure on the Christmas Ale. Pale Ale is lower yet at 5.2%.
 
All Bell's beers use the same house yeast, (except for Sparkling Ale, Hell Hath No Fury, Winter White, and Oarsman. )

Use any modest gravity beer you like. Check the batch number on the back, though. A higher number means a more recent batch. Fresher is better here. Cheers!
 
The lighter styles will likely have more viable yeast in them.

However, I have cultured a few two-hearted batches simply because that was the beer I most wanted to drink!

I've gotten it from Oberon and I think Amber before.
 
I used the dregs from 4 bottles of amber ale in a pint starter with a half cup of dme on a stir plate. After about 3 days I cold crashed in my fridge, poured off the beer and pitched the yeast into a 2 liter starter with 1 cup of dme. 3 days later I cold crashed, decanted, and pitched into my THA clone. It took off and I had my first blowoff. In the third week of primary now. Go for it!
 
Rumor has it that Bell's yeast is relatively close to American Ale II/California Ale V. I'd be interested to taste a beer brewed with a bottle harvest and one of the aforementioned yeasts side by side. Feel free to send me what you have if you decide to perform said experiment for me!
 
Bell's Pale Ale is actually a blonde ale (low gravity / hopping) and if you let them sit extra cold, plenty of yeast.

Definitely worth harvesting. Super clean, flocculant strain.
 
All Bell's beers use the same house yeast, (except for Sparkling Ale, Hell Hath No Fury, Winter White, and Oarsman. )

Use any modest gravity beer you like. Check the batch number on the back, though. A higher number means a more recent batch. Fresher is better here. Cheers!

According to Bell's site, Oarsman uses their house ale yeast. With an ABV of 4%, do you think this would be the best yeast to culture?
 
Here's a pic of my starter made from Bells Best Brown Ale. 1/2 pint, 1 pint, and 2 pint for wort additions. Nice healthy krausen, eh? I'm hoping it finishes today so it can cold crash tonight and be pitched late Saturday.

 
Here's a pic of my starter made from Bells Best Brown Ale. 1/2 pint, 1 pint, and 2 pint for wort additions. Nice healthy krausen, eh? I'm hoping it finishes today so it can cold crash tonight and be pitched late Saturday.


Looks sweet! Did you start with just the dregs from one bottle?
 
I used the dregs from three bottles. I was very surprised to see activity on the first 1/2 pint addition so early. It seems the Bells yeast is pretty active fresh out of the bottle.
 
I've done two Two Hearted clones, one with Bell's yeast and another with S-05. Both experienced similar mash/fermentation conditions and had roughly the same starting and finishing gravities, but IMHO the one with the Bell's yeast just tasted better. It could have been all in my head, but either way I've started using it in all of my recipes that call for a clean, neutral yeast.

I've successfully cultured it from their Amber, just tried it with Two Hearted a few days ago, I'm out of town right now so I have to wait to see if that endeavor was successful.
 
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