If you were trying to limit yourself to 3 strains for every beer you want to brew how would you do it?
Wyeast 1318- London ale III
Northern brown ale
ESB
Best bitter
Wyeast 1272- American Ale II
Pale ale (Hoppy/ Session IPA)
IPA (English inspired)
Oatmeal stout
Wyeast 1007- German Ale
Alt
Blonde/American Wheat
Pumpkin beer :roll:
How about dry yeast?
S-05 - lots of ales/porters/stouts
S-34/70 - all lagers
…
Can’t decide on the last one, probably Belle Saison or Windsor Ale…
[quote=“beerme11”]If you were trying to limit yourself to 3 strains for every beer you want to brew how would you do it?
Wyeast 1318- London ale III
Northern brown ale
ESB
Best bitter
Wyeast 1272- American Ale II
Pale ale (Hoppy/ Session IPA)
IPA (English inspired)
Oatmeal stout
Wyeast 1007- German Ale
Alt
Blonde/American Wheat
Pumpkin beer :roll: [/quote]
What about lagers? What about Belgian beers? Or are you only talking about styles that YOU brew, not everyone else?
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“beerme11”]If you were trying to limit yourself to 3 strains for every beer you want to brew how would you do it?
Wyeast 1318- London ale III
Northern brown ale
ESB
Best bitter
Wyeast 1272- American Ale II
Pale ale (Hoppy/ Session IPA)
IPA (English inspired)
Oatmeal stout
Wyeast 1007- German Ale
Alt
Blonde/American Wheat
Pumpkin beer :roll: [/quote]
What about lagers? What about Belgian beers? Or are you only talking about styles that YOU brew, not everyone else?[/quote]
Well I did mean everyone else but I wasn’t thinking. I don’t brew them but adding a lager and a Belgian would leave 1056 for everything so it was a dumb question. I guess I should have asked if you had to pick a few strains, say 5 or less, and brew a line up of your favorite beers what strains would you use and what styles would you brew with each. Or If you were opening a brewery and could only afford to manage 5 strains what styles would you brew with them?
The reason I ask is that I’ve been brewing 2 years now, 45 batches, and want to start refining my recipes. I’ve kept detailed notes on every batch since batch 1 but have been liberal on my process of tweaking recipes. I often brew a style then 6+ months later brew it again with a slightly different recipe and often a different yeast strain. For me I think limiting myself to a few strains is a good place to start. It will force me to get to get to “know” the yeasts and also be once less thing I can change which will leave the focus on the recipe and the fermentation profile.
I understand how that can happen. I don’t brew (or care for ) most English sty;es, so I wouldn’t think to include and English yeast. for me, the list would be
WY1450 - American styles
WY2124 - lagers
WY3787 - Belgian styles
But if I was limited to only 3, it would drive me crazy!
Most of what is available in my region is dry - with a few Wyeast strains of various degrees of freshness.
34/70 for most lagers with the occasional WY2007 Pilsner when fresh.
US-05 fairly regularily as an all purpose ale.
WY London ESB is available fairly often and I really like it. Anything british.
Nottingham - when ESB is not available, or if I do a stout (find it works as well as anything for stout)
[quote=“Denny”]I understand how that can happen. I don’t brew (or care for ) most English sty;es, so I wouldn’t think to include and English yeast. for me, the list would be
WY1450 - American styles
WY2124 - lagers
WY3787 - Belgian styles
But if I was limited to only 3, it would drive me crazy![/quote]
1450 of coarse you would ! I used wlp011 for my first attempt at an Alt. I brewed it a month ago still in fermenter but the gravity sample tastes good. I’m going to re-brew the alt with 1007 and let that decide who takes the last category. I read through a lot of posts when I was deciding on what strain to use for my Alt in the first place and you saw that you always give 1007 your thumbs up for Alt. Are there any other styles you really like 1007 for? If I commit to three strains they are all going to have to earn their keep!
Just three yeasts is an awfully tough decision. I haven’t played around with enough Belgian yeasts to know which one to pick yet, but WLP530 and Belle Saison would both be strong contenders. Other than that, US-05 and W34/70 would be my go-to yeasts for ales and lagers, respectively.
Just one yeast is all you need for every style: US-05.
I understand what you’re doing, but haven’t got there yet. I agree to WLP530/WY3787 for Belgians. I lean toward WLP 029 for Kolsch/Alt. West coast ales/ American is still undetermined but I use a lot of 1056. British is all over the place but I’m leaning to WY 1469. I want to be more determined, but there are too many really good yeasts and blends out there I’m tempted to try.
British yeasts are my weakness I’m already having withdrawal
I don’t think I could get by with less than 5 strains without changing my brewing habits - sort of like happened when I moved to Finland and could get very few varieties of American hops, so I learned to brew German styles.
No doubt I use US-05 more than any other yeast, but after that it’s hard to say. I could probably get by with just one lager yeast, but I’m not sure which one I’d pick. I would need to have a British yeast in there, but like the lagers, I don’t have a clear favorite. I really like 3787 for Belgians, though I don’t brew that many of them.
No one has yet listed a yeast that would be good for German wiessbier, or Kolsch, and I brew both of those on occasion.
1007 is great for most American styles as a sub for 1056. I’ve used it in APA and AIPA to great effect.
[quote=“Denny”]I understand how that can happen. I don’t brew (or care for ) most English sty;es, so I wouldn’t think to include and English yeast. for me, the list would be
WY1450 - American styles
WY2124 - lagers
WY3787 - Belgian styles
But if I was limited to only 3, it would drive me crazy![/quote]
I have had some excellent stinky pils saison lately around my town that are inspiring me to brew with more Belgian strains. I have brewed a lot but never really in that direction. I think 3787 will be my gateway strain. Sounds like a good place to start.
[quote=“burdbrew”][quote=“Denny”]I understand how that can happen. I don’t brew (or care for ) most English sty;es, so I wouldn’t think to include and English yeast. for me, the list would be
WY1450 - American styles
WY2124 - lagers
WY3787 - Belgian styles
But if I was limited to only 3, it would drive me crazy![/quote]
I have had some excellent stinky pils saison lately around my town that are inspiring me to brew with more Belgian strains. I have brewed a lot but never really in that direction. I think 3787 will be my gateway strain. Sounds like a good place to start.[/quote]
What I like about 3787 is that you can ferment it in the low-mid 60s for more phenols and more restrained esters, or crank it up into the low 70s for a banana bomb (if that’s what you want).
