Which of these Stout and Porter yeast strains are similar as to their affect on taste

[MatthewMoisen]

I just finished a large stout experiment wherein I used the same yeast and hops fermented at the same temperature, but only changed the grain bill slightly. I now want to take my favorite grain bill out of those, and repeat the experiment but keep the grain bill, hops, and temperature steady, and only change the yeast strain.

I scanned Wyeast's website and they recommended the following strains for all of the various porter and stout styles:

1028 - London Ale™
1056 - American Ale™
1084 - Irish Ale™
1098 - British Ale™
1099 - Whitbread Ale™
1187 - Ringwood Ale™
1272 - American Ale II™
1275 - Thames Valley Ale™
1318 - London Ale III™
1332 - Northwest Ale™
1335 - British Ale II™
1450 - Denny's Favorite 50
1469 - West Yorkshire Ale
1728 - Scottish Ale™
1762 - Belgian Abbey II™

I suppose I could do 15 more experiments, but I wonder if a lot of these yeast strains are very similar to each other in how they affect the taste of the homebrew. If, for example, these yeast strains could be grouped into 5-8 groups based on this criteria, then I could run 5-8 batches instead of 15.

If you have any experience with these strains, could you attempt to put them into groups based on how similar of an affect on taste they have?

 

[mkeckjr]

Knowing the grain bill and hops for the porter would help because they can vary greatly between the English and American styles.

I prefer the American-style porters, so I usually ferment with Chico (Wyeast 1056) and use Centennial or Columbus hops. For my tastes, that combination is great with a mild-to-medium roasty beer. I have also used Boddington's (Wyeast 1318) and Worthington's yeast (Wyeast 1028) in similar porters, and they also work nicely. They leave a bit more residual gravity, but still attenuate enough to let the hops and roast be the focal point of the beer. Fullers (Wyeast 1968) is nice in an English version of the beer, which is less roasty and hoppy, but not great for the type I'm describing because it comes off too sweet.

I hope that helps.

 

[daksin]

You'll be able to tell the difference between most of those in a side-by-side. I'd pick the strains you're most likely to brew with.

 

[kingwood-kid]

If you have any experience with these strains, could you attempt to put them into groups based on how similar of an affect on taste they have?

In a stout, a lot of the nuance of the strains will be obscured by the roasted flavors. I think the most noticeable difference would be in attenuation. I'm not saying that you couldn't tell the difference between two strains, just that the differences would be much smaller in a stout than in a beer with fewer assertive flavors to hide behind. I'd pick the yeasts that sound best to you and run a trial with those.