Yeast You Like

[GuingesRock]

What yeasts do people really like using? Anyone tried anything unusual and liked it?

[jeffsmith]

I've been using a lot of US-05 lately because I don't often get to plan my batches ahead in enough time to get a starter going these days. Wyeast 1272 is another favourite of mine as well.

[jtmwhyte]

WLP002 English Ale is a nice one. I'm also partial to WLP007 German Ale/Kolsch for lighter beers

[amartin]

I like and use 1272 fairly often, although after being top cropped and repitched for the past 2+ years, it's probably not exactly like the original. 1968 is good for English beers, and I've found it to be more attenuative than the website says.

[McGruff]

Wyeast 1469, Wyeast 1098, Wyeast 1056, and recently Wyeast 1318. Yea, I brew mostly bitters.

[Jimmy]

I've never used the Conan yeast, but really enjoyed the few beers I've tried that have used it. I'm hoping to brew a IIPA in a few weeks to try it out.

[adams81]

I'm currently trying to maintain 4 house yeasts based on recommendations from other brewers here and on other forums.

Wyeast 1968 for anything english. Floccs super clear very quickly, making it hard to harvest from the cake. Great taste though.

Wyeast 1272 - I've yet to use this one.

Wyeast 3787 - Trappist ale yeast. Seems to flocc well and ferments cleanly to 10+ %.

Wyeast 3724 - for saisons. This yeast almost never floccs and soooo many people complain about stuck fermentations... but it is delicious.

[GuingesRock]

I've never used the Conan yeast, but really enjoyed the few beers I've tried that have used it. I'm hoping to brew a IIPA in a few weeks to try it out.

I did about 5 brews with it. Only thing is I found the beer never clears. Next brew is west Yorkshire ale yeast (Wyeast 1469). Have the starter made and brewing with it tomorrow.

[gm-]

I basically have 5 go to strains.

For anything American (IPAs, APAs, IIPAs, American stouts, Cream ales): US-05
For anything British (bitters, porters): WLP 017 Whitebread Ale
For saisons: WLP585 Belgian Saison III
For other Belgian styles: WLP 500 Trappist Ale
For kölsch, light ales, california commons: WLP 029 German ale/Kölsch

I like to experiment with different yeasts, and I am currently trying WLP 568 Belgian Style Saison Ale Blend, and will try WLP 023 Burton Ale soon. I also bought American Farmhouse yeast for the first time recently, will try that this summer.

[Tony L]

I use US-05 for ales and W34/70 for lagers. Buy it by the brick and never worry about weather I have enough yeast to pitch at any given time.

[GuingesRock]

I use US-05 for ales and W34/70 for lagers. Buy it by the brick and never worry about weather I have enough yeast to pitch at any given time.

Tony, Do you rehydrate or pitch as is? How do you keep the remainder of the brick sanitary once it's opened?

[Celiacbrew]

For kölsch, light ales, california commons: WLP 029 German ale/Kölsch

I like to experiment with different yeasts, and I am currently trying WLP 568 Belgian Style Saison Ale Blend, and will try WLP 023 Burton Ale soon

I have WLP023 in a stout at the moment. Very fruity and pleasant smelling. It blew the top off my bucket once it got going but it took a while to start. I may have lost too much yeast in the overflow or else my basement is too cold because I had to add some dry yeast to finish it off. Pleasant taste at bottling, you could really pick up the pear. It's at the back of my fridge now waiting for warmer weather more to it's liking.

[jason.loxton]

S-04 is the bomb. Ferments very clean when cool. Flocs like all heck. Not just for British beers: a number of US craft breweries us it or its wet equivalent as their house yeasts (Google on Probrewer.com to see what I mean), e.g., Deschutes, Big Sky, Firestone Walker, etc. (via Can You Brew It).

[Read through the whole thread: http://discussions.probrewer.com/archiv ... -3458.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]

[mumblecrunch]

Not a yeast I've had a chance to try yet, but I'd like to given how much I enjoy Rogue beers, the Pacman strain is apparently available again from Canadian Homebrew Supplies. They're limiting to 1 package per customer.

I know a few folks have worked this yeast up from bottles but for those of us who haven't yet unlocked the Yeast Ranching Achievement, this might be a chance to give it a try.

(I also managed to track down the Sep/Oct 2003 issue of Zymurgy with a dozen Rogue clone recipes in it; I've heard various levels of snark about these recipes, but you have to figure they're probably a decent starting point)

[jason.loxton]

Not to derail this thread, but if you want to do Rogue clones, Can You Brew It? covered Rogue's Shakespeare Stout and Dead Guy Ale. You can get not only the actual recipe, but advice directly from the brewmaster, on the podcast.

Here: http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/581" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here: http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(I was having trouble getting those webpages to open. Sometimes their website is finicky.)

[RubberToe]

Not a yeast I've had a chance to try yet, but I'd like to given how much I enjoy Rogue beers, the Pacman strain is apparently available again from Canadian Homebrew Supplies. They're limiting to 1 package per customer.

I know a few folks have worked this yeast up from bottles but for those of us who haven't yet unlocked the Yeast Ranching Achievement, this might be a chance to give it a try.

(I also managed to track down the Sep/Oct 2003 issue of Zymurgy with a dozen Rogue clone recipes in it; I've heard various levels of snark about these recipes, but you have to figure they're probably a decent starting point)

Thanks for the heads up on the Pacman. I have a starter that I built up from a bottle of Shakepere sitting in my fridge since December, I figure it's time to toss it.

[GuingesRock]

I'm having a bit of trouble with my new yeast this morning ...West Yorkshire ale yeast (Wyeast 1469). Pitched 36 hours ago, with strict temp control.

I ferment in the kettle and there's about 4 gallons of headroom in that 16 gal pot. The yeast is pushing up the lid and overflowing onto the counter. I never had that before.

On the plus side ...the kitchen smells fucking awesome, the whole house actually, smells just like a proper brewery should.

[jeffsmith]

Probably too late for fermcap at this point, but it might be a good consideration for future batches.

[GuingesRock]

Yes, would be a great yeast for top cropping also ...might be another fix.

I don't mind though if it spills over a bit, unless anyone can foresee a problem with that.

[kberry]

I'm a fan of:
WLP 565 Belgian Saison
WLP 320 American Hefe
Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale
Conan was great - I'll keep that one around as long as I can

When harvesting and storing yeast has anyone ever experienced genetic drift - ie the yeast stops performing as expected? If so, was the change detrimental or positive? What yeast strain was it? Approximately how many batches did you use the yeast in before you noticed the change?