Workhorse Yeast

[Chemkrafty]

I've read how Papazian used the same strain of yeast he recieved from a lab for years and made many different beers with it. Now I know there are a million kinds of yeast and much discussion fo the different kinds...but...has anyone found a good workhorse yeast that they are able to use for many kinds of beer?

I ask because this type of yeast would be conducive to harvesting. So if there is a good all purpose yeast, I would like to find it!!!

 

[Revvy]

Pacman is about one of the most voracious and versatile yeasts out there. It can be used at near lager temps and quite hot. It's the house strain of Rogue, and they use it a varying temps for nearly all their beers.

 

[slowbie]

Obviously it's going to be somewhat dependent on what styles you're making. You'll want Belgian yeast for Belgian styles, American yeast for American styles, etc.

Many (if not most) breweries use the same yeast strain in the majority of their beers, so if there is a brewery you'd like to emulate with your beers, you could harvest from the bottle if they bottle condition. Otherwise some (e.g. Stone) give recommendations as to what yeast to use when cloning their beers, or else just look at clone recipes for a bunch of different beers a certain brewery makes and see what the most common yeast strain is.

I get the impression that most people on here use their favorite of S05, Wyeast 1056, or WLP001. IIRC 1056 and WLP001 are the same strain and also the Sierra Nevada 'Chico' strain, and S05 is similar but not the same.

Personally I've used 1056 three batches in a row (IPA, pale ale, stout) and I've been quite happy with the results.

 

[DKershner]

Pacman is about one of the most voracious and versatile yeasts out there. It can be used at near lager temps and quite hot. It's the house strain of Rogue, and they use it a varying temps for nearly all their beers.

Or you could use Papazian's, it's called Cry Havoc and it's in White Labs lineup.

 

[Brew-boy]

A+ on PacMan ferments nice at 60F. Nice yeast to use when its cold in the basement.

 

[Pappers_]

I keep two strains that I use for nearly every beer now - White Labs' Edinburgh (wlp028) and California Ale (wlp001). I harvest and wash them and keep ball jars of both in the fridge.